Gluten Free Bread
When I was dating my wife, I spent a bunch of money on different kinds of gluten free flour, borrowed a bread machine, and spent a lot of time look for the best gluten free bread recipe. I made her a bunch of special bread loaves. All that was so I could make her some yummy gluten free bread. Also, to, ya know, impress her and show her that I cared. Little did I know, I was on a path to making the most delicious bread I’ve ever tasted — included bread with gluten!
She had gone so long without fresh bread, that it made her really happy — which made me happy =) However, making gluten free bread was almost as expensive and it was time consuming. I had to do weird things with the bread machine to make it work properly. And sometimes it just didn’t come out right. The bread at Whole Foods was pretty good. It was expensive and needed to be frozen, but it was really the best choice I could find, so eventually I gave up on making gluten free bread.
Flash forward 2-3 years…I was sick of how much we were paying for frozen bread. I had recently gotten a free trial of Amazon Prime and was buying a lot of other gluten free foods replacements like crackers, bread crumbs, bullion, pasta, and spagetti for much cheaper than what we could get at Whole Foods. (All the foods I’m linking to we’ve tried and really like. Also, if you decide to try some out, don’t forget to look for the subscribe and save option that many have. You can always cancel after the first order if you don’t like it.) Only one thing was left that we were still buying at Whole Foods — gluten free bread. It was pretty good, but because we were having to go to Whole Foods just for bread, we ended up getting other things and spending more than necessary.
Therefore, I decided to look into getting a gluten free bread machine and gluten free flour off of Amazon. I found a great, low cost bread machine. It is not specifically for gluten free breads, but I have no problem making gluten free bread in it. Almost all gluten free bread recipes take into account that your machine will probably not have a gluten free setting. The bread maker has a great, non-stick pan and it is really easy to use. It even has a nice window in the top where you can see the bread being made. My 2 year old little girl likes for me to hold her up to see into it when the bread maker first starts.
I also found what I wasn’t expecting — a relatively cost effective gluten free bread mix. So, instead of getting gluten free flours and using a recipe, I decided to save myself time and get a mix. It turns out that the mix is about as cheap per unit of weight as most flours! That first mix is really, really good, but this 2nd one we tried is divine. It is the best bread I’ve ever had and my wife thanks me frequently for finding and making it (I am the one that always makes the bread). It takes about 5 minutes to make the bread now that I’ve done it dozens of times and it runs on a regular bread cycle, so you don’t need to do any funny business like many others. It also comes out to cost about half as much as buying bread at Whole Foods. Note: With the 2nd mix you will need to buy yeast. I use this one. It works just fine. Let me know if you find a better bargain online.
Here is what the bread looks like when it comes out:
Yummy Gluten Free Bread
I made one of these loaves for a co-worker who had a daughter with celiac disease that hadn’t had fresh bread in a year. She said she loved it. It made me happy to make a little girl able to enjoy bread again after having crappy, dried out bread for a year.
One of the issues with making your own bread is storing it afterwards. At first, we used the plastic baggies you get in the produce isle at the grocery store, but that was unreliable and not incredibly effective. So, I searched for the best bread box and found one that is really good. It is large enough to fit the bulky breads that come out of a bread machine, it is easy to clean, and has adjustable air holes to let moisture in and out as needed. I basically leave them open for the first day and then close them after that.
Now, if we need more bread soon, I spend less time that it would take to go to the store by making less expensive, more tasty bread. Win, win, win!
Let me know if you’ve found a really good bread mix or a relatively easy gluten free bread recipe.
