Ok, I’m looking for some advice from those who are familiar with gluten-free baking. I need to make some sort of gluten-free dessert. I currently have a gluten-free bread mix. (this one) The ingredients seem to be mainly assorted non-wheat flours and starches, but there are a couple of things I don’t recognize. There is no yeast- the yeast comes with the mix, but in a separate packet. If I tried to use this as regular gluten-free flour in a cake recipe, would it end in disaster? What’s the difference between a gluten-free cake mix and a gluten-free bread mix?
You’d end up with a heavy chewy cake!
The mix you link to has xanthum gum which is used to replicate gluten - to help the bread be stretchy chewy; cake you want to be crumbly and soft. It also has soy lecithin and a whole lot of starches which you wouldn’t really want in a cake.
You might get away with it in some chewy brownies maybe?
I would research gluten-free recipes online first and then follow them.
I tried to do some gluten-free bread for Thanksgiving by simply subbing GF flour in for the regular stuff. It, uhhh… didn’t turn out so well. Without gluten the dough just didn’t hold together. It was like cake batter. So it’s not quite as easy as simple substitution.
Or else find a GF cake mix.
Thank you for the explanation!
Yes, I know, but I already have the bread mix, and I don’t have much use for it, so I was hoping it was more versatile than it looks. Alas, it seems like this would be a Bad Idea.
You might be able to make cinnamon rolls or monkey bread out of it.
The company that make that bread has a recipe for cinnamon rolls. It uses their flour instead of a bread mix, but it might give you some ideas:
Do you like gingerbread men? I haven’t tried it, but this recipe is winning attention through the gf blogosphere: http://pamelasproducts.com/gingerbread-house/
There are plenty of sweet treats that can be made with gluten free bread mix. I use Pamela’s mix more often then Bob’s Red Mill, but they’re essentially interchangeable. Pamela’s has some other great recipes on their website:
Gluten Free (Don’t Call 'Em) Pop Tarts: http://pamelasproducts.com/snack-tarts/
Mini Pecan Sweet Rolls: http://pamelasproducts.com/mini-pecan-sweet-rolls/
Similar cinnamon rolls: http://pamelasproducts.com/cinnamon-swirls/
Doughnuts!: http://pamelasproducts.com/chocolate-doughnuts/
My girlfriend has to eat gluten-free so I’m learning how to cook, and while some things work rather well (GF Bisquick is pretty amazing for biscuits, pancakes, etc., and several brands of GF cornbread are more than passable) I simply cannot make a loaf of bread using any mix I know of that makes decent sandwich bread. It always comes out like poundcake almost - is a decent sandwich a thing of the past?
My daughter’s favorite gluten free bread is Udi’s - not a mix, a made loaf generally in the freezer section. But we have at least one gluten free Doper (Dangerosa, maybe?) who thinks Udi’s is horrible, so obviously your girlfriend’s taste may vary.
For mixes, my favorite is Gluten Free Pantry. It has a hint of the “poundcake” thing going on, but not so bad as some. If you bake it in the larger 9X5 bread pan like they specify, it’s less poundcakey than in a smaller bread pan. It’s good the day it’s baked, okay the next day and kinda blergh after that.
ETA: Oh, and as much as I’d like to support the little guys, Betty Crocker gluten free cake mixes blow the others away. They make wonderful cupcakes that hold up to the freezer, so we can make a batch and save them for kids’ birthdays at school.
We’ve tried the only pre-made bread I’ve seen in the freezer section - not sure of the brand, but apparently it tastes about like cardboard. I suppose there’s no way to get a “light” sandwich-type bread without actual wheat flour. I’ve wondered if maybe more yeast would help when making a mix?
As to the Gluten Free Pantry - that’s what we’ve mostly tried. The cornbread is realllly good and I’ve tried that bread mix but I think that’s the one that came out cake-y. I did use a regulard bread pan to make it, so maybe your suggestion about a larger pan would help. Thanks for the input.
I like Pamela’s Products bread mix. But, like a lot of gluten free mixes, it’s shelf life is pretty short. I usually have two days of sandwiches and then do grilled cheese to add some moisture via the butter.
I have mixed this and then rolled spoons of dough in cinnamon and sugar and got a reasonable monkey bread like product.
Add me to that list. We have I think both Udi’s and Rudi’s around here, and the bread is just awful. It has no counter life at all. I think you have to eat it directly out of the oven. It’s $6 at least for a loaf half the regular size. Blech.
I would follow the recipe for pastry dough from the faux pop tart recipe listed above. Instead of cutting into rectangles, I’d plop that baby into a pie plate and filll with any pie filling I wanted instead of jam. But, if you’re heart is set on cake, here is a link for a pumpkin cake from the same website cited above, and it uses bread mix instead of cake mix:
http://pamelasproducts.com/pumpkin-cake/
If you don’t like the idea of pumpkin cake, I would make sure I used a substitution that would add moisture to the batter like pumpkin puree would (maybe apple sauce??) Then vary or nix the spices, add chocolate, etc…
I like Udis - I don’t like Bob’s Red Mill products - which tend to use bean flour which tastes bitter to me.
Honestly, the best GF desserts are those which never had gluten to start with and therefore aren’t some sort of lesser version of the real thing - ice cream. Fruit and cream (or fruit and chocolate - like poached pears in chocolate sauce). Flourless chocolate cake. Truffles. Fudge. Mousse. Creme Brulee. Puddings. For cookies - Macaroons, meragine and almond paste cookies. Crustless cheesecakes. (There is a GF graham cracker that makes a pretty good cheesecake/pie crust - and since the crust isn’t really “all that” in a cheesecake, works.) And for the truly lazy - rice krispy bars and “puppy chow.”
If you MUST do a cake, buy a GF cake mix - Betty Crockers is pretty readily available and pretty good. King Arthur makes one that I’ve heard is even better.
I use a local Australian bread mix, Laucke. It doesn’t come out cakey, but does have strong cardboardy tendencies. I don’t bother using it as bread, but it’s serviceable as toast.
My apologies for slighting your taste in gluten free bread. 
I can’t remember who it was then, but I’ve nearly had my head bitten off at least twice by some Doper who is, like, RABIDLY anti-Udi’s. It’s a little funny, actually.
And yes, that’s it exactly about Bob’s Red Mill. Bitter! I want to like their stuff, I really do. I’m a great fan of the owner’s business practices and would love to support them. But their stuff is way too expensive for something I don’t quite like the taste of.
No problem I have a lot of GF girlfriends and one of the things I’ve learned is that tastes vary. As does the level of tolerance - many of us won’t bother to read a soup can for instance - but some of us will get ill from the merest taint of gluten.
I have a girlfriend who suspects that Udi’s whips cellulose to get the bread like consistency.
Have you done the orgran pasta - which is about as like Cremette as you can get? I hate corn and rice pastas for the most part. (When I ate gluten I wasn’t a whole wheat pasta girl - bleached white flour for me). No food value (in either the orgran or white pasta), but when you want spaghetti…
I’ll buy Bob’s Red Mill flours - like their corn meal or tapioca flour. But not their mixes. So I still feel good about supporting them once in a while.
And I really don’t feel bad about supporting General Mills buying Betty Crocker or Bisquik in GF versions. I figure if anyone is going to make it easy to run into the grocery store and be able to buy this off the shelf, its a big company that can get shelf space. The products are good, and them getting into the market has made life a lot easier.
I’ve not seen that one around here, but I will keep my eyes open. My daughter is far enough removed from wheat pasta now that she’s pretty happy with Scharand Ancient Harvest, but I’m not entirely pleased with them on her behalf.
Does Orgran have that millisecond of “done” between “crunchy” and “disintegrate” feature? What I wouldn’t give for a more forgiving gluten free pasta!
Ooh, have you noticed that Progresso is now putting out some gluten free soups that don’t cost any more than their regular ones? Including…wait for it…cream of mushroom! happy dance Now I get to subject her to good old fashioned casseroles without making my own cream of glop! Mwahahahahaaaaa!
Plus, she just likes it as soup. Sometimes a Mama appreciates a quick lunch.
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!
Since she became gluten free when she was 3, it’s been a nearly lifelong quest for her to find a gluten free Goldfish Cracker analogue. We’ve come close with a couple of bagged/boxed products, but close is not a Goldfish when you’re eating a snack at school. I get it.
I finally found a gluten free Goldfish recipe, with a link to a fishy shaped cutter! Guess who’s getting gluten free Goldfish Crackers for Christmas?! happy dance, part deux