Buying A Stand Mixer

[mushroom]

It's almost 8 p.m. I don't want to dirty up my clean kitchen tonight. lol

Geez, 8:00 p.m. I keep forgetting about the EDT people. I am just thinking about what to have for lunch

[sa1937]

Geez, 8:00 p.m. I keep forgetting about the EDT people. I am just thinking about what to have for lunch

Good thing I didn't start anything as my daughter from Denver called and is surviving finals week in grad school. After the brick I baked the other day , I wouldn't want to screw up another recipe.

[sa1937]

Mushroom, your French Bread is da bomb!!! I can't believe how incredibly good it is. I already ate more than I care to confess. I never ate that much bread before Celiac but this is the absolute best gluten free bread I've tried yet!!! And I love my new mixer as it makes it so much easier. I do remember years ago when I made bread that it took awhile to get in the swing of it and gluten free bread baking is quite different than using regular flour.

I do have a few questions:

It didn't rise quite as much as I expected but then I don't think I got the yeast as well desolved as I should have...maybe a small whisk would have helped?

I had a hard time smoothing the loaves after I shaped them the best I could. I tried my buttery fingers and am wondering if it would be easier if I had just wet my hands??? I think I need to buy French bread or baguette pans.

The bread browned a bit more than I thought so have you ever started it in a 400

[mushroom]

Mushroom, your French Bread is da bomb!!! I can't believe how incredibly good it is. I already ate more than I care to confess. I never ate that much bread before Celiac but this is the absolute best gluten free bread I've tried yet!!! And I love my new mixer as it makes it so much easier. I do remember years ago when I made bread that it took awhile to get in the swing of it and gluten free bread baking is quite different than using regular flour.

I do have a few questions:

It didn't rise quite as much as I expected but then I don't think I got the yeast as well desolved as I should have...maybe a small whisk would have helped?

I had a hard time smoothing the loaves after I shaped them the best I could. I tried my buttery fingers and am wondering if it would be easier if I had just wet my hands??? I think I need to buy French bread or baguette pans.

The bread browned a bit more than I thought so have you ever started it in a 400° oven and then turned it down a bit to bake? Or maybe I should have raised up the oven shelf a notch.

Would the bread also make two loaves if I used 9x5x3" bread pans instead of trying to do French bread loves on a jelly roll pan (I used greased parchment paper dusted with cornmeal).

Again, thanks for the recipe!!! It's a real winner!

The temperature of the water can be quite critical for the yeast. It really needs to "poof" up quite a lot from feeding on the warm sugar water. I have an instant read thermometer that I check the water temp with - all this new equipment we need. If your yeast doesn't do this, start again. You shouldn't need to whisk it in. Most gluten free breads do not rise as much as their gluten cousins (except for the last batch I told you about), but they do need to rise in a warmer place, which is why I suggested a pre-warmed oven.

For smoothing the top (admittedly difficult) use a wet spatula (you know, the flexible knife kind of spatula, not the egg slice kind - had an argument with my U.S. husband about what a "spatula" was )

I have never had a problem with overbrowning. You could maybe try a smidge lower temp next time. Did it overbake? If it didn't overbake you could just put some foil over it (or was it the bottom that overbrowned?)

As for other pans, just experiment and see what works.

Glad you like it, and your new mixer

[sa1937]

The temperature of the water can be quite critical for the yeast. It really needs to "poof" up quite a lot from feeding on the warm sugar water. I have an instant read thermometer that I check the water temp with - all this new equipment we need. If your yeast doesn't do this, start again. You shouldn't need to whisk it in. Most gluten free breads do not rise as much as their gluten cousins (except for the last batch I told you about), but they do need to rise in a warmer place, which is why I suggested a pre-warmed oven.

For smoothing the top (admittedly difficult) use a wet spatula (you know, the flexible knife kind of spatula, not the egg slice kind - had an argument with my U.S. husband about what a "spatula" was )

I have never had a problem with overbrowning. You could maybe try a smidge lower temp next time. Did it overbake? If it didn't overbake you could just put some foil over it (or was it the bottom that overbrowned?)

As for other pans, just experiment and see what works.

Glad you like it, and your new mixer

Thanks for the clarification! Maybe the water wasn't warm enough...I do have an instant read thermometer so will use it next time. Yes, we need our new toys...ain't it fun! I did turn on the oven briefly to warm it before putting the bread in to rise.

Hmmm...spatula. Do you mean the rubber scraper/silicone type? Or the kind we'd use to ice a cake?

I also used a dark colored jelly roll pan to bake the bread in. Maybe I should switch to a light colored aluminum cookie sheet (keeping the parchment like I used this time). And possibly turn down the oven if it looks like it's browning too much. I did test my oven with an oven thermometer a couple of weeks ago to make sure it's correct.

This was my first experiment (not counting the brick I baked this weekend before my KitchenAid mixer) But the bread was soooo good!!! So I was pleased with my first attempt.

[mushroom]

the kind we'd use to ice a cake?Yes, that kind.

I also used a dark colored jelly roll pan to bake the bread in. I have read that the dark (black) nonstick pans get too hot for gluten free. There is a grey color that works well. Also, this bread works well in one regular loaf tin

[sa1937]

Thank you, mushroom!!!