halfrunner

Well, as far as the egg whites go, it is for 2 full size (ie normal loaf pan) loaves of bread. If you only make 1 loaf, it's only 4 egg whites, which is not much. Plus, you need the extra protein and volume to hold the loaf together without it turning into a hockey puck. As far as the salt, that is what DH decided was enough after numerous loaves, any less and he said it was tasteless. That is definitely one ingredient you can cut down some if you don't want to use that much. The "rule of thumb" I've stuck to where xanthan gum is concerned is 1 tsp. per cup of gluten-free flour. You can experiment as much as you like, but that is why I use the amount I do. Less changes the texture some. And again, that's still only 2 tsp. per loaf, which is usually divided over about 16 slices. YMMV, but it doesn't seem like an excessive amount.

There is a recipe for gluten-free challah in the book "Healthy Bread in five minutes a day" that I have used and had very good luck with. The recipe may also be on the "artisan bread in five minutes a day" website. If not, the book is hugely popular and in most libraries.

I couldn't buy it even if I was willing to pay $4.00 per box. It hasn't shown up anywhere near me. Anyway, here is the link to my version of the gluten-free bisquick thread. Use the regular recipes, not the gluten-free ones, as this version behaves just like the real bisquick and has the butter/shortening in it.

Mushroom risotto with a sauteed chicken breast and some sort of wilted greens is what I would do with it.

Here's my pumpkin bread recipe: 1 stick butter softened 2 eggs 2/3 c. sugar 3/4 c. canned pumpkin 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tbsp. yogurt 2 c. rice flour (or a 50/50 mix of buckwheat and rice flours) 1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spices (to taste) Cream sugar and butter, then beat in eggs. Stir in pumpkin and yogurt, then add dry ingredients. Pour into well greased 5x9 loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 min. or 300 degrees for 1.5 hours (it browns a bit less if you bake it lower and slower). Remove from pan and cool on wire rack until completely cool (if you can wait that long). Note: this is the same as my banana bread recipe. Substitute the banana for the pumpkin and use cinnamon and/or nutmeg in place of the pumpkin pie spices.

I'm starting to think that I'm a glutton for punishment. I was thinking about the mock udi's bread recipe that I came up with after toying with my german puffy pancake recipe. So I pulled out my gluten-free bread supplies and my recipe. Here's the latest version, which created more air holes than my previous version. When placed next to the real Udi's the air holes are very comparable in size, and the bread's texture is pretty close to the original. My version is a tad more dense/gummy than the original, but tastes pretty close. I'm about 1000 ft. above sea level. I used a 50/50 combination of rice flour and buckwheat. You can't tell that there is buckwheat in the bread, and I replaced a half a tablespoon of oil with one egg yolk in the second test batch just to see what happened. It didn't alter the texture any, but the loaf did get a tad bit more golden brown than the other batch. Revised Mock Udi's bread: 3 c. rice flour (or a combination of buckwheat and rice flour) 3/4 c. (potato, corn, or tapioca) starch 4 tsp. xanthan gum 4 tsp. salt 6 tsp. yeast 4 tbsp. oil 3 tbsp. sugar 4 tsp. baking powder 2 1/2 tsp. dough enhancer or vinegar approximately 3 c. water (divided into 1 and 2 cups) 8 egg whites 1 tsp cream of tartar First, let yeast dissolve with sugar and 1 cup of water, let sit while you whip the egg whites. Whip the egg white to stiff peaks, adding the cream of tartar as the egg whites begin to turn white. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients and add to the yeast mixture, oil, and about 1 1/2 cups of the remaining water. Stir well to combine, add in a bit more water as needed to make the dough soft enough to resemble cookie dough. Fold in egg whites a quarter at a time, gently folding until well combined, then adding more egg whites. Once all the egg whites are incorporated, gently scoop/"pour" batter into 2 well greased loaf pans. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden brown all over.

I totally know. I could buy tons of brown rice for dirt cheap and grind my own, too. I'm just too cheap to pay that much right now. Then again, I can get Bob's red mill brown rice flour without any trouble around here, so I just go with that.

Brown rice is really hard to get ground into a fine powder. I have already killed 2 coffee grinders trying to do so. I quit trying after that. I suppose if you want to spend like $130 or so for a grain mill, you could go to town without any fuss. But I have so far refused to cough up that much money just to grind my own flours.

My pans are 9x5.And I'm glad to help. Laura

Not really, other than grease it really, really well. Just start at the low end of the baking time and watch it like a hawk until the bottom of the loaves is evenly brown. That is how I can tell cakes etc. are done. Two pyrex baking pans that are "normal" size should not be any different other than browning speed.

I'm pretty biased, but I really like my version of Udi's bread. It's not an exact replica, but it makes really tasty french toast. DH likes it for sandwiches and it doesn't change texture as fast as regular gluten-free bread (it probably helps that we store it in the fridge). I don't know that any of us can exactly replicate Udi's. I suspect that there is something to the commercial process that we won't be able to match in a home kitchen.

I dug this thread up for somebody and read through it again. I noticed that I forgot to mention that when I use this, I use the regular bisquick recipes and maybe up the liquid a pinch. You'll probably end up with funky results if you use this mix in the gluten-free specific recipes, as mine already has shortening/butter/fat added.

I had a brainstorm today. Here's the tweaked recipe. DH raved, it seems less dense and more like normal homemade bread. It's pretty much the same recipe that I started with. 2 1/2 c. buckwheat flour 1 1/2 c. rice flour 1/2 c. starch (potato, tapioca or corn) 3/4 tsp. dough enhancer or vinegar 3 tsp. salt 3 tsp. xanthan gum 3 tbsp. sugar 3 tbsp. ground (or milled) flax seed 2 tbsp. yeast 2 beaten eggs 1/2 c. oil 2 1/2 - 3 c. water Here's the "tweak": add 3 tsp. baking powder I don't know why that popped into my head, but boy did it improve the bread texture. Combine all the dry ingredients in a stand mixer, mix well. Add oil, egg and 2 1/2 c. water (you will have to eyeball the rest) and beat for about 2 min. on low speed. The consistency should be like sugar cookie dough thickness. Divide into 2 (4x9x2.5 ie "standard") loaf pans (I used dark nonstick) and let rise in a warm place for 25-30 min. Heat oven, bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Bread should sound hollow when gently thumped. Immediately remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack for 3 hours or until completely cool. Note the change in rising time. With the baking powder, it only needed 25 min. to rise. It also shrunk about 1/4 of an inch during baking, but that's not a really big deal.

I spent a lot of time this weekend saying "thanks but hubby can't have that" in regards to leftover pizza, chicken, potatoes, etc. When my family says "I forgot" I tell them that I don't expect them to, that's my job. My family doesn't usually think to watch out for DH. If we go out to dinner, I call ahead and talk to the manager about menu options. DH's family also doesn't make any accommodation. I ask what the menu is and try to make the same items gluten free so DH does not stick out because he's eating different stuff. It would be nice if all the members of both families would quit trying to feed him stuff that isn't gluten free, but you can't change people who don't want to learn or change. DH's sister does try and make sure she uses gluten-free ingredients, which is more than I can say for everybody else. I agree with the other posters who say at least your family IS trying. It's a start.

A coffee grinder works very well, and you can find cheap ones.