How to Make your Gluten Free Bread Taste Better

My most favorite Gluten Free Bread is hands down Udi's White Bread, but as I spoke with people at the Gluten Free Expo some of them complained that it was still dry and crumbly so I want to provide some tips and tricks I use to make it the best possible.

I freeze my bread and use it as I need it. Refrigerating bread can cause it to dry out and it doesn't last as long as it could in the freezer.

To prepare bread out of the freezer I warm it in the microwave on a glass or paper plate for 20-40 secs till it becomes soft and pliable. Be careful not to over heat the bread so that it loses all of its moisture. I let the bread sit for a minute to cool down before making a sandwich.

For bagels, English muffins or especially dry or crumbling baked goods I cover with a up-side-down bowl to "steam" the bread.  After ward I finish it off by slightly toasting it.  Toasting creates a bond on the outside of the bread that locks in the softness and keeps your bread from being mushy.

Even if you have fresh baked bread it make still be helpful to zap it in the microwave for 10 secs.  Any bread make with rice flour has a tendency to absorb and lock up any moisture making it taste dry. You need to heat it up to help it release and redistribute that moisture.

Lastly, if you happen to go to Jason's Deli to have a GF Sandwich made on Udi's bread, my suggestion would be to have it toasted or see if they will zap it in the microwave for you. It will go a long way to soften up the bread and make it more enjoyable.

My Favorites from the SLC Gluten Free Expo

The Gluten Free Expo in Salt Lake City was a great event. Thousands came enjoyed the many booths. I handed out over a thousand Gluten Free Directories as well as visit with hundreds of people who were in search of better gluten free options. Here are some of my Favorite things from the show:

- Sweet Cake Bake Shop
This tasty delightful bakery ships anywhere in the U.S. They are located out of Utah so if you are in the area you need to stop by. They had delicious soft and chewy sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies.

- Eleanor's Bake Shop
The things I loved from this bake shop were their cake pops.  At their bakery location they have sandwiches made on Arepas. If you are in the area of 9000 S. in Salt Lake stop by for Lunch, Dinner, & Dessert.

- 123 Gluten Free
Mmmmm, let's just say their pan bars (a.k.a. divinely moist spice cake) are swoonful. Add some cream cheese frosting and its heaven.  They also make many other mixes which I am trying out. I am interested to see how the biscuits turn out.

- OMGF! Flour
I was impressed by this flour. Its a GF flour blend you can use in place of regular flour in recipes. The banana applesauce muffins they made were so fluffy, soft, and moist. Three critical characteristics of great tasting baked goods.

- Irresistibly Gluten Free Cook Book
If you do nothing else but make the waffles in this cookbook you will be thrilled. I have made the waffles several times in the past two weeks. Even the non-GF'ers in my house absolutely love them. I also love this cookbook because it has the basic simple foods that you really miss when beginning a GF diet. The flour blend is so simple and the ingredients are considerably easy to find.  Had I know about this inspired flour blend 10+ years ago, I would have saved my family many meals filled with brick like breads and baked goods. This cookbook is a staple for any GF'er.

- Biaggi's Italian Restaurant
Just thinking about the Chicken Alfredo they served at the Expo makes me smile. Each bite was a piece of happiness. I can't wait to go and taste it again. (Just ask my family, I haven't been able to stop talking about it.) Their restaurant is located downtown Salt Lake City, Utah at the Gateway Mall and if you have Celiac you have to try it. They use Tinkyada pasta (my favorite) which has a great texture and flavor. Their sauces were flavorful and their chicken was grilled and delicious.

- Pirate's Booty
I was pleasantly surprised by this. They make healthy non-fried snack options. They were enjoyable and my kids loved them. They are low in fat and calories so you can enjoy, feel healthy and not guilty.

Cafe Pancake Breakfast at Home

Of all the pancake mixes I have tried to-date, Kinnikinnick's Waffle and Pancake mix is absolutely the best. I love it because even the picky Gluten Eaters in my family love the taste, texture and flavor of the pancakes and waffles.

You can find their mixes online, or at The Good Earth
http://www.kinnikinnick.com/

Picture from Kinnikinnick

Gluten Free Directory

If you are attending this weeks gluten free expo stop by and get a Gluten Free Favorites Food Directory.

Check back soon to find the directory online.

Gluten Free Expo in Salt Lake City October 9th

Come stop by our booth at the gluten free expo. We will be selling the most diving marble chocolate brownies from Blossom Fine Foods among other delicious tasting gluten free items.

Gluten Free Zuchini Bread

Posted at: http://www.mygffavorites.blogspot.com/

I love this time of year, the weather starts to cool and garden harvests are abundant. When I was out for a run I picked up a zucchini from a neighbor who had a sign up next to a chair piled with zucchini that said "FREE" and it was a good thing I was pushing the jogging stroller so I didn't have to lug it all the way back under my arm. I couldn't wait to get home and mix up some bread. I think you will enjoy it too!

Zucchini Bread

Cook Time: 50-60 min.
Bake: 350 degrees F
Makes: 2 Loaves

Wet Ingredients Bowl:
3 C Shredded Zucchini (keep the peel on but it its a large zucchini you may want to scoop out the seeds in the center)
1 2/3 C Sugar
2/3 C Oil
2t Vanilla
4 Eggs (crack into separate small bowl so you catch any egg shells before you mix with other ingredients)
1/4 Applesauce

Mix

Dry Ingredients Bowl:
1 1/2 C GF Flour
1 C Brown Rice Flour
1/2 C Cornstarch
2t Baking Soda

1/2 t Baking Powder

1t Xanthan Gum

1t Salt
1t Cinnamon
1/2t Cloves

Mix

Slowly stir dry ingredients into wet. Grease loaf pans with cooking spray and divide mixture evenly. Cook on center rack. 50-60 mins. or till a knife can be removed cleanly from center of loaf.

Storage:
Remove from oven. Use knife around edges and turn onto cooling racks. Once cool enough to handle store in gallon size Ziploc bags. Keeps well out on counter top for a few days. Don't refridgerate. It will cause the bread to dry out. If necessary, store bread longer by slicing and covering with plastic wrap before placing in Ziploc bag and then into the freezer.


Additions:

Chocolate Chips:
Add 1 Cup chocolate chips into batter for some added sweetness! I prefer semi sweet because they stand out more. Milk chocolate can sometimes be too bland to make an impression.

Cream Cheese Spread:
My favorite way to eat zucchini bread is to whip 1 bar of cream cheese with 1/4 C soft butter and a few tablespoons of powdered sugar. It makes a delicious spread to compliment the sweet cinnamon flavor of the bread. Enjoy!!

GF Flour Mixture:
6 C Rice Flour
1 C Tapioca Starch
2 C Potato Starch

7 Best Basics- Gluten Free Starter Pantry Items

Post at: www.mygffavorites.blogspot.com

Stock your pantry with these basic items that can transform into a number of dishes. These Best Basics are the best tasting Gluten Free foods to help ease your transition to living Gluten Free.

1- Udi's Bread (White or Whole Grain)-
If you've just recently been diagnosed with Celiac, you don't know how truly lucky you are that there is now great tasting gluten free bread available. Ten to fifteen years ago there were very few options and tough crumbly rice cakes for sandwich bread. This is a must have item and keeps very well in the freezer. Zap it in the microwave for 10 secs then flip and another 10 secs. (For two slices I do 20-25 secs, flip and 20-25 secs more.) It is soft, fluffy, chewy and delicious.

2- Tinkyada Pasta-
This pasta has great texture and flavor. Though it can be cooked longer than corn pasta, it tastes best when you take it off the heat a little more on the al dente side (translation: take it off the heat and strain it when it is still just a bit under cooked.) It cooks up nicely and it is so good even the non-gluten free eaters in my home eat this willingly. It comes in a variety of shapes, including noodles for lasagna3- Health Valley Cream of Chicken Soup-
Many quick and easy meals/casseroles call for Cream of Chicken soup (which contains plenty of gluten) so keep this on hand. Something to consider is that this soup is not as thick as the condensed even the non-condensed Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup so be sure to either add less moisture in the other ingredients or mix in a half bar of cream cheese so give it more fullness.


4- Authentic Foods Gluten Free Flour Mixture-
Unless you are big into cooking from scratch and have lots of space for 5 gal. food storage buckets, this is a great go-to flour mix. It is created from a variety of flours and condtioners to help it react closer to tradional All Purpose flour. Add this in cup for cup for traditional flour for your favorite recipes. Try out the Biscuit recipe and replace this flour for the GF Flour and Cornstarch.

5- Udi's Pizza Crusts-
Keep these pizza crusts in your freezer for those nights your craving pizza. If you are all out of pizza sauce and mozzerella, top with some olive oil or butter, italian seasonings, garlic powder, salt and parmesean cheese, bake for 8-10 mins. and you will have some great bread sticks.
Gluten Free BBQ Chicken Pizza- Use BBQ sauce in place of traditional marinara sauce. Top with chicken (canned or other) and cheese, bake and enjoy.


6- Gluten Freeda Cookie Dough-
This frozen cookie dough is a great go to item. It makes it nice if you are the only GF person in your home, though you might find it disappearing because even Non-GFs will be wanting a bite.
7- Kinnikinnick Pancake&Waffle Mix-
Keep this mix on your shelves and you will not be missing a trip to IHOP. The pancakes come out soft and delicious. There is no worries of dry, crumbly cakes because this mix provides a great texture to both waffles and pancakes.