Bread From Scratch

[Sandi*]

I used to love baking breads from scratch but when I tried making gluten-free bread it turned out horrible! I followed various recipes I found on the internet. Does anyone have a recipe for sandwich bread that's light and fluffy?

Also, is the dough supposed to be tough (unlike wheat bread)? I used enough xanthan gum but it didn't seem to stick well.

Help!

[Green12]

I used to love baking breads from scratch but when I tried making gluten-free bread it turned out horrible! I followed various recipes I found on the internet. Does anyone have a recipe for sandwich bread that's light and fluffy?

Also, is the dough supposed to be tough (unlike wheat bread)? I used enough xanthan gum but it didn't seem to stick well.

Help!

I'm not a bread maker, so I can't help much in this department. Maybe some of the other posters will have suggestions for you.

I just got a new cookbook called Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts and she claims to have the solution for making gluten-free breads just like the real thing. She has several bread recipes included in the book.

[AndreaB]

I also just got Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts. Haven't tried anything yet. Looking to start this weekend but don't know if I'll be tackling bread or just the muffins to start. I do know the flour blend can make a difference from what I've read.

Did you use a regular size bread pan or the little guys? The little ones are supposed to do better for most recipes.

[eKatherine]

You can make good bread gluten-free, but it's not going to be like wonder bread, nor like a crusty artisan loaf. It will be moister and a bit heavier.

[gfp]

Firstly, baking is one of those things... it requires practice and exact quantities, temperatures and timing but mainly just practice.

When you switch to gluten-free baking it muddles all your experience up, its like being a blacksmith and being given wood to work with instead... the basic skills are all the same but the feeling you have is different and this goes from consitency of the dough to oven temps etc.

The bottom line as eKatherine has said ... its a different beast.

A good start is to buy a commercial gluten-free bread mix and follow the instructions to the letter ... then you can feel what its like ... then buy the seperate gluten-free flours and try and make exactly the same thing... while you still remember!

After that you can experiment a little .. largely its time you loose .. the basic flour's aren't so expensive ...

another idea is just start with naturally gluten-free stuff like cornbread... meantime you can make "sandwiches" using inventive things like a corn tortilla wrap.

[Sandi*]

Thanks everyone, I'll look for the book. I use a Zojirushi bread maker and the pan that comewith with it.

I'll also probably chicken out and buy a mix first and that way I can see what the consistency is supposed to look like, etc

However, I would much appreciate it if someone could write down a recipe that really worked for them. Thanks!

[mart]

We've failed miserably with our attempts. We must have tried 50 different recipes. The rice flour ones were like bricks. The bean flour breads were soft but tasted gross. I just gave up and we eat either the Kinnickinnik bread of Jillian's French gluten-free bread. So this huge, expensive breadmaker just sits up on our counter taking up precious space. So yesterday, I found a bread mix from Gluten Free Pantry and another from Pamela's (two quality companies). Anyone know if these are any good? I just give up!

Sorry, I haven't been much help at all.

[KaitiUSA]

I have tried to make it but most times it has ended up tasting bad. I like to buy certain brands that I have found to be good.

[AndreaB]

I have a bread machine. I'll have to try some recipes that use it and see how they turn out. I also have two cookbooks by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. One of them has two bread recipe sections. Oven and bread machine, so I can try both and see which I like better.

[lonewolf]

So yesterday, I found a bread mix from Gluten Free Pantry and another from Pamela's (two quality companies). Anyone know if these are any good? I just give up!

I've made the Gluten Free Pantry Country French bread a few times and it's good. I made rolls (in muffin tins) for Easter and served them to all my guests. They were a hit and they were all eaten! The bread is best warm though. It works okay for sandwiches when it's cold as long as it's sliced thin. I put two pieces, separated by parchment paper, in ziploc bags and freeze them. When I want to make my son a sandwich I just take a package out of the freezer, remove the paper, put in the fillings and put it back into the bag (unless he's going to eat it right away - then I defrost the bread first). I have a bag of Pamela's, but my son is doing a gluten challenge right now so I haven't tried it yet. Since they all call for eggs, which I can't eat, I don't make bread for myself. Just can't find a good recipe that works for me that I like.

[queenofhearts]

My favorite bread so far (I've only been doing this for a month so check back with me later for more comprehensive results!)-- Four Flour Bread from Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. Actually I have modified her sesame variation, replaced all the sugar with molasses, added a bit more of the flour mix, & used melted butter with a splash of sesame oil for the oil. Also threw a ton of sesame seed on top (using egg wash to adhere them). It was yummy enough that I had to protect my supply from my gluten-eating family. (I shared one loaf but wanted the second for myself!)

Leah

another idea is just start with naturally gluten-free stuff like cornbread... meantime you can make "sandwiches" using inventive things like a corn tortilla wrap.

Someone a while back posted the idea of using gluten free waffles as the "bread" in a sandwich-- that sounded good to me! Haven't tried it yet since I've been baking a fair amount of bread, but I'm sure I will.

Leah

[lpellegr]

I used to bake lots of bread by hand, but it has been a challenge to find something good. After lots of tries I found one Bette Hagman recipe that seems to work for me every time (except the last one - oh well, you can always turn it into crumbs). I make the Almost Pumpernickel bread from The Gluten-Free Gourmet, revised edition. I leave out the caraway seeds and cocoa powder if I want it to be less like pumpernickel and more like white. This is the only recipe so far that is moist and stretchy on the inside and lasts like that for days. In general I don't eat much bread, but when I want bread this is the one. The Rapid Rise French Bread from More From the Gluten-Free Gourmet is really good hot out of the oven, and if you make it in baguette pans you can slice it the long way and it makes really good french bread pizza - I have even frozen them with all the toppings and been very impressed at how good they are. One more recommendation also from More From the GFG: the Caraway Soda Bread. This is a round bread baked in a casserole and has no yeast, but when it's fresh the exterior is just like a biscuit, and when it's cooled you can slice it and it is very moist and can hold together for sandwiches. Let me know if you want me to write out all these recipes, or you might be able to find them at a library and make copies. And when I want bread for crumbs I use Bette's True Yeast Bread (revised) from The Gluten Free Gourmet, because it's guaranteed to crumble . Sometimes I make a loaf of that just for the crumbs. Have you seen the price of gluten-free bread crumbs?

[Lauren M]

Sandi,

I too have the Zoj bread machine and I don't know what I did without it. I'm still experimenting with "from scratch" breads, but nothing has come close to my favorite mix - Breads by Anna. It's just so easy and SOOO good. I've also made Gluten-Free Pantry's and Bob's Red Mill sandwich breads for bread machines in my Zoj. They were both very tasty as well, but nothing compares to Bread by Anna! They're website is www.glutenevolution.com

(I swear, I have no financially vested interest in either Zojirushi or Manna from Anna, I just really like them both!)

We'll make a deal Sandi, if I figure out a good "from scratch" recipe for my Zoj, I'll share it w/you, and if you figure out a good one, you can tell me

Oops, forgot to mention that in my baking I use Annalise Robert's suggested flour mix.

- Lauren

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I just got the Annalise Roberts book, too! I'm planning to make a cake tomorrow for my son't birthday. But someone a while back posted a "celiac soda bread scratch recipe." I'm sorry, I printed the recipe but not the poster's name--whoever posted it, please come forward and take the credit, because it was very good. It was too sweet for me--next time I'll only use 1/4 sugar--but it had a very edible, biscuit-ish (American southern biscuits, not British bisscuits) quality:

4 cups brown rice flour (I only had a little brown rice flour, so I used different flour mix below)

1/2-1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder (I used 2)

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c butter, melted

1 1/3 c buttermilk

1 large egg, beaten (I used 2)

1 c raisins, optional (I didn't have any)

Mix wet ingredients, mix dry ingredients, mix together, shape in loaf shape, and bake at 350 for one hour.

flour mix:

1 c brown rice flour

1 c white rice flour

1 c potato starch

1/2 c cornstarch

1/2 c tapioca starch

[mamaw]

I'm with Lauren , Anna's Bread mix is the BEST!!!!!!! ANd Anna is a great person to boot......I too just ordered the cookbook from Annalise and a french bread pan too. Should be here this week and I'm excited to try her cakes, and bread as most are raving.... yea finally some great things are coming out of gluten-free......I need more time to try all these things.....

mamaw