Honestly, this rice bread gluten question popped into my head yesterday while staring at my empty bread box. Felt like trying something new, you know? Grabbed my notebook – this one’s got flour stains all over it, lol – and scribbled “IS RICE BREAD GLUTEN FREE??” right on top. Figured the only way to really know was to make it myself, start to finish.
Diving Into The Cupboards First
Rummaged through the pantry looking for stuff. Found my bag of plain white rice flour – flipped it over quick to check the ingredient list. Just rice flour. Good. Pulled out baking powder (checked that too, gotta be careful), salt, some white sugar, eggs, and a bottle of vegetable oil sitting in the corner. Also snagged my rice milk from the fridge. Everything looked safe. Felt kinda proud I actually had all this at home.
Getting My Hands Dirty (Literally)
Whipped out my big mixing bowl. Measured out:
- 2 cups of that rice flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- A little less than 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Whisked it all up real good right in the bowl. Made a well in the middle and cracked in 2 eggs. Poured in about 1 cup of rice milk and a decent glug of oil. Started stirring. Man, this dough was sticky! Way stickier than my usual wheat bread dough. Used a spatula first, then gave up and just dove in with my hands. Felt weird and kinda wet. Scraped it all into my loaf pan – needed some oil spray so it wouldn’t glue itself to the pan. Messy business.
The Waiting Game (And That Smell!)
Shoved the pan into the oven at 350 degrees F. Set the timer for like 55 minutes, hoping it would be enough. Kicked back. About half an hour later, this amazing smell started drifting out – sweet and kinda nutty? Totally different from regular bread baking. Poked my head in a few times. Saw it puffing up nicely, getting golden brown on top. Timer dinged, pulled it out. Looked done, felt firm when I tapped the top. Let it cool down in the pan for maybe 10 minutes before turning it out onto a rack. Hardest part was waiting for it to cool completely!
The All-Important Taste Test
Finally sliced into it. Crumb was a bit denser than my wheat loaves, and the crust was softer. Took a bite… not bad! Texture was a touch gummy, kinda like mochi almost? Mildly sweet. Definitely needed some butter and jam. Good enough to eat, though!
SO, THE BIG ANSWER: Is rice bread gluten free? Absolutely, 100% YES – if you make it like I did using only rice flour and double-check everything else like baking powder and milk are safe. No wheat, rye, barley, nothing sneaky in sight. Key is reading every single ingredient label and using clean stuff. That sticky dough mess was totally worth knowing I baked something safe and gluten-free myself. Next time, maybe I’ll experiment with adding some seeds! #RiceBreadAdventure