Tips & Tricks to Make GF Bread - Eating Gluten Free (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good gluten-free bread? ›

However, these alternative flours do not have the same properties as wheat flour, which can make baking gluten-free bread a challenge. One of the main challenges in making gluten-free bread is achieving the same texture and rise as traditional wheat bread.

Oat Flour. With its creamy, earthy flavor and delicate texture, gluten-free oat flour is a staple of my gluten-free baking recipes. It bakes up soft and smooth, adding necessary starch to many GF baked goods and keeping them moist and tender due to its high fat content and stable protein structure.

Eggs are natural leaveners that help boost the rise and volume of bread. Eggs also add moisture, flavor, and protein to gluten-free bread recipes. If you select a gluten-free bread recipe that includes eggs, you have a better chance that the resulting bread will have good color, more volume, and softer texture.

Apple Cider Vinegar – Superpower your Gluten-Free Kitchen! Apple cider vinegar is often used in baking, but why? It is a great leavening agent, but it also has powerful flavour enhancing properties. I find it adds the perfect amount of depth of flavour, and helps activate baking soda creating a lovely airy texture.

What type of yeast should be used to bake Gluten Free Bread? Active dry yeast and instant yeast both work well and are often interchangeable. Be on the lookout for any Rapid Rise yeast that is best for one rise. For most of us that's the way gluten free bread is baked, a single rise in the tin.

Use xanthan gum or guar gum: Gluten-free flours lack the elasticity and structure that gluten provides, so adding a binder like xanthan or guar gum can help to hold the ingredients together and give your baked goods a better texture.

Buckwheat flour: easy and versatile

Though the name might be misleading, buckwheat flour is not derived from wheat and it doesn't contain any gluten. Buckwheat flour has a rich, earthy flavour that works well in quick breads and yeast bread.

Brown rice flour is about as close to a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour as it gets since it provides structure and a “wheat-like” flavor.

Inadequate mixing: Consider using a stand mixer if you're finding the loaves to be denser than you like. It's certainly possible to get good results by mixing with a spoon or dough whisk, but you really have to work at it, to get a completely smooth mixture, and some of our readers are giving up too soon.

Does baking soda help gluten-free bread rise? ›

Texture and Rise: Gluten-free baking often requires a bit of finesse to achieve the desired rise and texture. Baking soda's reaction with an acid can help achieve that necessary lift, while baking powder provides an extra boost when the batter or dough is exposed to heat.

Gluten-free bread lets you enjoy bread without the risk of causing harm to your intestines. And when you swap out white flour for a gluten-free alternative, it might make your bread healthier in certain ways. Other flours often have nutrients you wouldn't get with white flour.

Use xanthan gum or guar gum: Gluten-free flours lack the elasticity and structure that gluten provides, so adding a binder like xanthan or guar gum can help to hold the ingredients together and give your baked goods a better texture.

Xanthan gum: Critical in gluten-free baking, xanthan gum holds ingredients together, providing elasticity and springiness. Like baking soda or baking powder, you need only a little to make a big difference.

The three most commonly used binders in gluten free recipes are xanthan gum, guar gum and psyllium husk. You don't need to understand the science of these ingredients to use them but a little bit of knowledge will help you when making decisions in the kitchen and lead to the excellent results you want.