For the holidays, we got my MIL a bread machineand an assortment of flours. She loves the breads I bake and it’s the same unit (and even cookbook) I use when machining it — we knew she’d be happy.
Guess who was just diagnosed with celiac disease? :smack:
That means no gluten for her. She loves bread, and is crestfallen enough with the diagnosis let alone the dietary restrictions. The tidy package we made up even included gluten to use as an additive
So poking around on the net, I see there are machines with gluten-free cycles. Are they required in a machine or can any basic cycle handle it?
I’d like to place an order this morning (they just arrived here last night and are leaving shortly, so perhaps this is a need-answers-fast kind of thing) for a different machine (if necessary) and a new set of ingredients.
Any recommendations as to the machine?
What ingredients should I get? Potato flour? Xanthan gum?
MrRancher can’t eat gluten, but luckily our Cuisinart bread machine (not sure the model but it’s stainless steel) has a gluten cycle. I buy the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Bread Mix and make that in the machine on the Gluten Free cycle. It actually tastes really good - especially when fresh. I find that most of the gluten free flour substitutes leave a funny aftertaste, but I really enjoy this bread. I think you do need the specific gluten free cycle, but I’m not 100% on that.
As a one to one flour substitute in baking, I use Better Batter (I’ve only ever found it on Amazon) and that’s pretty good. The aftertaste is least offensive in that one. The Bob’s Red Mill baking mix (flour substitute) to me is one of the worst, but he definitely got it right for the bread machine mix.
I used to fiddle around with using garbanzo bean flour and almond flour and xantham gum and arrowroot starch and all that jazz, but really it’s just easier to use Better Batter and be done with it.
Don’t worry that you got your MIL a terrible present - a breadmaker is actually MORE useful for someone with coeliac disease, because tasty gluten-free bread can be hard to find (and expensive). There are lots of readymade gluten-free bread flours you can buy; in the UK most supermarkets will sell them, but health food shops do too and there are tons of online sites.
The ‘sandwich’ setting works best for me because it makes lighter, cakier bread (but not sweet). The main problem with gluten-free bread is that it tends to be heavy, so it makes sense that lighter settings would help. Small loaves are better for the same reason.
I agree that a bread machine is great for someone with Celiac. I use Pamela’s Wheat Free and Gluten Free bread mix on a standard setting in a bread machine and it works great.
I’d suggest she try a few different mixes and find one she likes. Then she can order in bulk online (Amazon or other places) and get a better prices.
