Anybody Else Missing "Real" Bread?

[SJR]

Anybody missing real bread? Or am I the only one? I am a big bread eater...and am missing it big time!

This is only day 5 being gluten free and I have baked all sorts of breads, and they all taste...well...gluten free I really don't know how to describe that taste...but it is not very yummy!

Anybody have a really yummy bread recipe? I am desperate!!!

~S

[Janessa]

stop eating bread, then try again in a month or two it will taste better. I like Pamelas bread mix for regular bread and chebe for rolls. Chebe has a nice crunchy outside chewy inside texture that other gluten free breads don't have, but let it cool a little it can be gummy inside when it is hot.

[Wolicki]

Anybody missing real bread? Or am I the only one? I am a big bread eater...and am missing it big time!

This is only day 5 being gluten free and I have baked all sorts of breads, and they all taste...well...gluten free I really don't know how to describe that taste...but it is not very yummy!

Anybody have a really yummy bread recipe? I am desperate!!!

~S

Have you tried Udi's gluten free bread? It is very good!

[missy'smom]

Anybody missing real bread? Or am I the only one? I am a big bread eater...and am missing it big time!

This is only day 5 being gluten free and I have baked all sorts of breads, and they all taste...well...gluten free I really don't know how to describe that taste...but it is not very yummy!

Anybody have a really yummy bread recipe? I am desperate!!!

~S

I can't help with the bread. Sorry. But don't toss the flops. Use them for breadcrumbs, croutons, french toast, pizza toast, grilled cheese sandwiches. Breads that are less than appealing can be much improved by using them like this.

[tarnalberry]

Since it's only been five days, it's not really surprising you'd miss something you often had (and presumably enjoyed). After six years, I don't really miss it that much (feel a little nostalgic now and again, perhaps). I second the "just avoid bread" route, at least for a while. Gluten free bread doesn't taste the same, but it can be enjoyable as it's own thing.

[bluebonnet]

Anybody missing real bread? Or am I the only one? I am a big bread eater...and am missing it big time!

This is only day 5 being gluten free and I have baked all sorts of breads, and they all taste...well...gluten free I really don't know how to describe that taste...but it is not very yummy!

Anybody have a really yummy bread recipe? I am desperate!!!

~S

at this moment i am waiting for my gluten free pizza dough to rise ... its made by "gluten free pantry" and called french bread & pizza. i'm trying it as pizza. it was highly recommended on this site. we'll soon see ... so far it smells like real dough!

[jackay]

I don't miss bread at all. I had to give up rice and really, really miss that. I'm hoping I can reintroduce rice soon and that I can tolerate it.

[Takala]

I don't miss bread at all. I had to give up rice and really, really miss that. I'm hoping I can reintroduce rice soon and that I can tolerate it.

_____________

Ah, that's sad. Does quinoa work ?

I did the scd for several years in the beginning (that's grainless ) and got pretty creative with grinding almonds in the blender. I remember the first time I made an alternative gluten free flour product little pan mini tortilla like thing to eat. It looked okay, it smelled delish, but I'm so gunshy at that time, because of all the past history, I'm looking at it and I'm actually afraid to taste it. But my overall allergic reactions to everything have dropped a lot since going gluten free.

If you can tolerate nuts such as almonds, and one of the seed types of gluten free flours, and eggs, you can pretty much put together almost anything. Even just almonds and egg can make decent pan breads much like cornbread when done in a cast iron small skillet. Another non grain flour that works for some people is coconut.

[VickiLynn]

I remember missing it so bad I could hardly stand it. But...don't give in. This will take time. After 15 years I don't miss it at all. For me, most gluten-free bread mixes are good and I like anything made by Kinnikinnick. In a pinch I make muffins. See my recipe at Open Original Shared Link. These are easy and quick and taste really good. Good luck and hang in there. After a few weeks you will feel like a different person.

[CeliacMom2008]

Get some Udi's. I can't tell the difference from gluten bread (I don't have Celiac, my son does, so I still have gluten bread every now and then).

[ItsaDollThang]

Oh yeah!!!!

That was the hardest part of this first month for me. I did try a Bob's Mill pancake mix, and two gluten-free pantry bread mixes but they were awful and I just ended up wishing I'd saved my money! Udi's isn't something I can afford but I am looking very hard at buying a sample case from Chebe to try this month. I don't want to get too dependent upon gluten free crackers, snacks, bread mixes and the like. I am enjoying the weight loss that occurred this month and I can't afford them all the time anyway, but I do need to be able to make the odd sandwich roll or breadstick if I am going to keep myself from going a bit nuts following this diet.

I miss my breads, particularly the artisan breads. A slice of that kind of bread and a couple of pieces of great chocolate are about the only two things I love to really indulge on once in a while and I can't see myself eating nothing but corn chips and tortillas indefinitely.

[Ahorsesoul]

I say go with the Udi's bread, white or multigrain. It will fill that empty spot.

For that french bread craving, try Against the Grain's Baguettes (if you can have dairy). Their pizza crust is great too.

Bi-Aglut or Schar's pasta is great if you can have corn.

[ItsaDollThang]

They don't sell Udi's anywhere here and getting it shipped is just way beyond my budget unfortunately. I wish I could try it, all the raves have me a bit curious, but I checked it out and it just wouldn't be feasible right now. I don't know the other brand, but I'll look for them. They don't have much here but gluten-free pantry and Bob's Mill. Kennekinik (sp? I can't recall.) in the freezer but that's $9 a loaf! I'm going to try the Chebe next I think. $30 is a bit of cash for me right now, but at least I am getting a good pack of mixes for that. I spent $20 last month on 2 gluten-free Pantry mixes and one Bob's Mill. It took a huge chunk out of my budget going Gluten free, all the new items I had to buy to replace the stuff in the fridge.

[RiceGuy]

I agree that it is best not to jump right into all the gluten-free specialty products immediately. Take some time with just whole, unprocessed, naturally gluten-free foods. Your body needs the nutrients anyway.

There is a withdrawal period for many, so that may be what you're experiencing. And during this period, I doubt any gluten-free breads will satisfy, simply because they don't have the gluten to which your brain has become accustomed. Research has shown that gluten (and casein) can have a similar effect on certain areas of the brain as heroine. It truly is addicting, and nothing else can really fill that void.

Once you're past the withdrawal, homemade gluten-free breads are the best, not to mention less expensive. It can take some trial and error to find the recipe you prefer, but it will taste far better then than it does now. However, it might be better to begin with things which are not so dependent on the sticky nature of gluten. Pancakes are relatively easy to make gluten-free, and it's not so easy to tell the difference. In fact, I saw a recent post about how a gluten-eater shoveled 8 pancakes down their throat, and had absolutely no idea they were gluten-free.

Another fine gluten-free item is pasta, and Tinkyada makes what most people say are the best gluten-free pastas. Many have served it to gluten-eaters, who never knew there was anything different about it.

Also, try not to think of gluten-free bread as "fake", and gluten-filled ones as "real". There's nothing fake about gluten-free bread. They just don't have gluten. It would be like saying that real ice cream has to be chocolate chip, and any other flavor is fake. Or only beef sausage is real, or the only real sandwich is one with salami. There's no law that says bread has to have gluten, and in fact, many cultures around the world had bread long before they had wheat.

Hang in there. You will get over gluten. I certainly did, and I was eating a pound of pasta and half a loaf of bread every day! Now, I still enjoy breads and such, and don't miss the gluten at all. This wasn't obvious to me at first, so I know how you feel. Just keep in mind that it does get better.

I eat real bread all the time. Real, gluten-free bread!

[luvs2eat]

Missing bread was/is one of my biggest woes... baking homemade bread was one of my greatest joys. My second greatest joy was EATING it!! I will still take a piece of good bread and take a good long "wiff" of it's wonderful aroma!

The bread mixes are pricey, but I order Pamela's (the best I've found... I make it into loaves, rolls, and even bagels!) from Amazon. They ship 6 mixes and by ordering in bulk, they're cheaper than buying in stores. The same goes for Tinyada pastas that I also order. (Amazon's having good sales on gluten-free food right now!) You only have to spend $25 and shipping is FREE!

My local (and only) healthfood store asked me if there were any gluten-free products they could order and carry for me and I had to tell the really nice guy that ordering from Amazon was a lot cheaper than the prices he'd have to charge, so I'll keep ordering!!

[missy'smom]

My kiddo went without for a long time because he would rather not have it than have something that he felt tasted less than what he wanted. He didn't do this desparingly. Eventually he decided to give the gluten-free breads etc. a chance, but not out of desparation. He still eats his burgers and dogs bunless for the most part. Puts toppings on the burger and eats with a fork. Hot dogs we cut up and sautee in the skillet. I am grain-free so eat my "sandwiches" on a lettuce leaf. Use leaf lettuce, and load up with all the fixings and fold up along the rib. You can also wrap your burger in the lettuce leaf-I wrap it the opposite way as a "sandwich", that is I fold it in half, breaking the rib a bit. Just some ways to think outside the bread box.

Kiddo likes the Pamela's and we order it online in bulk and freeze the mixes. I made raisin rolls with it this week. Followed the instructions for bread, using 1 1/3 c. water. First, I soaked the raisins(no special amount) in hot water to soften them. Then I drained them using the drained raisin water as part of the 1 1/3 c. water that was added to the mix. Oiled an icecream scoop and plopped mounds of batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Used a bit of hot water to smooth the surface. Let rise. Baked according to package but for less time-30 min. You could brush with butter or egg wash before baking.

[Ahorsesoul]

Ask your local health food store to order it to save shipping costs. Many stores if asked will order it.

[momofk&n]

I make my own bread from scratch twice a week for my daughter's school lunch. In my area I have to drive 3 hours round trip just to buy bread at $8 a loaf! Not reasonable. I shop at a local Korean market. I get rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, sweet rice flour, and sweet potato starch for less than half the price of buying it at the health food market without the gas prices. It has brought out bread costs down to $1.85 a loaf for all of the ingredients! Try checking your local phone book for shops in your area. You won't regret it.

[Nanny Jo]

I agree that baking your own bread is the least expensive and more satisfying way to go. Go to recipezaar.com and look for gluten-free Flax Bread and gluten-free French Bread. We like both of these breads and they are not difficult to make. We make the French Bread in a silicone bread pan which is a little larger than the regular size. We have also made it on a cookie sheet if you want it thinner. Oriental/Asian markets are the least expensive places to purchase rice, potato, sweet rice, and tapioca flours. Other flours I usually just buy at the supermarket. The bread is especially good the first 2-3 days, but after that we freeze the individual slices. Hope this helps you.

[ItsaDollThang]

I think I killed a mixer trying to make one of the gluten-free Pantry boxes. Wasn't worth it either but I don't want to risk the new mixer. I'm thinking about getting a Sunbeam 5891 breadmaker. I can't afford much else and that one has pretty decent reviews for a cheaper one. Do you all use a bread maker or do you just make it by hand when you bake?

[momofk&n]

My recipe works better when mixed by hand with a flat wooden spoon. I found that using a bread machine, for me at least will turn out a flat product. Do you have a scratch recipe for bread? They work better than the mixes.

[sunnybabi1986]

I tried Bob's Red Mill, Gluten Free Pantry, and Pamela's Bread, not really loving any of them. Pamela's is really good right out of the oven, but I didn't like it as much once it cooled.

None of my health stores here carry Udi's Bread, so I checked out their website and nearly fell out of my seat at the shipping costs. However, after a month of no bread, I about lost my mind and ordered 8 loaves, since the shipping is the same as one loaf...what?!

Anyway, it cost me a bit, $53.00 actually, but I got 8 loaves, so 6.60/loaf. Wow, I nearly fell out of my seat again when I tried it. Well, warmed up a bit in the microwave. It's a bit dry otherwise. But I really can hardly tell it's gluten free. It smells like wheat bread, looks like wheat bread, and tastes 95% like wheat bread. I don't know how they do it, but I need to figure out so I'm not paying 6.60/loaf. Yikes.

Each loaf comes with 12 pieces of bread, so I try to just eat 1 piece a day with butter and honey so it lasts me almost 2 weeks. That's about $13/month for bread, but it's so good it's totally worth it. The biggest cost is trying to pay for 8 loaves upfront. Try to see if you can pull $53 together to splurge, you'll not regret it! This is one gluten free food I can HONESTLY say doesn't taste "gluten free".

[RiceGuy]

None of my health stores here carry Udi's Bread, so I checked out their website...

<SNIP>

Wow, I nearly fell out of my seat again when I tried it. Well, warmed up a bit in the microwave. It's a bit dry otherwise. But I really can hardly tell it's gluten free. It smells like wheat bread, looks like wheat bread, and tastes 95% like wheat bread. I don't know how they do it, but I need to figure out so I'm not paying 6.60/loaf. Yikes.

I looked at the ingredients, and it doesn't look much different than many others. Mostly tapioca starch. I'd think a bit of experimenting would yield something comparable. However, you may want to try Open Original Shared Link. It seems to be getting good reviews.

[Gluten schmuten]

I am in my third week on the gluten-free diet! I am so desperate for a decent slice of bread that I have my sister in laws bread machine, domata all purpose gluten-free flour and yeast all ready. Just trying to find a good recipe!! Anybody have a good recipe for bread machines?? Wish me luck!

[sandsurfgirl]

You don't need a bread machine to make good gluten free bread because it doesn't need all that kneading and it only needs one rise. You just mix it all, let it rise in the loaf pan and bake it.

A really EASY book that I'm using is Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts. She has a few flours you use and you make mixes up ahead. There are 3 mixes and then she tells you which mix to use for each recipe. Her basic sandwich bread is GREAT!!!

Gluten breads are so difficult with all the kneading and risings, but seriously gluten free bread is really easy.