Having A Meltdown...need Help!

[ilmotherof2]

I am new here and have been lurking quite a bit. The forums are very helpful. My husband was diagnosed with Celiac 2 weeks ago. I have been trying bread recipe after bread recipe and haven't found the "one" yet. I really need help! Please tell me what your favorite everyday bread recipe is and where I can find it. I borrowed "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread" by Bette Hagman from the library. If anyone has a favorite in it please give me a page number. Also, if you have any tips, I'll take them. I am so overwhelmed right now and need lots of advice! Thanks for your help!

[Matilda]

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[CarlaB]

I don't know if this will be a help or not -- rather than try to find replacements for what he used to eat, why not just change what he eats. For a while I tried gluten-free breads for lunch, but now I seldom eat them. Sometimes I'll have corn tortillas stuffed with food I like (avocado, chicken, cucumber, etc.), today I had chicken sausage with cut up apple and cucumber, sometimes I have leftovers from dinner, or a can of soup. I find it easier to change what I eat rather than being unsatisified with replacements of my favorite foods.

I buy loaves of gluten-free bread at Wild Oats for the times I do want a piece of toast. Usually I'll have a Van's gluten-free waffle if I have fried eggs ... I just skip the syrup and put the egg on top of the waffle.

I'm sure others will have suggestions for how to make bread.

[oceangirl]

I don't know if this will be a help or not -- rather than try to find replacements for what he used to eat, why not just change what he eats. For a while I tried gluten-free breads for lunch, but now I seldom eat them. Sometimes I'll have corn tortillas stuffed with food I like (avocado, chicken, cucumber, etc.), today I had chicken sausage with cut up apple and cucumber, sometimes I have leftovers from dinner, or a can of soup. I find it easier to change what I eat rather than being unsatisified with replacements of my favorite foods.

I buy loaves of gluten-free bread at Wild Oats for the times I do want a piece of toast. Usually I'll have a Van's gluten-free waffle if I have fried eggs ... I just skip the syrup and put the egg on top of the waffle.

I'm sure others will have suggestions for how to make bread.

Carla,

Do they make tortillas out of rice flour? I've never seen any and I don't eat corn. I am still struggling with symptoms going on 4 months gluten, soy, dairy and corn free, so I mostly eat fish, meat veggies and a little fruit. Still having some trouble with fruit, I think. I agree that changing the way you eat as opposed to replacing bread is the way to go, but it would be lovely to roll something up in a tortilla every now and again. Thanks, Carla, and good luck to you, ilmotherof2!

lisa (old log-in name: Laferriere, but didn't work!)

[CarlaB]

Carla,

Do they make tortillas out of rice flour? I've never seen any and I don't eat corn. I am still struggling with symptoms going on 4 months gluten, soy, dairy and corn free, so I mostly eat fish, meat veggies and a little fruit. Still having some trouble with fruit, I think. I agree that changing the way you eat as opposed to replacing bread is the way to go, but it would be lovely to roll something up in a tortilla every now and again. Thanks, Carla, and good luck to you, ilmotherof2!

lisa (old log-in name: Laferriere, but didn't work!)

I really don't know. I've only used corn tortillas. Maybe someone else has seen them.

I eat pretty much how you eat. When I'm feeling bad, I seem to crave more carbs, but when feeling better, I eat how you do.

[wolfie]

Carla,

Do they make tortillas out of rice flour? I've never seen any and I don't eat corn. I am still struggling with symptoms going on 4 months gluten, soy, dairy and corn free, so I mostly eat fish, meat veggies and a little fruit. Still having some trouble with fruit, I think. I agree that changing the way you eat as opposed to replacing bread is the way to go, but it would be lovely to roll something up in a tortilla every now and again. Thanks, Carla, and good luck to you, ilmotherof2!

lisa (old log-in name: Laferriere, but didn't work!)

I bought some brown rice flour tortillas the other day. DS doesn't like them, but that isn't saying much, he is MR PICKY! LOL! They are made by Food for Life.

Hope this helps!

I am new here and have been lurking quite a bit. The forums are very helpful. My husband was diagnosed with Celiac 2 weeks ago. I have been trying bread recipe after bread recipe and haven't found the "one" yet. I really need help! Please tell me what your favorite everyday bread recipe is and where I can find it. I borrowed "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread" by Bette Hagman from the library. If anyone has a favorite in it please give me a page number. Also, if you have any tips, I'll take them. I am so overwhelmed right now and need lots of advice! Thanks for your help!

I use the Gluten-free Pantry Favorite Sandwich bread mix that you can buy in a lot of grocery stores or online. Even picky DS likes it. You can make it in a bread maker or in the oven.

[oceangirl]

I bought some brown rice flour tortillas the other day. DS doesn't like them, but that isn't saying much, he is MR PICKY! LOL! They are made by Food for Life.

Hope this helps!

I use the Gluten-free Pantry Favorite Sandwich bread mix that you can buy in a lot of grocery stores or online. Even picky DS likes it. You can make it in a bread maker or in the oven.

Thank you, Carla and Kim! I will look for those tortillas. May we all never have to think about our digestive systems someday!

lisa

[mmaccartney]

I don't know if this will be a help or not -- rather than try to find replacements for what he used to eat, why not just change what he eats.

I'd have to agree. You won't find a great substitute for just plain bread. I gave up. I do use the bread mixes from 'Cause Your Special but only for "special" types of bread. For example when we have spaghetti ( Tinkyada pasta is one item that can be successfully substituted, it is better then wheat pasta IMHO!!! ) my wife makes a pepperoni bread out of hte traditional french bread mix, and that is really good...but still not "bread"

I also found that trying to find substitutes and such I was really racking up the food bills. What worked for me was to bite the bullet and just change my diet to include more fresh fruits, meats, and vegetables. Other things I begin to make at home; like soups, chilis, etc.

My last 2 cents is that your husband needs to get involved in cooking gluten free. There may be times when he will have to cook for himself, and it will give him the appreciation of what it takes to cook gluten free and he might appreciate your efforts, even when the bread comes out like a brick and only works as a doorstop!!!

[queenofhearts]

I really like the molasses and sesame seed version - nutty, not too sweet, really good texture (usually).

Good luck!

Ditto on this one for me! I make mine substituting molasses for all the sugar (not just adding some with the wet ingredients) & I use the extra egg yolk to do an egg wash on top, topped with lots more sesame seeds. I like to use a mixture of black & white sesame seeds just for visual appeal.

I also like Carol Fenster's fake cracked wheat bread, made with brown rice chopped in the blender. I like breads with some crunchy ingredients, expecially gluten-free ones, since they tend to be a bit lacking in textural satisfaction.

Leah

[luvs2eat]

Try ONE bag of Manna from Anna's bread mix. You will be hooked. It's the best bread out there... and I tried many recipes!!

[amybeth]

I'm not a fan of the corn tortillas.....it's a taste I just cannot adjust to. BUT I do a lot of rice cakes/corn crisps in lieu of bread - and lettuce wraps too!

Good luck! The first month is the toughest! Sounds like you're doing great!

[Guest Robbin]

Try ONE bag of Manna from Anna's bread mix. You will be hooked. It's the best bread out there... and I tried many recipes!!

Where do you find this? What kind of flour is in it? Thanks I use Kinnikinnick white sandwich bread when I need to have bread. I just keep it in the freezer and take out some when I get the urge to have a sandwich, but slowly I have started to just eat simple and natural. I feel so much better without the carbs.edit--The kinnikinnick is pretty good and gets softer if you microwave 25 sec. or toast it.

[ilmotherof2]

Thanks so much for all of your help! This board has been great for me! We now have 4 weeks under our belts and things are getting better. I am not so overwhelmed. At first celiac disease consumed my every thought. I actually had to tell myself I wasn't going to think about celiac disease for a day or two. That helped.

My dh has found that he likes Bette Hagman's Yogurt Bread. It's not too hard to make. I checked out the Manna from Anna and was wondering how many loaves does one bag make? Is it just one? We also tried the Tinkyada spaghetti and everyone liked it. Suppers actually have been easier than I thought. Although I tried a meatloaf recipe that flopped. Anyone have a good meatloaf recipe?

Again, thank you soooo much for all of your help! You guys have been a lifesaver!

[lbsteenwyk]

The Manna from Anna (they've changed their name to Bread by Anna or something similar) makes 2 loaves in a bread pan in the oven or one large loaf in the bread machine. It is expensive, but truly an excellent bread.

I use the Gluten-free Gourmet Bakes Bread all the time; some of my favorite recipes:

Sweet Potato Cranberry Bread, pg 112 - I don't put the cranberries in b/c my dd doesn't like them, but it comes out fine anyway.

Yeast free zucchini cheese bread, pg 137 - I usually make this into muffins instead of a loaf. It is delicious!

Springy Corn Bread, pg 151 - we love this and it's super easy to make. Again, I usually make muffins.

Basic Millet Bread, pg 82 - this rises beautifully in the bread machine; I made this for our support group and everyone raved about it.

Basic Yeast-free Bean Bread, pg 132 - I make this all the time, but make it in a muffin pan instead to make hot dinner rolls. I mix up the dry ingredients ahead of time and then just add the liquid ingredients when I'm ready to bake them, they only take 15 minutes in the oven when you make rolls. You can also make these more nutritious by reducing the Four Flour Bean Mix to 1 1/4 cup and adding 1/4 cup each of millet, montina and amaranth. You can substitute Teff if you don't have one of the other flours. Everyone in my family loves these, even those who can eat gluten.

Happy Baking!

[Luvs to Scrap]

Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread:

I use Bette's Four Flour Bread Mix on pg 41 and then the recipe on pages 42-43. I tried quite a few other recipes and this seems to hold together pretty well and is a lot easier because you can mix up quite a lot of the dry ingredients at once and then just measure how much you need each time instead of getting out a ton of ingredients just to make 1 loaf of bread. Jason liked just the 4 Flour Bread traditional recipe. We use it whenever he wants a sandwich. (I slice it all up and then freeze 2 slices together in a ziploc bag so that it is easy to get what I need quick for lunches.

I also use the Minute Muffin Mix and recipes on pages 210-212. I usually end up putting more fruit in then she calls for. Banana, apple or blueberry are my guys favorite. I pack a muffin each day for my husband's breakfast since he can't have prepackaged stuff anymore. He just keeps some honey at his desk and it works well. This mix makes it so easy to whip out a batch of muffins.

The Quick Bread Pudding on pg 267 is good too. My guys won't eat their crust so I just cut them off right away and save them for bread pudding in the freezer.

I hope this helps. Having 2 small children at home makes me want the simplest recipes possible and the mixes made up makes it a lot easier for me. (Don't get as confused when I get interupted.

I also use Bette's Four Flour Bean Mix to convert my old cornbread recipe and my family actually likes it as well if not better. Good luck baking. Kendra

[mamaw]

carriefaith shared a recipe for soft breadsticks that is so easy to make and they are terrific. I keep adding different things to it to change the end results. Kids love pepperoni and cheese plus some garlic & then they dip them in sauce. It reminds them of pizza hut breadsticks only softer.

Anna's bread mix is the very best....and you may want to buy the cookbook from Annalise Roberts. All of us are raving about it......

mamaw