gluten-freelicious

Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread

Finally!  A bread that is not completely inedible or just “okay for gluten-free,” but actually tastes good in its own right.  Woohoo!  Gluten-Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix makes our favorite sandwich bread.

After trying several loaves of store-bought gluten-free cardboard…I mean, bread…I gave up.  I decided “gluten-free bread” was some sort of oxymoron, clearly not meant to be.  Reviewers of various breads suggested toasting or a good slathering in peanut butter.  We weren’t that desperate.  I mean, I could toast my shoe and paste it with peanut butter, too…but I’m not going to.

Surprisingly, we didn’t really miss bread…not too much, anyway.  We made ham and cheese rolls and lettuce wraps.  They were pretty tasty and easy to make.  We served hotdogs and hamburgers with all the condiments, minus the buns.  Peanut butter was reserved for apples, or a sneaky spoonful when no one was looking.  We battled the occasional craving for the likes of homemade hot ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches, but, all in all, we survived bread’s absence relatively pain-free.

As my son nears Kindergarten, however, I enter a heightened state of panic.  It stresses me out.  I mean, for one thing, one can only eat so many ham and cheese rolls.  At home, we add variety with gluten-free hot foods, like Annie’s mac and cheese or Bell and Evans chicken nuggets.  I’m guessing no one will offer to reheat my son’s lunches at public school…so what will he eat?  The boy needs to be able to eat a sandwich!  My husband tried to point out that our son won’t eat lunch in school until first grade, a good two years from now, but this point fell on deaf ears.  I was a mom on a mission, and we needed gluten-free bread, like, yesterday.

Unwilling to sample another store-bought loaf, I started researching bread machines.  My good friend sent me a link to a review of the Breadman Breadmaker on Karina’s Kitchen.  I immediately ordered it, and thus began my search for a gluten-freelicious bread mix.  (Surely you didn’t think I’d attempt to make bread completely from scratch?!)

Roaring Good Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Gluten-Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix is the best of the bread mixes we’ve tried to date.  I follow the directions on the package, using milk and butter, instead of water and oil.  The bread is a bit delicate when warm, but, oh so good!  (Most say wait until it cools to slice, but I say, “Slice carefully!”)  It’s dense, as most gluten-free breads are, and yet somehow light at the same time, with a mild buttery flavor.  It’s perfect for sandwiches.  When a friend stayed for lunch the other day, I used fresh Gluten-Free Pantry bread to make grilled cheese sandwiches for my boys and her two girls.  The kids scarfed them down within minutes, and our kids rarely make happy plates!  I was especially thrilled when my friend, whom I’ve never known to sugarcoat her opinion of food, said, “Mmm, this is really good!  It’s so fluffy!  It tastes like something out of a restaurant.”  Gluten-free grilled cheese in a restaurant?  If only.

I highly recommend this bread mix.  It even makes an excellent pizza crust!

Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Bread Mix, the latest trial in my quest to find gluten-freelicious bread, might just miss the mark for me.  However, to all of you who have mourned the loss of rye bread, this bread’s for you!  Cheers!

Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Bread

I followed the instructions on the bag for adding the ingredients to my Breadman Breadmaker (wincing a bit as I poured in the required teaspoon of Cider Vinegar), selected the gluten-free cycle with medium crust, and walked away.  A little over an hour later, we had a warm, fresh loaf of gluten-free bread.

Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain bread bakes to a rich medium brown hue.  The texture far surpasses that of any pre-made store-bought loaf we have tried.  It is soft and moist, even days later.  A thin slice, though dense and a bit flimsy, does not crumble at the slightest touch, as gluten-free breads so often do.  It does not need to be toasted.  The mix is full of sesame and sunflower seeds, giving it a hearty, tangible crunch.  The taste bears a strong resemblance to the intense, pungent flavor of rye bread.  This final quality could be it’s greatest triumph or downfall, depending on your tastes.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of rye bread, but I do love me a Reuben, and this bread would make a perfect Reuben sandwich…lightly toasted with corn beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and a dollop of Thousand Island dressing.  Mmmm…