Homemade Gluten Free Bread

[sa1937]

I've been struggling to make a really good gluten free sandwich bread (from scratch). I have made the one that mushroom posted under the buying a stand mixer thread for French Bread, which is yummy . I did buy a KitchenAid stand mixer but do not have a bread machine so am not looking for bread machine recipes. Thus far my other efforts have fallen way short of expectations. Prior to being diagnosed with celiac in April, my favorite bread was always whole wheat.

Yesterday I broke down and bought a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix. Open Original Shared Link This has come the closest to what I have in mind. I couldn't believe how much it rose and I had my first "real" sandwich since going gluten free. I never ate that many sandwiches in the past but was sure craving one now (after two months gluten free).

I noticed it does contain some bean flours but it doesn't taste "beany" to me. But then I've always liked beans. Ingredients: stone ground garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, corn starch, sweet white sorghum flour, tapioca flour, evaporated cane juice, fava bean flour, xanthan gum, active dry yeast, potato flour, sea salt (magnesium carbonate as flowing agent), guar gum, soy lecithin.

So what are your secrets for making a good bread? Are bean flours important to give bread structure? Does it work better to use milk instead of water? I used Lactaid milk since I think I'm lactose intolerant. I'm trying to figure out how this one turned out so well when mine have never risen this much and I ended up making toast instead of sandwiches.

Will look forward to your suggestions and recipes (or links to recipes or suggestions for cookbooks for bread). I have quite a selection of gluten free flours on hand already.

[Mack the Knife]

I like my bread to be very wholemeal like and dense. So I use chickpea flour a lot. I made a loaf a few days ago that used buckwheat, amaranth and brown rice flour. It tasted very similar to the 100% rye bread I used to love.

I always add stuff like milk powder, buttermilk powder, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, almond meal, LSA, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. This boosts the nutritional content of the bread and gives it better taste and texture.

If you use molasses as a sweetener instead of honey it makes the bread darker and more wholemeal tasting. Brown sugar helps make the bread chewier.

You could try adding herbs liked chopped Rosemary. I haven't tried this yet but it's on my list.

[sa1937]

I like my bread to be very wholemeal like and dense. So I use chickpea flour a lot. I made a loaf a few days ago that used buckwheat, amaranth and brown rice flour. It tasted very similar to the 100% rye bread I used to love.

I always add stuff like milk powder, buttermilk powder, flaxseeds, flaxseed meal, almond meal, LSA, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. This boosts the nutritional content of the bread and gives it better taste and texture.

If you use molasses as a sweetener instead of honey it makes the bread darker and more wholemeal tasting. Brown sugar helps make the bread chewier.

You could try adding herbs liked chopped Rosemary. I haven't tried this yet but it's on my list.

Mack, your bread sounds wonderful...whole grain is what I had in mind. If I could get Udi's here, I'd probably buy a loaf to see how it taste since everyone seems to rave about it. But since I made an investment in a good KitchenAid stand mixer, I'm determined to make my own bread from scratch. I'm trying to stay away from mixes but the Bob's Red Mill mix I made this weekend has come closest to my expectations so far.

I love seeds added to bread. I have no idea why I've had such poor results thus far in making bread. While the breads recipes I've tried generally have a decent flavor (good but not great), I have a long ways to go to make one that'll knock my socks off...especially to get them to rise like I think they should.

Do you have any particular recipe you've had success with that you could post or a cookbook that contains recipes for such a bread? I only have one baking cookbook right now by Elizabeth Barbone but am ready to order another one or two. I know I'm still pretty inexperienced baking gluten free breads.

[RiceGuy]

Funny you should ask for whole grain bread recipes. That's one thing I've been working on for a long time. Yes, bean flours can add structure and flavor, and can also help with browning. Some others do too. I just posted about achieving a better bread, here:

[sa1937]

Funny you should ask for whole grain bread recipes. That's one thing I've been working on for a long time. Yes, bean flours can add structure and flavor, and can also help with browning. Some others do too. I just posted about achieving a better bread, here: http://www.celiac.co...en-free-baking/

Thanks for the link, RiceGuy! It's a really interesting topic I'm following so needless to say, I'll look forward to hearing about your future experiments and hopefully I'll find a recipe that works well and tastes great!!!

[Mack the Knife]

I'll find some recipes and post them.

Also, a lot of gluten free recipes call for milk powder. If you are lactose intolerant you can always substitute almond meal on a 1:1 ratio. It works just fine.