The problem with gluten-free bread
March 22, 2007 by Renee
In wheat flour, the gluten in a bread mix becomes stretchy, which is great for rising - it allows the yeast makes a fluffy texture. Without gluten, it is inevitable that the bread will be heavier, however that doesn’t mean it has to be rock hard.
I’m currently working on two bread recipes - one is yeast-free, using baking soda and baking powder to rise, and has a more cakish texture, and the other one is a yeast bread, which is a bit trickier to convince to rise, but has a better “bready” texture.
A lot of commercial gluten-free breads are pretty rubbery due to lots of cornstarch and gums, rarely toast well, and are ridiculously expensive. So my goal is to avoid the rubber texture, make a cheaper bread, with an easy recipe… It does take 3-4 different types of flour to make bread the way I’m doing it now (part of that is about a need for starchiness, and also keeping the fibre/healthfulness up at the same time with richer, less-starchy flours), but I’ve cut out gums and reduced the oil.
I’ll make a couple more test loaves before I post the recipes-in-progress here. I do intent to post updated versions as I improve them later on as well, and/or as I get advice from other bakers out there, too.
Would it be easier to cut bread out of one’s diet? Sure… but then what would I have my baked beans on? My scrambled tofu? I also need toast to spread avocado on, then top with garlic mushrooms… and sandwiches and burgers, and dough for pizzas - bread is useful stuff! I don’t expect gluten-free bread to ever be the same as wheat bread, and that’s okay. I’ve always preferred heavier bread, so gluten-free bread isn’t such a big change for me… If I love bread so much, then why don’t I just fork out for the commercially-produced, expensive, rubbery stuff? Because I’m convinced I can do better - with texture, taste, and healthfulness - and I already have.
Stay tuned… they’re coming! I will post some cakes, biscuits, and other bakable treats, too, and some other gluten-free non-baked meals I like.
I’m really looking forward to these recipes.
I’m really looking forward to the final result of all the recipe tweaking! Maybe a few months away… hopefully not over a year… ha.
Hi there! I was really interested to see your blog because I also blog mostly vegetarian (sometimes vegan) and 100% gluten free. I was wondering if you’ve tried Bette Hagman cookbooks, or perhaps Carol Fenster? Bette Hagman’s bread etc. recipes tend to turn out really well when converted to vegan- just substitute almond, soy, or rice milk (I prefer soy but some have allergies) and use egg replacer for the egg. The texture of her four flour bean mix makes for an incredible bread, I think. Some people really like Carol Fenster but I’m more of a BH fan- CF does directly address allergies (which can be a very vegan friendly approach). I was vegan for a few years and had good luck converting my Bette Hagman recipes to vegan. (My favorite book is her The Gluten free Gourmet Bakes Bread- the baked good recipes in her other books are good too but her “meal” recipes are, um, “interesting” and not really suited for a vegetarian palate, for the most part.” Just an idea. But I think it’s fantastic you’re experimenting with your own vegan GF bread recipes! I’ll definitely be back.
-Sea
PS I’m really excited to see your savory, international recipes- they’re just the kind of thing I love!
Thanks, Sea. I haven’t tried those cookbooks. I have tried to convert some recipes containing egg, however they never work out with replacers… and I don’t like using milk in bread recipes. There’s plenty of goodness in my breads already and it’s unnecessary extra calories…! I’m kind of fussy like that. My recent breads have been turning out very well, so I’ve stopped fiddling quantities. I’ll have to post my final recipes.