The Gluten-Free Homemaker

A few months ago I bought a bread machine. While reading “Gluten-Free Living” magazine I realized that I had not kept up with changes in the world of gluten-free bread. There was an article on bread machines explaining how many even have a gluten-free setting. I ended up with a Breadman machine and have been very happy. I prefer making things from scratch rather than using mixes, but so far I haven’t found a recipe that comes close to Pamela's wheat-free bread mix (the package also states that it is gluten-free).

It must be Murphy’s Law that you can make something a dozen times and it turns out great, but when it really counts, it’s not up to par. I suppose some Olympians are feeling that way too. So keep in mind as you look at this picture, that this is the worst loaf I’ve made, and still it looks and tastes good. What sets it apart from the recipes I have tried is that it stays soft for days! It could be the sweet rice flour in it. Some time I will get around to experimenting and will let you know the results.

I have a few suggestions for using this bread mix.

(1) Add about ½ teaspoon extra of instant yeast

(2) Stay near the machine (it also has directions for mixing by hand) for the mixing part and occasionally use a spatula to scrape the sides and corners.

(3) As soon as mixing stops and rise starts, remove the paddle. This isn’t necessary, but I prefer not having the hole in the middle. I use a pair of tongs to do this. It is a bit messy and you lose a little bit of dough, but try to put as much of it back in as you can and then smooth the top.

(4) As soon as it is done set the machine to bake only for another 10 minutes. You can also program the machine to use a longer bake, I just haven’t done this yet.

If you have found any recipes that stay soft for a couple of days, I’d love to hear about it.

Labels: gluten-free diet

# posted by Linda @ 8/20/2008