Better Than....Bread!!

It's not often that you run into a gluten free bread that TASTES like bread, not like crumbled mess of rice or flour of choice.  It's not an easy process to mimic the elasticity of gluten in a "normal" loaf of bread made with the "traditional" wheat.  It is something that I didn't realize that I would miss when I had to go gluten free; I assumed that there were products out there that would suit my needs and help me life the life I was used to living.  It never occurred to me just HOW different my food was going to be.

I managed to create my own loaf in my breadmaker at home, but it's not perfect.  Close, and it's less expensive that those in the stores...but still not quite perfect.  Then, back in early September, we attended the Gluten Free Allergen Free Expo in Dallas, TX.  I still smile thinking about that time spent in that huge ballroom, wandering booth to booth with no worries that I was going to get sick from eating something that was offered to me.  One booth in particular has stuck in my memory, as I was given a sample of the MOST AMAZING bread I have eaten.  Even hubby said that the bread was wonderful, and he's not GF. 

The booth was for a small company called Local Oven.  What is more astounding than the absolutely heavenly flavor of their breads is that they have so many different varieties of bread products--such as baguettes, dinner rolls, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, biscotti, pita pockets and bread brumbs.  Plus they are hinting at a new tortilla that they are going to be introducing that is pliable and can hold up to a wrap!! What I was so excited to see this morning was the "leak" on their Facebook page that they will be entering the grocery scene soon in the freezer section! :-) I can't wait to see what they will be putting in the stores...yum!

So if you are missing bread, I do suggest that you give them a try.  I'm not promoting them because I am paid or asked to...I am doing it because I truly believe in their product and I want everyone to try them!!  You won't regret it--and you will be supporting a small busines, too!!  Sign up for their newsletter, "like" them on Facebook, and enjoy an absolutely heavenly taste of bread.  :)

Happy eating!

Tales of a First Time Bread Machine User

Before going gluten-free, I must admit I was not much of a bread fan.  But as soon as I knew I couldn't have it anymore, I craved it constantly.  For the first month, I didn't touch bread, attempt to make it, or make any cakes/cookies/cupcakes.  Oh, I wanted them--looked at recipes, dreamed, and even went into a cupcake bakery to see if they carried gluten-free cupcakes (nope, they didn't...but I got Z a  mini cupcake since we were there, and he REALLY liked it!).

I decided to attempt a loaf of bread in my oven from a mix to see how it would turn out (and see if I was going to be able to enjoy gluten-free bread in the first place).  I was pleasantly surprised! I didn't eat it fast enough, tho, so it went bad before I could finish it.  Mostly because the GF breads are more moist, I found that they will mold faster when kept in a sealed bag and not eaten quickly.  Other differences that I found is that the bread is more dense and taste a bit eggy, but not unplesantly.  It has taken a bit of an adjustment, rewiring of my tastebud's expectations, but I really do like the GF bread.  And now, so does hubby!

Yesterday I decided that I needed to attempt my first loaf of bread in my bread machine--something that I purchased as soon as I went GF.  I had no idea what I needed in a bread machine, so I scoured Amazon.com and read all the reviews on all the different machines, finally settling on this one.  Why?  Because someone said that they had made GF bread in it and it had turned out great.  That's all it took, and the low price helped, too!*

So finally I started the process of making my own loaf of bread.  There are a TON of different recipes for GF bread flour mixes, but the one that I found that worked for me is this one (and I linked to where you can find it on amazon):
Bread Flour mix:
1 c. millet flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/2 c.potato starch (NOT flour)
1/2 c. tapioca flour (also known as tapioca starch)

This makes three cups of mix, which translates to an average 1.5 lb loaf of bread (at least in my machine it did).

To make a loaf of white bread, I followed this recipe:
White Bread Loaf for bread machine:
1 1/4 c. 2% milk (room temperature)
1/4 c. grapeseed oil (or canola, depends on your taste)
2 large eggs (room temperature)
3 c. bread flour mixture
2 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
3 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. active dry yeast

Wisk together the milk, oil, and eggs until it is frothy.  Pour into the bread pan.  Wisk together the bread flour mix, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt until well blended. Pour on top of the wet ingredients, but do not mix--pat the flour mix to the edges so the wet ingredients are covered.  Maxe a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients (but NOT all the way to the wet ingredients) and carefully pour the yeast into the well.  The yeast may NOT come in contact with the wet ingredients. Then close the lid of your machine, set the timer for 1.5 loaf and whatever crust color you prefer (I had medium), and let it go!  Here's how mine turned out!

SO GOOD!!  Hope yours turns out as wonderfully as mine did! Enjoy!

*These are my opinions, and I am not paid to tell you these things.  Just sharing my experiences with these different products!