Help.. Baking Question!

[Guest maddiesmom]

I have just made a loaf of banana nut bread from Arrowhead mills Gluten Free All purpose mix.... it smelled sooo goood in the oven but when I tasted it.. it was soo dry. I am so disappointed... I know that the pre cut loaf bread is dry but I thought this would be a little better.. I followed the directions.. is it supose to taste this way. I mean I know it wouldn't taste like the "real thing".. my daughter wouldn't even eat it.. it's not horrible and it's edible but i have a feeling I will be the only one eating it. Any suggestions???

[Nantzie]

Maybe adding some applesauce to the dough? I've never tried this, but I've heard of it being done to make things moister.

[jerseyangel]

I used the Arrowhead Mills baking mix early on, and I didn't care for it. I made pancakes and banana bread, and both were dry and the pancakes were terrible.

You could try adding a little more oil or shortening, or baking it for a shorter time.

I actually love the banana bread recipe on the back of the Ener-G Rice Flour box! It's really good, moist, and bakes up nice and high--and dosen't fall in the center like a lot of gluten-free quick breads do.

[RiceGuy]

I suppose the ripeness of the bananas could effect the moisture, as will baking time/temp. Did you use a recipe from Arrowhead Mills? Did you sub any ingredients? There is a banana bread recipe on containers of Rumford baking powder too.

[Nikki2003]

I have just made a loaf of banana nut bread from Arrowhead mills Gluten Free All purpose mix.... it smelled sooo goood in the oven but when I tasted it.. it was soo dry. I am so disappointed... I know that the pre cut loaf bread is dry but I thought this would be a little better.. I followed the directions.. is it supose to taste this way. I mean I know it wouldn't taste like the "real thing".. my daughter wouldn't even eat it.. it's not horrible and it's edible but i have a feeling I will be the only one eating it. Any suggestions???

Try this. It is great and soft(kinda crumbly, but not bad) My girls love it.

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups Gluten free flour (any kind will do)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream together shortening and sugar, add eggs and beat well. Sift together ( I haven't sifted but you can) dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture alternating with banana, blending well after each addition,Stir in nuts, Pour into well greased loaf pan. Bake in oven (350) 40-45 minutes or until done. Remove from pan, cool on rack.

The Gluten free mixture I cook it for the 40-45 minutes on 350 then I turn the oven down to 250 and cook until the inside isnit soggy. About 15-20 minutes longer. Use your judgement and just check on it.

[taweavmo3]

I've tried a few recipes from Arrowhead Mills, didn't care for them much. I bought the baking mix too, ended up throwing most of it out.

I have a great cookbook, it's called "Life Tastes Good Again" by Kirsti Kirkland and Betsy Thomas (who I think visits this site??). All of their breads and cookies have been fabulous. They have a mock oatmeal cookie that uses quinoa flakes....tasted so good, the kids and I gorged ourselves silly! They have a fab sugar cookie recipe in there too that is great for roll and cut cookies. OH, and the chocolate cake recipe....AMAZING! It is so moist it doesn't taste anything like most gluten free cakes. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that there is also a banana bread recipe in there too....I haven't tried it yet, but based on everything else, I'm betting it would be pretty good!

Another excellent banana bread is Mana From Anna.....comes in a mix, very easy to make. It is very moist and tastes no different than regular banana bread in my opinion! I usually cut it into slices and freeze in individual portions so it doesn't dry out.

Don't fret...there are good gluten-free breads and such, it just takes a little trial and error!

[Guest maddiesmom]

Thanks for all your advice.. and yes the receipe was on the back of the box. I hate to throw it out.. I wonder if I could use the mix to coat chicken for chicken nuggets or tenders???

All this coooking from scratch is new to me... we have always been a family of convenience.. pre made this and eating out or delivery alot..so I am kinda lost... this is horrible to say but I have never made anything from scratch except fudge! I know it will take time (trial and error) I guess I just want her to feel normal.. of course it's more me than her because she hasn't complained any this week on the diet.... I will get there!

[dionnek]

banana bread was my specialty before dx, and I have worked on finding the best gluten-free replacement and finally found it. I use the Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix and got the banana bread recipe either from her website or from the package - can't remember which. Anyway, I add chocolate chips instead of nuts (but sometimes do nuts if I don't want it sweet) and everyone just loves it! People request it all the time. I made 3 loaves for a friend who was on bedrest (and she is not gluten free, but just loves this bread).

I order my mix from amazon b/c it is a better price - you get 6 packages (everything is pretty much in bulk on amazon). I also use it for muffins and cookies and pancakes. The website for this mix has so many recipes, but I haven't tried most of them.

[Kibbie]

've found that I need to up the fat in recipes (even gluten free ones) to keep moisture levels somewhat normal If you can do dairy I suggest using whole Milk or buttermilk

[wacky~jackie]

Try this. It is great and soft(kinda crumbly, but not bad) My girls love it.

I have found that xanthan gum helps a recipe that is crumbly. For this recipe I would add 1/2 tsp. of xanthan gum in your dry ingredients. I don't use as much as most recipes call for because I think they turn out gummy if I use too much.

[Suzanne M.]

I have found the best Gluten-Free Cookbook. It is called Gluten-Free Baking Classics. The author is Annalise G. Roberts. The items in her book come out soooooo much better than the mixes. I don't buy any mixes anymore. Buy the book on line, you will be so glad you did. It is alot cheaper to use her recipes also. I have made french bread, sandwich bread and vanilla cupcakes. She has the science end of this all figured out.

[Guest GrimTribe]

I have just made a loaf of banana nut bread from Arrowhead mills Gluten Free All purpose mix.... it smelled sooo goood in the oven but when I tasted it.. it was soo dry. I am so disappointed... I know that the pre cut loaf bread is dry but I thought this would be a little better.. I followed the directions.. is it supose to taste this way. I mean I know it wouldn't taste like the "real thing".. my daughter wouldn't even eat it.. it's not horrible and it's edible but i have a feeling I will be the only one eating it. Any suggestions???

When Diva made breakfast bread, she combined all the dry stuff then all the wet stuff then mixed it as evenly as possible. Of course she's got cool mixing gear...

She used applesauce and only one egg. I also think she used olive oil, or maybe *real* butter.

Gotta ask her. She does the cooking, I just gain weight and despair