Bread

[momothree]

Okay, so we have been on the gluten-free diet for all of 3 days, and it already feels like forever. The dinners are fairly easy to manage, but there is a gap where bread and crackers used to be. Perhaps someone can offer up some brand names or a bread machine recipe that tastes close to the real thing?? I'm new to this, so perhaps there is no such thing. All I know is that I have purchased a few bread items and crackers (gag) and baked a couple of things (biscuits etc.), and they are tough to choke down. Will we get used to it??? I should mention that I am in Canada, so I may not be able to access some of the brands available in the US. There was a reply to one of my other posts from Cassidy that said they were basically not eating bread and not missing it. Is this what a lot of people end up doing? All I know is that with 3 kids and a dog, sometimes all I have time to do is throw together a grilled cheese sandwich for one of my starving kids Any other hints or tips anyone has to offer for time saving (sanity saving) techniques would definitely be welcome. Thanks!

[Mango04]

You might want to try Kinnikinick and Glutino. The Glutino cinnamon raison bread is pretty good. Make sure all gluten-free bread is toasted before you eat it.

You might also want to try Cause Your Special mixes. I've found them all to be pretty good.

I don't eat bread anymore either....and I don't miss it at all I've just lost my taste for it I think (and I used to be a bread addict ) A lot of people buy the substitutes though and like them. It's just a matter of finding what you like and learning to bake a little differently. You'll get the hang of it. There's plenty of awesome food we can eat.

[JenAnderson]

Hi my name's Jennifer and I used to be a bread eater..

I still like bread, but it's harder to find one that tasted like the "old" stuff. I've tried the Ener-G kinds and quite frankly they tasted like cardboard. I tried the Food for Life ones and they were too small. I like sandwiches, not appetizers. The one that I have found since being in Maryland was Bob's Red Mill Bread Mix. It's good and the size depends on what size loaf pan you have. You need a Kitchenaid mixer to really make it taste good. (I don't know why, but it tasted better that way) The one real problem I found was that the bread would get moldy in two to three days. I froze them after finding this out, but I hate having to thaw bread at the last minute. It's good though, I would highly recommend it if you have to have bread. I have some on hand but only make it when I need a bread fix.

[Guhlia]

Hi. If I were you I would get myself a copy of the Incredible Edible Gluten Free food for Kids. It has amazing bread recipes including a to-die-for banana bread recipe AND a white bread recipe. There's also a graham cracker recipe (which I haven't tried yet, but it looks good). Every single thing that I've made from this book has been outstanding! I highly, highly, highly recommend it, especially for kids. My hubby says he can't tell the difference AT ALL between my "special" food and his "normal" food now that I started using this book. There are recipes for chicken nuggets, pizza, bread, cookies, cakes (birthday staple), pies, etc. It's well worth the money.

[Felidae]

Honestly it is trial and error because what one person loves another does not. I do not like Kinnikinnick breads but I love their bagels, pizza crusts, and cookies. I find Glutino breads and pizza crusts disgusting. The EnerG breads are okay, kind of like Wonderbread but not as soft.

I have replaced bread with soft corn tortillas, tortilla chips, rice cakes, rice crackers, corn thins, and EnerG crackers. Yes, you will get used to it. As time goes by it'll get easier. I am also in Canada and there are a few of us kicking around here.

[tammy]

Personally, we have found that if both my husband and I like something its worth mentioning. So I will mention Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix. It makes the best biscuits and pancakes! I use this mix for my biscuits at Thanksgiving!

[Jeanne]

Okay, so we have been on the gluten-free diet for all of 3 days, and it already feels like forever. The dinners are fairly easy to manage, but there is a gap where bread and crackers used to be. Perhaps someone can offer up some brand names or a bread machine recipe that tastes close to the real thing?? I'm new to this, so perhaps there is no such thing. All I know is that I have purchased a few bread items and crackers (gag) and baked a couple of things (biscuits etc.), and they are tough to choke down. Will we get used to it??? I should mention that I am in Canada, so I may not be able to access some of the brands available in the US. There was a reply to one of my other posts from Cassidy that said they were basically not eating bread and not missing it. Is this what a lot of people end up doing? All I know is that with 3 kids and a dog, sometimes all I have time to do is throw together a grilled cheese sandwich for one of my starving kids Any other hints or tips anyone has to offer for time saving (sanity saving) techniques would definitely be welcome. Thanks!

Hi. When my son was first diagnosed, we went through 15 different brands of gluten-free bread, before we found "THE BREAD", and he has stuck with it ever since. It is made by Sterk's Bakery - which I believe is in Canada - just over the border. I do believe that they have a website. Makes fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches, and in fact, I have served it to his friends and they have not really known the difference.

Also, Gluten Free 1-2-3 mixes make really good muffins. Hope that helps. If you need help finding Sterk's, just email me back and I can forward informaiton to you.

Jeanne Simkins

[momothree]

Wow! Thanks for all of your advice and input--I'm actually feeling hopeful that, with some trial and error, we might acutally hit on something palatable. I just printed off the whole post so now, it's time for some research.

[skinnyminny]

The Gluten Free Pantry makes the BEST mix in my opinon its so far the best I have tried, we make a loaf a week we slice it with an electric knief and store it in the frig to keep it from molding, and its great toasted or for a cold sandwhich, we use the bread machine to make it but there are oven directions also on the package, we get it at Wild Oats.

[mrsnj91]

We have tried millet bread, GFP fav. sandwich bread mix, whole foods fresh baked bread and EnerG tapioca bread. The millet bread and the EnerG tap. bread toast nice but I didn't like the millet bread much as it can be a bit grainy. The GFP sandwich bread mix made a great cinn. bread but I didn't care for it as a sandwhich bread as it was really heavy. Same with the WF bread. I put that on toast 3 times and it never toasted!!! LOL! And it kinda gets soggy. SO I think if I had to pick I would do the EnerG tapioca bread and the GFP mix for the cinn. bread (which was really good)

Oh and we freeze too.

[Green12]

I agree that it is a trial and error process to find what your family likes best, it is all about personal taste and preference. You can maybe try a couple different products per week, or month, however you want to do it, to find your favorites and then those become your staples in your pantry.

I have replaced bread with potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, legumes, and rice. I also like the Food For Life Rice Tortillas to make sandwich wraps, burritos, or quesadillas.

[swittenauer]

The only bread we have found that was any good at all was fromWhole Foods. My husband still won't use it for a sandwich. We make garlic or cheesy bread to go with our gluten free pasta & it is awesome for that use.

[Guinevere]

I have tried all kinds. my personal favorite is the whole foods bakery brand - the one with sun dried tomatoes and garlic - the other is just okay. it makes fantastic toast and anything else you want to use it for. they also have pizza crust that is to die for. i use it as a dipping bread for when we have pasta (brown rice pasta in my experience is the best - trader joes has a great one), i must confess, i have never made pizza with it though (lactose intolerant). they also have great cookies - taste exactly like wheat - caution though, you will want to eat them all and they're expensive. they also have pies, cornbread, brownies, and carrot & banana bread. i can't do the sweets right now because of candidas, but they're really, really good.

i hope you have a whole foods around you, it would be worth the drive if you had to go a distance. buy some for the freezer.

!!

[jerseyangel]

My favorite so far is The Gluten Free Pantry French Bread Mix. I mix it up in my Kitchenaid and use water instead of milk. It's dairy free that way, and unlike a lot of breads, has no tapioca, which I am sensitive to. It tastes (and smells) really good! I bake it, slice it and store it in the refrigerator.

[jaten]

Personally, we have found that if both my husband and I like something its worth mentioning. So I will mention Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix. It makes the best biscuits and pancakes! I use this mix for my biscuits at Thanksgiving!

Do you follow the recipe exactly or make adjustments? I found that the biscuits have a great taste, but positively, absolutely fall to pieces.

My favorite so far is The Gluten Free Pantry French Bread Mix. I mix it up in my Kitchenaid and use water instead of milk. It's dairy free that way, and unlike a lot of breads, has no tapioca, which I am sensitive to. It tastes (and smells) really good! I bake it, slice it and store it in the refrigerator.

My dh just picked up one of these mixes for the first time yesterday. Do you use it for regular bread? We have 1 GFP french bread mix. What do you suggest?

[jerseyangel]

Jaten--I keep it sliced in the refrigerator, and use it for toast, sandwiches--anything, really. It's excellent toasted, and even untoasted, it holds together better than others I've tried. It has a nice crust, and the inside is very "normal breadlike". I don't know how it would be if you used the milk--probably denser? One thing I learned making these is to make sure you bake it until it sounds hollow when you tap it on the top--I ended up leaving it in the oven for 5 extra minutes to insure it was done all the way through. Good luck with your mix--I hope you enjoy it

[Guhlia]

No problem, Momofthree! I hope your family enjoys the recipes as much as mine does. I've been ordering my flours at Open Original Shared Link. They seem to have the best prices and flat rate $10 shipping. If you make the garlic biscuits, try adding shredded cheddar cheese to them (if you guys can have dairy). It makes them taste almost exactly like Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits. They're wonderful like that. I have to make a batch every few days because my non-gluten-free hubby can't get enough of them.

[lpellegr]

A suggestion for crackers - I don't miss bread, but when you want something crunchy or want to spread some cheese or peanut butter you need crackers! There are rice crackers around, usually on the shelf with the Asian foods, but I'm not sure all of them are safe so read the labels to make sure they don't include soy sauce or anything iffy. Nut Thins are the absolute best gluten-free cracker out there and you can sometimes find them in a regular grocery store! They are not made in a dedicated gluten-free facility, so if you are very sensitive to cross-contamination you should take that into consideration, but so far I've not had any problems. I have also learned to make homemade crackers that are kind of like Wheat Thins, but I haven't found any substitute for Ritz or saltines. Some of the online sites carry crackers that claim to be "just like Ritz" so if you have a casserole that's just not the same without the crushed Ritz on top and you don't mind the expense you could find a substitute. I also found Glutano crackers online in small packages so you can carry them with you when traveling - they are not saltines, but not too far from it and are nice for tuna or peanut butter. I wish I could remember which online site had them - do a search or go to the Gluten-free Mall and you might find them.

[jaten]

I have also learned to make homemade crackers that are kind of like Wheat Thins....

Wheat Thins???? You have a recipe similar to Wheat Thins???? That was my favorite cracker pre-gluten-free....The Wheat Thin display is the only place in the grocery that I still stumble and salivate.

Please share!

[TCA]

I like the Sesmark Sesame Rice crackers. I get them at Target. They are not made in a gluten-free facility, but i haven't had any problems. They are really good. I also use a lot of corn chips as a substitute. It's a lot cheaper than other alternatives and tasty too! My favorite mix, and I've tried a lot, is Cause you're special. It actually tastes like bread!

[mrsnj91]

Patti- YOu use the GFP french bread as a sandwich bread? It works? It is lighter than the actually sandwich bread? Hummm might try it.

Has anyone tried Glutino Corn bread? I bought it to try thinking it was a corn bread but is looks just like a white bread just made with corn. It smells good though. Haven't tried it yet.