Okay, so I finally did it. After weeks of reading, watching videos, and generally psyching myself out, I baked gluten-free bread in a bread maker. Let me tell you, it was a journey.
First, I had to buy the ingredients. This was surprisingly the hardest part. Finding a good gluten-free flour blend that wasn’t ridiculously expensive was a mission. I ended up grabbing Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Heard good things, and it was on sale. Score!
Next up, the recipe. I tried like three different recipes online before settling on one that seemed simple enough. It called for gluten-free flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil, water, and an egg. Pretty standard bread stuff, right?
So, I dumped everything into the bread maker according to the recipe. Water first, then the flour, sugar, salt, oil, egg, and finally the yeast. I’ve heard that order matters to keep the yeast away from the salt at first.
Then, I selected the gluten-free setting on my bread maker. Yep, I’m fancy like that. I’ve got a bread maker with a gluten-free setting. I pressed start and then just listened to the machine do its thing.
Now, here’s where things got a little dicey. About halfway through the bake, I noticed the dough wasn’t really rising. It was just kind of…sitting there. Panic started to set in. I considered opening the lid, but everyone online says that’s a big no-no. So, I just waited, anxiously peering through the little window on top.
Finally, the bread maker beeped. It was done! I nervously opened the lid and…it looked like bread! A little dense, maybe, but definitely bread-shaped. I carefully took it out and let it cool on a wire rack.
After what felt like an eternity, it was cool enough to slice. I grabbed my bread knife and sliced into it. It was a little crumbly, but not as bad as I expected. I toasted a slice, slathered it with butter, and took a bite.
Not gonna lie, it was pretty good! It tasted like…bread. Maybe a little bit like rice flour (which is in the blend), but definitely edible. I wouldn’t say it’s the best bread I’ve ever had, but it’s definitely the best gluten-free bread I’ve ever made. And that’s a win in my book!
So, yeah, that was my gluten-free bread maker adventure. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a success. I think next time I’ll try adding a little bit of xanthan gum to see if that helps with the texture. But overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. And now I have bread. Gluten-free bread. Made by me. In a bread maker. Life is good.
- Buy good gluten-free flour.
- Find a simple recipe.
- Follow the instructions carefully.
- Don’t panic if it doesn’t rise perfectly.
- Enjoy your bread!