Recipe Review - White Bread from 125 Best Gluten Free Recipes

Hello,

This is a review of the White Bread recipe from the 125 Best Gluten Free Recipe book by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. This bread is the best we have ever tried or tasted. When it first came out of the oven, it almost tasted like regular bread. It was soft on the inside and crusty on the outside. By the second day you could tell that it was made from rice flour, but it was still soft and good, especially with jelly. By day three it was still nice enough to enjoy as a sandwich. This is going to be the bread recipe that we make several times a week. It is wonderful. This review is based on the oven baked loaf. We are going to try the bread machine loaf this evening.

Note: The recipe you will find in the book lists both dairy and egg ingredients. We used DariFree powder (a potato based product) and Ener-G Egg Replacer instead. The recipe calls for 2 eggs and 2 egg whites. You must use 1 1/2 tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer per egg with 2 tbs. of water. The box states that if a recipe calls for egg yolks you should stir in 1 1/2 tsp and 1 tbs. of water for each egg. So, I used 2 tbs Egg Replacer and 6 tbs of water to replace the eggs in the recipe. The batter will seem wet, but the bread will be great.

Product Review / Company Review - Food for Life

Hello,

Another company that you may want to check out is Food for Life. They have various wheat free, wheat and gluten free, and yeast free breads that you may be able to eat. They also have rice tortillas and corn tortillas. This is also the company that makes the sprouted grain Ezekiel bread, but we have never tried any of these.

I am basing this review on the frozen version of the Food for Life Brown Rice Bread. You can find Food for Life bread in the allergy or gluten free freezer isle, the cereal isle or bread isle. It is excellent for making bread crumbs because you store it in the freezer until you need the crumbs. It is o.k. as jelly toast or jelly bread. It is not as good for sandwich bread, because its texture is somewhat like a bagel and it is pretty dry. We have only tried the bread from the freezer section, because that is all that was available when my daughter was first diagnosed with her allergies. I tried heating it slightly in the microwave or toasting it, but my daughter really didn't like it. If you are looking for a soft sandwich bread, this is really not it. Now to be honest, I haven't tried the more recent version which is on the shelf. It is possible that it will be softer and better for sandwich making. Also, if your child has problems with texture or only wants to eat soft things, this is a little harder to chew. You could try toasting it or putting it in the microwave for a few seconds.

So, basically at this point I use this bread for bread crumbs when I am making Roasted Stuffed Pork Tenderloin or any kind of meatballs.

Product Notification - Schar Pre-made GF Breads, Rolls, Pizza Crust, Bread Crumbs, etc.

Hello,

I am including a link for a wonderful company named Schar. They make pre-made gluten free breads, rolls, pizza crust, bread crumbs, etc. The items are pricey, but if you have ever tried to make gluten free anything and after an hour or two of work only came up with something that looked good but tasted dry, hard and basically awful, you will find these pre-made goodies a life saver. You may even find that you can serve them to your gluten eating friends.

http://www.schaer.com/en/gluten-free-products/bread/

Product Review - Schar GF Classic White Bread Mix

Hello,

We have had a hard time finding a gluten free bread that actually bakes well and tastes good. Currently my daughter's favorite bread mix is Schar Gluten Free Classic White Bread Mix. I agree, it is the best mix we have tried so far. All you need to add is lukewarm water, an acceptable oil, and salt. Everything else is provided for you. The bread is incredibly simple to make. It rises and bakes well, smells great and is a perfect texture for jelly bread or even sandwiches. You will need an air-tight container if you want the bread to stay soft for more than 2 days.

The only disadvantage to using this bread is the price. Wegman's sells it for $6.99 a box (and Amazon.com sells it in bulk for approximately $5.90 a box), and each box makes only 1 loaf which lasts for only 2-3 days. This is really too expensive for us to use as an everyday bread, but it is great if we need bread in a hurry or if we are going to be traveling and need something to take with us or to bake while on vacation. You need so few ingredients and it makes such little mess that it is a great bread for baking while on vacation or at a relative's home.

Relevant Links:

http://www.schaer.com/en/gluten-free-products/bread/

http://www.amazon.com/Schar-Naturally-Gluten-Free-Classic-19-Ounce/dp/B001FA1LF2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1275619464&sr=8-1

Recipe - Banana Bread

Hello,

This is a recipe for my Grandmother's Banana Bread. O.k., it used to be banana nut bread and I continued to call it that long after my sweet little girl was diagnosed with anaphylaxsis to nuts. She used to eat a slice of this every day for breakfast. Now at age ten her tastes have changed so I only make it occassionally for my other two sweeties. They have amazing metabolisms and can eat an entire loaf without even the slightest weight gain.

I will post the original recipe with my allergy substitutions.

Banana Bread

3 very ripe bananas (from spotted all the way to black and slimy)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted oil or butter (Fleischman's Unsalted Margarine, Corn oil, Spectrum Shortening)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg (beaten) (1 1/2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer + 2 tbsp. water)
1 1/2 cups flour (Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour)
1/2 - 1 tsp. Xanthan Gum


Put bananas into a bowl and mix or mash. Add other ingredients. Grease and flour bread pan. Turn mixture into bread pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 º F. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

NOTE: The picture above has 1 cup of chocolate chips added to the banana bread batter.