Buying Bread Vs. Bread Machine

[suziq0805]

I've recently gone gluten-free and am seeing how fast the $$ will add up with buying bread. I really like Udi's bread. But between my son and I a loaf doesn't last too long! Has anyone found a mix or recipe that tastes like Udi's frozen breads? Is it more economical to buy the frozen bread or invest in a bread maker and flours/mixes?

[Mizzo]

That is a much discussed debate. Can't wait to see the responses.

[anna34]

We purchased a breadmaker. I'm not sure that buying pre-packaged mixes would make it any cheaper. We buy the flours separately and store them in plastic containers. Then we make a flour mix and store it in a larger container so that we can use if for different recipes (bread, pancakes, waffles...).

We make one loaf every few weeks because we just aren't eating that much bread anymore. There are two of us in the house who are gluten-free. We've only been on the diet for about three months and I'm shocked that we don't crave bread.

One tip: We've found that an electric knife helps us to slice the bread without it crumbling and we can get thinner slices that way too.

Many of the breadmakers will have a gluten-free bread setting and include a list of ingredients. It took a bit of trial and error and different recipes before we found the one that we like in our bread machine. Happy baking!

[helper bee]

If I were you I would buy a kitchen Aid or other high end mixer. (gluten-free cooking can be easy when you have great tools (attachments: pasta maker, food grinder, ice cream maker...) Making gluten-free bread is different than making breads with gluten; gluten-free has a different consistence. I have both a bread maker and Kitchen Aid mixer. I have used the bread mixer only a few times, I use my Kitchen Aid mixer every day for breads and everything else I make.

[love2travel]

As I recall vividly how wonderful gluten bread tastes I still am having a difficult time with gluten-free bread. I almost always make my own; if not, I buy Udi's but they are $7.49 for one loaf. I made a huge beautiful bread yesterday that rose nice and tall with a good chewy crust. I do not known a bread maker so cannot help you on that front I am afraid. Another reason I make my own is just for the sheer pleasure I glean from baking.

[Mizzo]

  On 6/16/2011 at 7:10 PM, suziq0805 said:

I've recently gone gluten-free and am seeing how fast the $$ will add up with buying bread. I really like Udi's bread. But between my son and I a loaf doesn't last too long! Has anyone found a mix or recipe that tastes like Udi's frozen breads? Is it more economical to buy the frozen bread or invest in a bread maker and flours/mixes?

In the meantime shop around for the bread . I found a market that specializes in herbal medicine and natural foods that sells all Udi's including the hot dog and hamburg rolls and they have sales about every 2 months. Last month it was $4.25 a loaf. Try looking up all your local markets and call them.

[love2travel]

  On 6/17/2011 at 1:03 PM, helper bee said:

If I were you I would buy a kitchen Aid or other high end mixer. (gluten-free cooking can be easy when you have great tools (attachments: pasta maker, food grinder, ice cream maker...) Making gluten-free bread is different than making breads with gluten; gluten-free has a different consistence. I have both a bread maker and Kitchen Aid mixer. I have used the bread mixer only a few times, I use my Kitchen Aid mixer every day for breads and everything else I make.

I would be lost without my KA professional series mixer - it is heavy duty and does anything (except maybe the dishes). The attachments are wonderful, too - the ones used most at our house are the pasta attachments. It is helpful for cakes/cookies, too. It sits in its magestic splendor on the counter as it is used so regularly.

[IrishHeart]

  On 6/17/2011 at 3:12 PM, love2travel said:

As I recall vividly how wonderful gluten bread tastes I still am having a difficult time with gluten-free bread. I almost always make my own; if not, I buy Udi's but they are $7.49 for one loaf. I made a huge beautiful bread yesterday that rose nice and tall with a good chewy crust. I do not known a bread maker so cannot help you on that front I am afraid. Another reason I make my own is just for the sheer pleasure I glean from baking.

I know you are the right person to ask then! Our french bread loaf came out pretty well, rose high and had a nice crust. (we do not use a bread machine either ) Tastes good, HOWEVER, it is a teensy bit "gummy"....we tried less xanthan gum on the next attempt, but it still has that consistency...Hubby wonders if we should just bake it longer?? (as a professional gluten-free baker nearby has suggested)

better yet....Perhaps you would share YOUR recipe with me??

[sreese68]

My kids don't like store-bought gluten-free bread at all, so making it makes more sense to me. I thought about a bread maker, but I have a tiny kitchen and try to avoid appliances unless I get a lot of use out of them. Anyway, I decided it made more sense to just use my mixer since I can also use a mixer for cookies, crackers, cake, etc. Unfortunately, my not-very-old KitchenAid Artisan died about a week into all this! I bought a really nice Cuisinart 5.5 qt mixer which I love. It's light enough that my daughter and I can easily get it out and put it away without struggle, which is necessary since I don't have enough counter space. (The KitchenAid Pro is also a wonderful mixer, but it's too tall and heavy for my needs.) Bed, Bath, and Beyond has both models, and if you sign up for their email list, you get a 20% discount for the store - be sure to use it quickly as it will expire.

And my cheap (compared to a mixer!) tool that I love is King Arthur Flour's gluten-free loan pan: Open Original Shared Link I used it for the first time last week, and the bread looked amazing! (Everyone liked it. I can't eat it due to other food issues.)

[sa1937]

  On 6/20/2011 at 10:21 PM, sreese68 said:

My kids don't like store-bought gluten-free bread at all, so making it makes more sense to me. I thought about a bread maker, but I have a tiny kitchen and try to avoid appliances unless I get a lot of use out of them. Anyway, I decided it made more sense to just use my mixer since I can also use a mixer for cookies, crackers, cake, etc. Unfortunately, my not-very-old KitchenAid Artisan died about a week into all this! I bought a really nice Cuisinart 5.5 qt mixer which I love. It's light enough that my daughter and I can easily get it out and put it away without struggle, which is necessary since I don't have enough counter space. (The KitchenAid Pro is also a wonderful mixer, but it's too tall and heavy for my needs.) Bed, Bath, and Beyond has both models, and if you sign up for their email list, you get a 20% discount for the store - be sure to use it quickly as it will expire.

And my cheap (compared to a mixer!) tool that I love is King Arthur Flour's gluten-free loan pan: Open Original Shared Link I used it for the first time last week, and the bread looked amazing! (Everyone liked it. I can't eat it due to other food issues.)

Holy cow! So sorry to hear about your mixer...that is the same model I have. How old was it? I bought mine slightly over a year ago so I think it's out of warranty. So far, so good. I know a lot of recipes for gluten-free yeast breads, especially, call for mixing at a pretty high speed. I wonder if that's taxing the mixer too much. I've cut back the speed when I've made bread recently and it hasn't made any difference in quality (which is always variable anyway).

I do have that King Arthur bread pan...I like that it has 4" sides. Nice!!!

[sreese68]

  On 6/21/2011 at 12:04 AM, sa1937 said:

Holy cow! So sorry to hear about your mixer...that is the same model I have. How old was it? I bought mine slightly over a year ago so I think it's out of warranty. So far, so good. I know a lot of recipes for gluten-free yeast breads, especially, call for mixing at a pretty high speed. I wonder if that's taxing the mixer too much. I've cut back the speed when I've made bread recently and it hasn't made any difference in quality (which is always variable anyway).

I do have that King Arthur bread pan...I like that it has 4" sides. Nice!!!

It was about 5 years old and had very infrequent use. It had leaked some oil for a little while about a year ago, but the motor still worked and it held up through my husband's Christmas bake-a-thon (pre gluten-free diet) this last Christmas. It got shelved for a few months. I pulled it out again to cook gluten-free, and it didn't last long - motor went out! There isn't a repair place close to me, so it was going to cost a fortune to ship to KitchenAid, and they wouldn't tell me how much it would cost to even look at it! I wasn't impressed.

I know the KitchenAid Pro is stronger than the Artisan, but it's SO heavy and big! My daughter loves our Cuisinart (which is just as strong as the Pro) and since she can lift it, she's happy to make cookies and brownies for the family. Bread making is next for her, I think

[sa1937]

  On 6/21/2011 at 12:25 AM, sreese68 said:

It was about 5 years old and had very infrequent use. It had leaked some oil for a little while about a year ago, but the motor still worked and it held up through my husband's Christmas bake-a-thon (pre gluten-free diet) this last Christmas. It got shelved for a few months. I pulled it out again to cook gluten-free, and it didn't last long - motor went out! There isn't a repair place close to me, so it was going to cost a fortune to ship to KitchenAid, and they wouldn't tell me how much it would cost to even look at it! I wasn't impressed.

I know the KitchenAid Pro is stronger than the Artisan, but it's SO heavy and big! My daughter loves our Cuisinart (which is just as strong as the Pro) and since she can lift it, she's happy to make cookies and brownies for the family. Bread making is next for her, I think