Our New Favorite Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe and a Review of Canyon Bakehouse Breads

Our house has always had a stuffing debate going on. I grew up in a Southern-style cornbread stuffing household and Dan's family was of the bread cube variety. Both families, however, approved of the theory that the stuffing was the central item of utmost importance to the holiday table and served as a sort of bready vessel on which to pile the roast beast and liberal lashings of gravy.

Since the gluten free fairy whacked our family with her wheatless wand seven years ago, I have tried various GF stuffing recipes to varying reception. Some of the stuffings were too crumbly and not gravy-absorbent enough; some tasted funky and some were too eggy. Over the holiday season I think I have finally hit upon a wonderful recipe that combined the hereditary taste profiles for the cornbread and regular bread factions and one which was sturdy enough to withstand an assault of gravy on the festive dinner plate.

So what did I do?  I combined the two kinds in one and gave everyone a taste of what they wanted. I made up a batch of gluten free cornbread (I am a fan of Gluten Free on a Shoestring's recipe) and saved two cups for my stuffing. For the white bread cubes that I mixed in I used a package of Canyon Bakehouse Rosemary and Thyme Focaccia, which had great, sturdy consistency.

I had received a complimentary package of Gluten Free bread samples from Canyon Bakehouse and the Focaccia was hanging out in our freezer, because Dan and I are not really focaccia fans. I mean, if I want a stunty little loaf of bread, I'll just bake one from scratch, because that's how mine always seem to turn out. I blame my old oven, but Dan says I'm just too impatient to be a great baker. The other Canyon Bakehouse freebies had already been scarfed up. Their white and whole grain breads were great and really make a lovely, crisp piece of toast. Kudos also to the GF hot dog buns, which had good crumb and didn't fall apart upon contact with the dog, like other hot dog rolls we've tried. Thanks Canyon Bakehouse!

Anyway, back to the stuffing, which really was a successful recipe. Here's what I did:

GF Cornbread, Sausage and Focaccia Stuffing

3 cups white bread cubes (I used 1 (1lb.) pkg. Canyon Rock Rosemary and Thyme Focaccia)

3 cups cornbread cubes

2 eggs, well-beaten

1 lb. bulk sweet pork sausage

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 carrots, peeled and shredded on box grater

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

4 stalks celery (plus leaves from rest of celery bunch) chopped

2-1/2 cups. vegetable broth

3 Tbsp. chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. crumbled dried sage

Salt and pepper to taste

Shortening

Toast cornbread and focaccia cubes on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree F oven until toasted and dry, about 1/2 hour. Stir a couple of times during the cooking time. Let cool and set aside.

Grease 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with shortening.

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Crumble in sausage meat and brown, stirring often, to break up clumps.  Add carrots, onion, and celery and toss until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, parsley and sage. Let cool to room temperature.

Mix corn bread and focaccia cubes together. Mix in cooled sausage-vegetable mixture. Mix eggs and vegetable broth together and pour over stuffing mix. Let stand one minute and then gently stir to combine.

Place in greased baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes, until stuffing is cooked through and golden brown on bottom (easy to see in glass baking dish) and top.

Makes 8-10 servings.

I'm sending over a portion of this delicious stuffing hybrid recipe to Weekend Cooking over at Beth Fish Reads. Stop on by to visit and see what others are cooking up in their kitchens this week.

**Note: I received a package of four breads free from Canyon Bakehouse, but as always, I was not obligated to post a review. My opinions in this post are completely my own.

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