Re: bread makers and bread recipes

[Guest guest]

I am delighted to see all of the interest and activity on bread

making. Clearly, bread - or the lack of it - is of importance to us

as individuals. Also, the majority said that a home cooked loaf is

beter tasting than a commercial one. I will agree except in one

instance. I mail-ordered two breads from a small bakery near Detroit,

just to see if someone could make what I thought was good bread. Even

the non-celiacs in our family liked Celiac Specialties, LLC's bread.

I think my own is better, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending theirs

for commercial bread. Detroit is far from San Francisco, and the

shipping charges makes this infeasible for the long term. But is it

nice to see success.

Also, bread is a matter of individual preference. One of the postings

I saw here is positive for Bette Hagman's recipes. I agree, that they

are very good. However, I've modified her recipes, leaving out

gelatin and egg replacer and traded some of the tapioca flour with

Expandex, a tapioca product that I think improves the texture. The

flavor is unchanged. But Bette's bread has a strong, bean taste. This

can be reduced in degrees by using (1)Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo - Fava

flour instead of the Garfava she recommends, or (2)Heartlands Finest

navy bean flour, which is the mildest in my opinion. I have also

reduced the water in Bette's recipes and produced a more reliable

rise.

Yeast has a lot to do with reliability, and Smart and Final has the

yeast bakers use. Fermipan and SAF are much less expensive than

Fleishmann's. Fill a small jar from the package, refrigerate it, and

freeze the remainder of the 1# package. Yes, 1# of yeast is a lot,

but it costs less than $4.00,, whereas 4 ounces of Fleishmann's is

more than $8.00 at Safeway. I've not had good luck with Fleishmann's.

It also seems that celiacs yearn for a nice, soft loaf that remains

plaible. Soft is not my preference, but flexible is. I experimented

with a soft bread, and my write-up can be found at:

http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/bread/Experiment-8.html

Each of the three loaves in the experiment were acceptable but quite

different.

I'm not a big fan of rice-flour-based breads. They get hard, and to

make up for the dry-mouth effect they create, many recipes are high

in fat. If you look at commercial wheat-based breads, you will see

that they are very low in fat. I was able to come up with a good

tasting, low fat bread: amaranth-flax. I like it better toasted, but

that is because amaranth has a very wild taste in my view, and

toasting adds complexity. It is based on a recipe from a former

member of the SF Bay Area celiac community who has since changed

coasts. If you think this sounds interesting, check it out at

http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/bread

Our favorite everyday flour is one of Carol Fenster's mixes that uses

masa (nixtamalated corn meal, ground finely). It is mild and seems to

bake up well every time for just about everything. That is not to say

that we don't use Bette's Four Flour Bean Mix because we do. Oddly,

it blends with anything chocolate. Sometimes, my wife will mix some

of Bette's mix into Carol's for cookies or cakes because she thinks a

little bean flavor will kick the complexity up a notch.

The bottom line is bake what works for you, in the oven or a bread

machine.

Vic

[Guest guest]

Just a note on Celiac Specialties, if you haven't tried their

blondies, cookies or donuts you are missing out! You cannot tell that

the are gluten free at all. Unfortunately I haven't tried their cakes

yet, but am thankful that when I need a wedding cake they are only 20

minutes away. Their bread is good, but their baked sweets are

awesome . I also just remembered their carrot cake -wonderful! I

know they are quite a while away from you guys, but they are

definately worth it.

http://www.celiacspecialties.com/

Becky

Harper Woods, MI (metro Detroit)

--- In , " vdolcourt " <vdolcourt@...>

wrote:

>

> I am delighted to see all of the interest and activity on bread

> making. Clearly, bread - or the lack of it - is of importance to us

> as individuals. Also, the majority said that a home cooked loaf is

> beter tasting than a commercial one. I will agree except in one

> instance. I mail-ordered two breads from a small bakery near

Detroit,

> just to see if someone could make what I thought was good bread.

Even

> the non-celiacs in our family liked Celiac Specialties, LLC's

bread.

> I think my own is better, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending

theirs

> for commercial bread. Detroit is far from San Francisco, and the

> shipping charges makes this infeasible for the long term. But is it

> nice to see success.

>

> Also, bread is a matter of individual preference. One of the

postings

> I saw here is positive for Bette Hagman's recipes. I agree, that

they

> are very good. However, I've modified her recipes, leaving out

> gelatin and egg replacer and traded some of the tapioca flour with

> Expandex, a tapioca product that I think improves the texture. The

> flavor is unchanged. But Bette's bread has a strong, bean taste.

This

> can be reduced in degrees by using (1)Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo -

Fava

> flour instead of the Garfava she recommends, or (2)Heartlands

Finest

> navy bean flour, which is the mildest in my opinion. I have also

> reduced the water in Bette's recipes and produced a more reliable

> rise.

>

> Yeast has a lot to do with reliability, and Smart and Final has the

> yeast bakers use. Fermipan and SAF are much less expensive than

> Fleishmann's. Fill a small jar from the package, refrigerate it,

and

> freeze the remainder of the 1# package. Yes, 1# of yeast is a lot,

> but it costs less than $4.00,, whereas 4 ounces of Fleishmann's is

> more than $8.00 at Safeway. I've not had good luck with

Fleishmann's.

>

> It also seems that celiacs yearn for a nice, soft loaf that remains

> plaible. Soft is not my preference, but flexible is. I experimented

> with a soft bread, and my write-up can be found at:

> http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/bread/Experiment-8.html

>

> Each of the three loaves in the experiment were acceptable but

quite

> different.

>

> I'm not a big fan of rice-flour-based breads. They get hard, and to

> make up for the dry-mouth effect they create, many recipes are high

> in fat. If you look at commercial wheat-based breads, you will see

> that they are very low in fat. I was able to come up with a good

> tasting, low fat bread: amaranth-flax. I like it better toasted,

but

> that is because amaranth has a very wild taste in my view, and

> toasting adds complexity. It is based on a recipe from a former

> member of the SF Bay Area celiac community who has since changed

> coasts. If you think this sounds interesting, check it out at

> http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/bread

>

> Our favorite everyday flour is one of Carol Fenster's mixes that

uses

> masa (nixtamalated corn meal, ground finely). It is mild and seems

to

> bake up well every time for just about everything. That is not to

say

> that we don't use Bette's Four Flour Bean Mix because we do. Oddly,

> it blends with anything chocolate. Sometimes, my wife will mix some

> of Bette's mix into Carol's for cookies or cakes because she thinks

a

> little bean flavor will kick the complexity up a notch.

>

> The bottom line is bake what works for you, in the oven or a bread

> machine.

>

> Vic

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Vic, that was very helpful! I was kind of wondering if the

yeast had something to do with my not being able to get the bread just

how I wanted it. Fleishmann's is the only kind that's offered at the

Safeway and Nob Hill here. Maybe next time I'm at Whole Foods I'll see

if they have another kind. I don't have a Smart N Final near me

either...bummer!

On 7/9/07, vdolcourt <vdolcourt@...> wrote:

>

>

>

>

>

>

> I am delighted to see all of the interest and activity on bread

> making. Clearly, bread - or the lack of it - is of importance to us

> as individuals. Also, the majority said that a home cooked loaf is

> beter tasting than a commercial one. I will agree except in one

> instance. I mail-ordered two breads from a small bakery near Detroit,

> just to see if someone could make what I thought was good bread. Even

> the non-celiacs in our family liked Celiac Specialties, LLC's bread.

> I think my own is better, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending theirs

> for commercial bread. Detroit is far from San Francisco, and the

> shipping charges makes this infeasible for the long term. But is it

> nice to see success.

>

> Also, bread is a matter of individual preference. One of the postings

> I saw here is positive for Bette Hagman's recipes. I agree, that they

> are very good. However, I've modified her recipes, leaving out

> gelatin and egg replacer and traded some of the tapioca flour with

> Expandex, a tapioca product that I think improves the texture. The

> flavor is unchanged. But Bette's bread has a strong, bean taste. This

> can be reduced in degrees by using (1)Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo - Fava

> flour instead of the Garfava she recommends, or (2)Heartlands Finest

> navy bean flour, which is the mildest in my opinion. I have also

> reduced the water in Bette's recipes and produced a more reliable

> rise.

>

> Yeast has a lot to do with reliability, and Smart and Final has the

> yeast bakers use. Fermipan and SAF are much less expensive than

> Fleishmann's. Fill a small jar from the package, refrigerate it, and

> freeze the remainder of the 1# package. Yes, 1# of yeast is a lot,

> but it costs less than $4.00,, whereas 4 ounces of Fleishmann's is

> more than $8.00 at Safeway. I've not had good luck with Fleishmann's.

>

> It also seems that celiacs yearn for a nice, soft loaf that remains

> plaible. Soft is not my preference, but flexible is. I experimented

> with a soft bread, and my write-up can be found at:

> http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/bread/Experiment-8.html

>

> Each of the three loaves in the experiment were acceptable but quite

> different.

>

> I'm not a big fan of rice-flour-based breads. They get hard, and to

> make up for the dry-mouth effect they create, many recipes are high

> in fat. If you look at commercial wheat-based breads, you will see

> that they are very low in fat. I was able to come up with a good

> tasting, low fat bread: amaranth-flax. I like it better toasted, but

> that is because amaranth has a very wild taste in my view, and

> toasting adds complexity. It is based on a recipe from a former

> member of the SF Bay Area celiac community who has since changed

> coasts. If you think this sounds interesting, check it out at

> http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/bread

>

> Our favorite everyday flour is one of Carol Fenster's mixes that uses

> masa (nixtamalated corn meal, ground finely). It is mild and seems to

> bake up well every time for just about everything. That is not to say

> that we don't use Bette's Four Flour Bean Mix because we do. Oddly,

> it blends with anything chocolate. Sometimes, my wife will mix some

> of Bette's mix into Carol's for cookies or cakes because she thinks a

> little bean flavor will kick the complexity up a notch.

>

> The bottom line is bake what works for you, in the oven or a bread

> machine.

>

> Vic

>

>