5 Essential Tools for Baking Gluten-free Bread

My old house was a real fixer.  I was constantly knee-deep in, or recovering from, renovation projects. Some of the best advice I ever got about home projects is "always have the right tools for the job." The person who said it backed up the statement by buying me a very nice cordless power drill.



That drill still comes in handy, even now when I don't have the heavy-duty projects I used to take on.  This power tool kept me from spending hours of extra time trying to put together a deck with a screwdriver.

Gluten-free baking is kind of like trying to put together a deck with a screwdriver instead of a cordless power drill.  There are things that just don't work in exactly the same way with gluten-free as they do with "regular" flour.  That's why having the right tools for the job is essential for making good use of your time and resources when you're learning how to bake gluten-free.  Here are five essential tools you can add to your arsenal for baking gluten-free bread.

A digital kitchen scale is the most important thing you can have for accurate results with gluten-free baking.  Gluten-free flours are difficult to measure by volume.  Each flour has a different density, so they measure differently.  Substitute flour by weight for better accuracy.




A banneton basket is a luxury item for the dedicated bread baker.  The light construction lets air circulate around the dough as it's rising at the same time as the sides of the basket support the dough.




If you want to make baguettes, a baguette pan is a must.




If you don't want to splurge on the baguette pan, parchment paper is a great tool to use that can supplement or replace the baguette pan.  It can also be used for lining a baking sheet or any type of pan to keep your pans cleaner while baking and provide a non-stick surface.




For making sandwich bread, I love to use the pullman style loaf pan.  The narrow shape helps gluten-free bread rise as much as possible for bigger slices.


With any of these great tools, you'll love baking your own gluten-free bread!

Comments

Rebecca said…
I thought the baker's basket was more for forming the dough than letting air circulate. In fact, I always heard it was best to trap the air and moisture inside your rising bowl by covering it with plastic and creating a humid environment. What is your opinion on that?
March 3, 2013 at 5:32 PM
Gina said…
Rebecca - I have tried both methods of rising, but I can't say that I've done a side-by-side comparison. That might make an interesting post! Covering the dough helps to keep the outside from drying, but the banneton basket, for whatever reason, seems to allow the dough to rise higher. Keeping the dough too moist seems to be a recipe for a weird crust. There's something about stifling the dough that makes the texture different. Too much trapped CO2? That could put anyone off. Some people pt the dough in the banneton and then put the whole basket inside a huge plastic bag. I haven't tried that, but maybe it's the best of both worlds.
March 3, 2013 at 11:11 PM
Rebecca said…
Yes, you should do a side by side comparison! There is a big article in the Cook's Best cookbook about why you should enclose in plastic. It specifically says not to sub a damp cloth for the plastic. Maybe I should read that article. . . .
March 4, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Gina said…
I've been doing a dry cloth over the banneton. A skin forms, but I've been trying to get a thicker crust anyway so I like that. I'll do some more experimenting with it. Let me know if you come up with any good research!
March 4, 2013 at 1:11 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten-free Sourdough Discard Bread

Image
You’ve made your gluten free sourdough starter . What now?   The discard, or unused portion of the starter can be repurposed in a number of ways.  It’s the part of the starter that you don’t need to refresh or to use to leaven bread. You can throw it out, or you can use it to replace some of the flour and water in other recipes.  It adds a great texture and flavor to recipes, and it’s particularly useful for gluten free recipes. There’s something about gf grains that benefits immensely from the fermentation process. They become more flexible, more workable, and much tastier. In this bread recipe the sourdough starter lends the bread strength, flexibility, and flavor. Want a sandwich loaf recipe? Check out my  Yeasted Sourdough Sandwich Bread . Why is it not a regular sourdough bread?  This bread is considered a discard bread, or sometimes called a hybrid loaf, because it contains sourdough but it's leavened with commercial yeast. What does it taste like?   ...
Read more

Quick Yeasted Sourdough Sandwich Loaf Recipe

Image
Readers have been asking if they can bake the Gluten-free Sourdough Discard Bread in a bread tin.  The answer seems to be yes, it usually works.  However, I've created this new recipe that is more of a sandwich style loaf.  This recipe is a single rise recipe, so it's quick and easy. Need to create a sourdough starter? This is the method I use most:  https://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2021/10/sourdough-starter-ready-to-use-in-3-7.html Why yeasted sourdough?  Sometimes it's tricky to get a great rise out of sourdough when you're first starting out.  Also, creating a new sourdough starter creates a bit of discard that can be used up in other recipes to improve the flavor and texture of the product. This recipe adds a little baker's yeast to help the rise and get the loaf in the oven more quickly.  This is a sourdough discard recipe but you can use active starter if that's what you have.  Yeasted Sourdough Sandwich Loaf Recipe Dairy-free, c ont...
Read more

Mild Country White Sourdough Bread

Image
I gave up on producing a showy loaf a long time ago.  I always rolled my eyes a little when I saw photos online of perfect bloom or wide-open crumb.  "The mustard is going to just fall right through," I would think to my self disapprovingly, shaking my head a little. It turns out, I was just jealous. After a decade of gluten-free bread baking and recipe development, and through a collaboration with some other bakers, I've come up with a gf sourdough bread recipe that produces an open crumb, a large bloom, and sometimes, if I'm lucky, an ear.   The bread has a very mild, pleasant sourdough flavor and is very light in color. The crumb is very open but not too delicate.  It has a chewiness to the texture that I associate with a good sourdough bread.  The crust gets a nice browning and it toasts up nicely. And I don't mind the mustard falling through as much as I thought I would. Many thanks to Michael Hollesen who came up with the original version of this reci...
Read more