Gluten Free FAQs
Gluten Free FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Readers asked for Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day here on the website. There’ve been lots of gluten-free questions. Click on any of them below– these are the ones that seem to be on a lot of gluten-free bakers’ minds. If you’re having a problem with one of our recipes, breeze through these FAQs first. If you can’t find an answer in the FAQs, click on any “Comments” or “Reply” field (doesn’t have to be related to the content underneath). Please say which book you’re working from, and which recipe and page number:
- Dense or gummy interior, or inadequate rising. What am I doing wrong?
- Gluten: What is it? And what grains contain gluten?
- Nutritional information: How can I calculate it?
- Substitutions for ingredients in the gluten-free recipes
- Videos: Where can I view videos so I can see what your gluten-free dough’s supposed to look like?
- Whole grains in gluten-free baking: how can I get more of them into the flour mixtures?
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Good morning,
I have recently had to go gluten-free but I am a bread lover. I was excited to find your book and have tried the master recipe (twice) and the brioche (once) so far. I keep struggling with the master recipe especially as it is just so wet that I cannot shape it at all and so it ends up being a massive blob because I am pretty much just pouring it out of the bucket. The resulting bread (although tasty) is dense because of this. I measure using the weights. I’ve tried hand mixing and the stand mixer. I found with the stand mixer I definitely got a better mix on it. Could you provide any tips as to what I am doing wrong? I’ll try using the cup measures next but aside from that I’m at a bit of a loss. I’m really excited to get this mastered though because if I can then I will feel better moving on to your other recipes that look really delicious. Thank you for your help!
Weighing is best–stick with that… Have you tried all these tips related to density, at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2014/10/17/dense-or-gummy-interior-or-inadequate-rising-what-am-i-doing-wrong/ ?
Thank you for your response. I typically have been using the Bob’s Red Hill flours; however, sometimes I can’t get those and have used other brands. I’ll try adding in some extra flour to see if that helps. Thank you for the link as I hadn’t found that yet. I’ll also continue to weigh for the measurements. Fingers crossed. Even though my bread has been “flat” it still tastes great so I can’t wait until I get this sorted out! Have a great day.
Yeah–changes in flour-brand are a big deal. You’ll have to experiment.
Hi! I have your book and just started playing with King Arthur Flour’s new GF bread flour. Any suggestions on how to use it for your recipes?
Back when my gluten free book was written, testing with KAF gluten-free flours was not successful in these recipes, nor for other commercial brands, and so I developed the custom flour blends that are in the book. My guess is that this new bread flour might be better, but I haven’t tested with it. You can try it as a one to one swap for my own all purpose mixture, but I can’t make any promises as to whether it’ll work. Best to try a small batch first. The key is how they optimize it for bread… Just not sure
Can I use the GF Master Recipe for English muffins? Or does it really need the egg in the Challah/Brioche dough? Thank you.
Hi Tamara,
Yes, it should work. The texture may not have as many nooks and crannies. Give it a try, but maybe do a half batch.
Thanks, Zoë
I have been making a lot of gluten free bread and have been pleasantly surprised by how well they have turned out. I got your book and have been trying your recipes but they don’t seem to rise. I compared your recipes to the Better Batter Artisan loaf that I make, which always works perfectly, and I see that you recommend 10g yeast for 990g flour, while Better Batter says 11g yeast for 405g flour. If I have luck with theirs and not yours, should I try just doubling the yeast? Any other thoughts about getting your loaves to rise? I have a proofer so the temp isn’t an issue.
Sure, it’s worth a try!
Good morning! I love my Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. I’ve gifted your other books to my gluten-loving friends and they are just as excited about the ease of baking bread. My problem is the outside of my basic GF bread recipe. It does not brown up like the ones in the book at all. In fact, it looks very bland – not artisan at all! (I’ve watched Zoe’s video.) When I brush the top with water, it seems to make the problem even worse. Am I just not baking long enough? The crust seems very done (crusty). I am going to try some recipes with egg this weekend. Maybe I will have more success with those?
It’s true, the white flower recipes in that book don’t Brown terribly well, especially in larger ovens. Make sure you using steam. Also gas ovens can allow the steam to dissipate too quickly and that’s a problem. Using some of the mixture number two will be helpful here. The other thing is to brush the top with egg white that should help
Are you able to only make half of the master batch? If so any special tips? I see in the book not to put the bread in plastic in the fridge. Any tips on strong for a couple of days?
Thanks!
You definitely can make half a recipe, and they’re no adjustments needed. I find that the best way to store bread is it room temperature with the cut side down on a non-porous surface like a plate or countertop. The bread will dry out, but the crust won’t get all soft. If you don’t mind the crust getting soft, you can put it in any airtight container or plastic. I don’t think refrigeration makes much difference
Hi just got your book. Loved the pizza dough recipe. I am going to get a steel . Do you use a steel and do you use it on the barbeque ? Also do you have an egg substitution? Thanks for your time. Linda
Hi Linda,
I have used my steel on the grill, you just want to make sure the flame isn’t direct on it or the steel can actually get too hot.
We don’t have a specific egg replacer to recommend, but many of our readers say they use their favorite brands in our recipes with success. If you try it, I recommend making a half batch to be sure you like the results.
Thanks, Zoë
Hi! I have loved your master loaf recipe when I finally got my act together to make it. Now I want to make a GF loaf for my mom who is also sensitive to potatoes (they trigger arthritis pain). She can tolerate potato starch but not potato flour. I’ve looked at a lot of substitutions for potato flour on line and wonder what you would suggest. One mentions equal parts rice flour and potato starch. Another mentions tapioca flour – which is already in the recipe…perhaps I just increase that. Or coconut flour was mentioned in another place. I’d love your advice. Thank you!!
The only swaps that we found worked were the ones on page 61 of the book. Other than that, you’re in for a lot of experimentation, and I not sure how to advise.
I don’t think I have that book. The one I have is The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
The list, is also here on the website, just search in the search bar for substitutions
Are Gluten free fillings useable with regular Brioche dough? I.e. Fruit and Nut Spiral Rolls. Also, are you familiar with Ankarsrum Mixers? Can I use this to make and store the dough?
Sure, that’ll work, but I haven’t worked with an Ankasrum mixer. Stand mixers work great
In addition to gluten, I am also unable to have nightshades, therefore cannot use potato starch. What are some substitutes I could use in place of the potato starch in the Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour recipe? The book mentions substitutes for the tapioca starch. Would those also work as substitutes for the potato starch, or are there other substitutes that would better replace the potato starch?
On page 61 of the book (same as here on the website), you see all substitutions I tried that worked well. In other words, this was very finicky– and density really started to be a problem for pretty much any combinations other than the ones you see. You can start experimenting, but I’m afraid I can’t vouch for anything in particular–it’s probably going to throw off the liquid requirement radically. Yes, you could try arrowroot–but start with small batches since you may not like the result.
Love, love, love, your baking and breads!
I ave a wee problem, just found out I am not only gluten intolerant but allergic to yeast and oats!
Any thoughts? Did find Base Culture bread products and they are not bad at all.
Wondering if you all have experimented with vinegar and baking soda instead of yeast?
Baking your bread for the family!
Anne MacDonald
Haven’t, but of course, there’s a whole universe of baking soda/baking powder “quick” breads. I just haven’t done anything in terms of recipe development with those.
I have baked breads for many years now, and am just beginning my gluten free adventure. I make breads and give them away at Church. I have had much interest expressed in gluten free bread. Assuming my experience with the basic (GF) bread is positive, my question is: can I adapt my current bread recipes by replacing the flour(s) with AP mix? I would expect that some experimenting and adjusting would be required.
Thank you in advance.
Not in my experience… The conversion is tricky. My books use a mixture of flours
For the No Rest, No Rise, Just bake: on page 68. It states to pull of the pound and put it on parchment in cold oven 75 min at 400. Is that really it, or do I dust and slash ( add the flour on top, the cross hatch,) and add the pan of water for steaming…
Also, if I am going to mix it in the stand glass mixing bowl but want to store it in a plastic container when should I move it… before or after it rises. (I am tempted to do after for the first time as I don’t know how big it will get and don’t want to have too small a container – which I often do as there is only so much room in the fridge so I am constantly squishing things in. Thank you. My celiac son is quite excited to try the bread!
In that case, you skip the slashing. You can start with the steam, but use hot water or it won’t vaporize quickly.
Move the dough before it rises. To estimate, it rises to slightly more than double.
Hi,
I am using the recipe for gluten free artisan loaf on page 64 of the book. My dough is way too wet. I used Bob’s Red Mill one to one GF flour because the ingredients are the same. I guess that the proportions weren’t the same. I have added more flour. Will that work?
I didn’t have success with that product, which is why the custom recipe was developed. The product you’re using is better for cookies, and cake. It might work to try and dry it out, but it’s still going to be a dense result.
I we have been making your GF bread recipes for about a year, and have loved them all. Yesterday, I made the Master Recipe, and forgot to leave the dough out for 2 hours to let it rise—I just put it right in the fridge. Today, I tried to bake a loaf by first leaving it out for a couple hours, then doing the regular rise and bake. The loaf was small and lumpy. Is there any way to salvage the rest of the dough? Thank you!
Well, a longer time on the counter might help– 6 to 8 hours? Maybe…
Hi, earlier this year I made about 6 loaves, so carefully, measuring all the ingredients, following directions exactly and none have turned out. They are gummy inside. I tried the pizza stone and then the dutch oven. The dutch oven seems to be better but still not good. They look beautiful but are not really edible inside. I do have a gas oven, so would you recommend the dutch oven or which method for gas ovens?
Also, we live in Texas and our room temp is about 73-77 degrees, if that helps.
I’m going to try a stand mixer just to see if I could be under mixing. I don’t want to give up as I’d really love to be able to make this bread and all the recipes… and purchased a ton of the flours.
When you say “purchased all of the flours”, I assume you mean Bob’s Red Mill brand? Because that’s what these were tested with. If you make changes, all bets are off in terms of moisture requirement, and the density, and the possibility that things will be gummy. But the biggest thing, is probably the stand mixer, that helps emulsify the ingredients and leads to a much better result in terms of exactly the concerns your voicing here. The other thing is to try the version with egg whites, do you see where that appears in the book?
The Dutch oven will help only in terms of the crust, not the internal crumb structure.
Hello Jeff and team,
I hope you are all well.
I recently bought ‘Gluten-free Artisan Bread in 5 minutes à Day’ (I know… Almost 10 years later ) and am busy making the two “mixtures”.
I am making the ‘Mixture #1: Gluten-free All-purpose Flour’ recipe from page 60, where it calls for ‘1020g White Rice Four’.
My question is:
I just realised that I bought 500g of ‘rice flour’ and 500g of ‘Impalpable(?) rice flour’ (on different occasions)
The ‘Impalpable rice flour’ lable reads: (in Italian: idéale per Dolci soffici, biscotti, fritture, créma pasticcera, besciamella)
In english: Soft cakes, biscuits, fried foods, pastry créma, béchamel sauce.
Can I use this for the ‘Mixture #1’? (mix the two types together), Or do I need to go out to get another bag of plain/normal rice flour?
Trying my best I live in the countryside in Spain, so everytime I get an ingredient wrong or forget something at the shops, its quite a drive to get back!
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much.
Tammy
I’m afraid I’m not familiar with this ingredient, and I had no luck translating the word “impalpable” from Italian. I suppose it’s worth a try, but in all likelihood it’s going to absorb water differently than what I tested with, so this may take a lot of trial and error on your own.
I suspect this means Asian style rice flour (not glutinous) which is milled much finer than ordinary rice flour. I use it for Chinese dumpling wrappers.
Correct, but that said, you may have trouble with flours in the flour mixture that weren’t tested for the book. As you’ve suspected, this was only tested with US flour, and it may work differently with the products that are available to you where you are.
Hello, my question is from Gluten Free artisan bread in 5. I want to use psyllium husk or psyllium husk powder in making sticky buns for the holidays. To make your basic gluten free flour blend (for Challah bread dough) how much (and which one husk or powder) psyllium do you recommend I add to the flour mix. Appreciate your help. I want to make these for the upcoming holidays.
Best, Suzi
It should be labeled “ground psyllium husk;” it may or may not be the case that “powder” means the same thing. If you want to be extra safe, I’d seek out one labeled exactly as the one that was tested for the book. The amounts for the full batch of Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, in cup-measures, ounces, and grams, are in the table on page 60 of “Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3NSJCNM. It’s the last line in the table.
thank you for your response. usually the amount of psyllium husk ground or whole is much more than the amount of xanthan gum. used in a recipe Just wanted to be sure with your thinking and clarify that.
best,
suzi
Hmmm. With the ground psyllium husk product available in food coops, they measured the same–thats what the recipes were tested with. Problem might be non-standardization of this particular product, but I haven’t heard problems in this regard from readers here on the site.
Please be careful. Ground psyllium husk is NOT the same as the powder. I used one for the other in a recipe for GF hamburger buns and the result was a mess.
Okay, you’ve convinced me. Stick with the ground psyllium husk as written in the recipes, don’t use products labeled “psyllium powder.”
Hi, very excited to come across your GF book. I really appreciate the fact that you give actual flour mixtures rather than brands that are not available in London!
My question is this: given the energy crisis, have you developed a recipe for a bread maker? I mean a bread machine that kneads etc. I thought you might have something that may involve mixing etc by hand, and baking in the bread maker. I’m sure that it would be better than the manufacturer’s instructions.
Thanks
Lyn
No, afraid I haven’t done any testing with bread makers. You can mix the gluten-free dough by hand, as it reads in the book, but the truth is, as you may have guessed, it does come out better with a mixer. Emulsifies it better, and the result is a better texture. Interested to hear what you think after trying it.
Can the Master Blend recipe be altered to use in other types of Gluten Free baked goods such as cookies and cakes and pie crust? I am using the Mixture#1 Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour in the First Edition 2014 “Gluten Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day” book. Thanks for any suggestions.
My guess is that it probably can, though that wasn’t tested for these books. These were optimized for bread, which means they needed more structure (hence the xanthan gum or ground psyllium husk). Their presence here probably won’t be a problem for cookies, but it might make cakes seem tough. In any case, you’ll need to adjust the recipe for water requirement–no idea whether you’ll need more or less than whatever base recipe you’re starting from.
Hey there,
Just read the gf book and made my first batch of bread. The standard artisan loaf is a bit small and gets eaten quickly in my house! Can I double the amount of dough in the loaf or can I bake two loaves at one time? Thanks!
Yes, you can make a larger loaf. And it’ll work fine without much difference in baking time so long as you don’t make it twice as high. Similarly, nothing should change if you put two loaves in the oven.
I am working from The Best of Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day, pages 171-175, and I am confused. In the introduction to that section, you mention Bob’s Red Mill, but when you look at the recipes, none of the recipes in that Chapter call for Bob’s. If I have Bob’s, can I substitute that for the Brown rice flour, Sorghum Flour and Tapioca flour, etc. quantities? I am baking this for a friend. I understand that Bob’s AP is missing Xantham gum, so will still need to add that. If I am using Measure for measure… that would already have Xantham gum in it. How do Bob’s and King Arthur GF flours compare for your recipes? Any thoughts on using commercially available flours for bread for the occasional guest? Thanks.
On page 171, I’m talking there about the brand of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour/starch, etc., and the idea was to convey that everything had been tested with Bob’s Red Mill brand for those individual flours, not with Bob’s GF flour-mix–which did not work in these recipes. After many failures with commercial GF flour mixtures, I stuck with the custom mixes in the recipes, and tested them with Bob’s Red Mill brand flours.
Hello Zoe and Jeff! I finally geared up to try and make GF bread at home. I made a batch of dough yesterday and baked today. My first loaf is a failure: hard and small. I used a KA stand mixer (though the smaller size 4.5 bowl) and measured all the Bob’s flours by weight and followed directions. I gave it plenty of rising time, but my kitchen is cool. Would it help to use the proof function on my countertop convection oven? I think I put it in too early, after the pizza stone had preheated for 30 min but was not yet at 450 in my gas oven. The water dissipated almost immediately; should I put in more to keep steam going? Would the not hot enough oven be enough to produce my soft-ball sized rock loaf? I’d be grateful for any advice.
The proof function is a good place to start… See if that helps, and definitely let the oven fully preheat to maximize oven spring. Finally, for the next batch, let the KA run longer to see if more emulsification helps.
OK, did the proof function and preheated oven for an hour with the stone. Got zero oven spring! Inside is dense and a little spongy. I used a packet of yeast in this batch rather than a full tablespoon. I also was leery of letting it overmix in the KA, so those might be factors. after that first rise, it sank when I refrigerated it. Is that right? Would any of the recipes besides the boule be good if my dough isn’t springing up?
Does the dough seem wetter than typical dough to you? It should. If not, increase the water a bit. Given that your result isn’t actually a solid rock, you may be getting good expansion, but it may be going sideways. See what you think. If you do the bread in a loaf pan, especially if you have a nice small one
Can you create a gluten-free version of Betsey ‘s Seed Bread? It’s my favorite, but my daughter is gluten-free and can’t eat it.
Thank you,
Starr
Well… one could, but it’s going to take a lot of experimentation, because the Betsy-bread has a lot of heavy ingredients which tend to cause problems in GF formulas. The closest would be to start with the recipe on page 99 of Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Day (on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3NSJCNM)–it’s “Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Loaf.” You can swap in the barley malt syrup/honey/agave syrup for some of the water, but then the question about all the seeds. I think you can get away with at least some of the sunflower seeds, and all of the sesame seeds, and of course, all of the seeds on the top crust. I wouldn’t mess with all that rolled oats–too heavy. That might work as some sort of flatbread. Happy experimenting!
And I don’t have to tell you this, but no vital wheat gluten!
What modifications need to be made to the Gluten Free recipes for baking at high altitude? I live at about 5000′ in the Sierra and so far I’ve not had any success with baking anything up here, but not tried your recipes yet! Suggestions?
My wheat bait recipes did fine in Denver at 5200 ft, but I didn’t test the gluten-free recipes there. I’m guessing it’s going to be okay, but you might want to try the high altitude suggestions… Click on my FAQs page above.
Hi
Years ago I bought your Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book and my bread turned out beautifully. It was such an easy way to make good bread.
About two years ago I became gluten intolerant. I recently bought your Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book and thought I would give that a try. I am not being very successful as my bread is always too dense. I started with just measuring – didn’t rise. Then I went to weighing all the ingredients – same result. Then I tried weighing and forming and leaving in the fridge overnight – it helped a bit. I am now going to try reducing the water as I see in your video what the dough should look like and mine is definitely too wet.
I do have a question:
I am using ground psyllium husk instead of xantham gum. Would that make a difference in the rise?
I am really hoping to fix this and look forward to hearing from you whenever you can. Thanks.
No, That’s probably not the problem as it was tested with both of those and they worked. First question is whether you’re using the Bob’s Red Mill flour brands? Again, that’s what it was tested with.
Thanks for your reply. I am not using Bob’s Red mill flour. They are not all available here.
I have mixed up a half batch of dough (tried to match the consistency in the video. I will bake it in a couple of days. Fingers crossed.
Ah, that’s the problem, so all bets are off– you’ll need to adjust the liquids to match your flours’ moisture-absorptive capacity, as you’re doing. This should work out for you.
I accidentally left my dough out overnight after making it. Two hours turned into 10. There are no eggs in it. Can I still use it?
Sure can! Might want to refrigerate first so it’s easier to handle.
I’m new to your method and to baking gluten free. I mixed up half a batch of the GF master recipe with eggs. It’s in the fridge right now. I just realized when I halved the recipe I didn’t put in enough of the all-purpose GF flour blend. I did the math in my head and only did 445g instead of 495g. Since I’ve already refrigerated the dough, is it too late to add more flour? Thanks for your help.
You can do it, just allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 hours to re-ferment. All should be fine.
I tried the crock pot bread on p. 88. It baked on the bottom, but the top and center were mostly raw. I tried finishing in the oven at 350 degrees, but it never finished baking.
My crock pot did yogurt and stew perfectly the next two days.
Can you give me any suggestions?
My best guess is that in your particular crock pot, the setting that you selected wasn’t high enough. Try it a notch up
I’m wondering if there’s a recipe available for gf Norwegian “ lefse” wrap bread.
I’m afraid I don’t have one, but my best guess is you can easily find one on the internet. The question is whether the gluten-free flours made from my blend are going to create an overdense result in this kind of a recipe?.
I guess I am happy with my first try at making gluten free bread for my husband. Though it was denser than my gluten bread I’ve been making from your recipes, and I didn’t weigh the flours and didn’t mix with a stand mixer, the bread rose very well and it tastes great. The texture is not what I exactly expected, but I’ll keep trying using the weighing and mixer. The crumb is more dense than I expected. I did cut the recipe in half so my measuring 1/6 of some of the ingredients might not have been exact (oil and water).
My question is this I am trying to find potato flour (not starch) and haven’t been able to locate any. The recipe I was going to make was from “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” book published in 2013. It’s the Gluten Free Master recipe on page 268. I also have your “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day” and saw that the recipe for Gluten Free Crusty Boule on page 236 didn’t use potato flour, so that’s the recipe I used. I can continue to use that one, but I like to try various recipes to see which I like the best and then use that more often. Since I can’t find potato flour anywhere, I can’t try that recipe from the New Artisan in 5 Minutes a Day book. Any idea where I can find it? I live in Mpls. Mn.
First off, if you have an early edition of “The New Artisan…”, there’s a typo–Sorghum flour was left out of the Ingredients table on page 268. See the “Corrections” page at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2013/10/01/corrections-to-first-printing-of-the-new-artisan-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-2013/. Assuming you’re all set with that…
I thought the Bob’s Red Mill Potato Flour was available at food coops in Minneapolis (The Wedge, Linden Hills, Lakewinds), or even at Kowalski’s; if not, the food coops may be able to order it for you. Otherwise, you can order it yourself on Amazon at https://amzn.to/42traUt. Actually, at https://www.bobsredmill.com/store-finder.html?wbprod=8044, when I type in our location, it says that Lunds and Byerly’s has it.
I just purchased Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and tried the master recipe with psyllium powder and active dry yeast. I let the dough rise in my proofer at 72 degrees for 2 hours and it more than doubled. It fell a lot in the fridge. I tried two 1 lb loaves shaped like in your video and one 2 lb sandwich loaf and none of them rose at all in the final rest before baking or in the oven. I weighed all ingredients, including 25 g salt, and it turned out way too salty and didn’t brown at all. It was very dense in all attempts.
I have remixed the dough, still with psyllium, using 4 whole eggs and 1.5 tbsp diamond kosher salt which I let rise at 70 degrees in my proofer but I am not optimistic as it also rose a LOT in the initial proof and has fallen significantly in the fridge. I have reread the book and searched through countless comments, but I can’t find details on the initial rise in terms of how much rise is desired. I’m wondering if it’s being overproofed at this stage, leaving nothing left for oven spring?
I am experienced with GF sourdough, which I have been baking for a year with Mary Thompson’s book, but my daughter who is celiac is craving some breads made with non-sourdough. I’m debating if on my next attempt I’ll try only 30-60 minutes on the initial rise, or just move past the master recipe and try something else. Will you please share details on what amount of rise is expected in the first rise? What temperature do you usually use for this rise?
The rise you are seeing is what is expected. I think you’re going to prefer the version with eggs, which promotes more rising on the proofing step, and during oven spring. The best result of all that we have seen is with egg whites which you’ll see in chapter 5. As for temperature, it’s whatever temperature your house is, but because that can vary, results will vary. Is better 68 to 70
I have been using your books and I enjoy the original receipe in making a loaf. My daughter has gluten problems and I have tried one of the gluten free receipes but it is really not the same. I recently talked with a friend who buys French flour with less gluten and he has had success making bread in the traditional way. I have tried making bread by combining 1 Kilo of type T55 French flour with 1 1/2 TBS of Salt, 1 1/2 TBS dry yeast and 3 cups of warm water. By weight this is approximately 20 to 25% more flour than your receipes and ends up a little wet. I am going to try reducing the water, but it may not be necessary. The dough is a little wet, but it does rise in the pan when baking and makes a descent loaf that my daughter has no reaction to. Have you tried working with these flours as a gluten option. I have read your comments on dense and wet problems. Just trying to give your readers who have gluten problems a quicker option.
I have not tried these flours, and people with celiac disease will not tolerate them in any case. As for problems with gluten that are not celiac disease, it’s impossible to advise. The flour you’re using definitely contains gluten.
Help me!!!
I am so excited to make gluten-free artisan bread finally, and I have been collecting all the equipment for three months. I have all the ingredients and was very careful when measuring and mixing it. Then yesterday, I added the water and put it in the refrigerator to make today. My problem is I stopped reading on page 67 and put it in the fridge. Now I’m looking at pages 68 and 69 and realize I should have let it rise for two hours at room temperature!!!!! I did not do that, so now what should I do with it??? Do I throw it away?
Don’t throw it away, just take it out of the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and the rise should start. It may take much longer than what’s written in the book having been chilled
Hi guys!
I’m making the Challah from your GF book (quartered to make one loaf). First time I’m making one of your recipes (found the recipe on the internet; I’ve bought a copy of your book, but I’m still waiting for it to arrive in the UK).
I’ve read the FAQs so I know you test with your in-house GF flour blend/Bob’s Red Mill flours. Unfortunately in the UK, BRM flours are hard to get a hold of and can be very expensive. I looked on Amazon and to buy the flours to make 1 batch of your flour costs the equivalent of about $250.
So I switched out the flour for Caputo Fioreglut GF bread flour (GF wheat starch – I know a lot of people w gluten issues can’t eat wheat but I can – dextrose, maize starch, buckwheat flour, rice starch, psyllium seed fibre, guar gum & flavouring) which a lot of people say is the ‘closest’ to normal wheat strong bread flour. It’s still expensive, but it’s only about $12 for a kg instead of $125.
It’s worked really well (used a regular size KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook) but I had to add about 8 extra heaped tbsp of flour to get the dough to go from wet cake/pancake batter to a ‘proper’ dough ie whipping cleanly around the bowl without sticking to the sides etc. Clearly it was a hydration issue. Now I know to not add all the water at once and sort of eyeball it.
I saw the video of you guys making the GF master recipe, and I could see it’s meant to be slightly wet and sticky rather than like ‘normal’ bread dough.
Is that just the master recipe that’s meant to be that consistency, or all of the doughs? I’m worried I may have overdone it and added too much flour.
Also, how much is it supposed to rise initially? I know obviously it won’t rise as much as normal bread dough becuase the lack of gluten can’t form the structural network that traps air in it.
Good to hear that you’ve found a flour-blend that works in my recipes. Yes, all the GF doughs are quite wet and sticky–as in the video. As for whether you may have added too much flour, you’ll find out soon, in the storing of the dough, and the baking. If it’s too dry, it won’t store well (loses too much rising power), and the final baked loaf–may be dry. The rising? About double, but even if it’s less, there’ll be oven spring.
Hi have you ever used Caputo gluten free flour in your recipes?
Would love to be able to do so
Long time baker of your recipes until celiac hit our family
The recipes have really been tested with the flour mixture in my gluten free book. Haven’t had much luck with the pre-made mixes, though I have not tried Caputo’s–though scroll up to see one of my reader’s experience with it (pretty good but it’s got some wheat extract??). Some of the readers have reported good results with the Better Batter flour blend.
i have and love your Best Of book – in gf breads chap 10, i would need to sub white rice flour for the brown rice flour (doesn’t agree with us) – is that a 1 for 1 sub or are there any other adjustments we need to make? ty!!
Traveling at the moment, I’ll get back to you soon right here
You’re going to have to slightly decrease the water, keeping the consistency so that it looks like what you see in this video: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2015/03/03/gluten-free-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-the-video/
Once I have mixed the master recipe..flours only, how long can I keep it in the cupboard?
White flours can generally be kept three months, in my opinion. Whole grains, maybe less, but I’m not sure. Check with the manufacturer for the lifespan of each flour and the mixture will be storeable for the lowest of those. If you can freeze it in airtight containers, but really are tight, you can go longer.
Thanks. Think I will start over. Love, love your bread
In addition to being gluten sensitive I am also sensitive to yeast. Is there any substitute for yeast in bread making?
Assuming you’re not sensitive to naturally-occurring yeast (as in, natural sourdough), that might be a direction for you. My formula for natural sourdough is two of my books:
BestOfArtisan: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/BestOfArtisanBread
NewHealthy: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/healthy …
… or version here on the website, just type “sourdough” into the Search Bar above. If you really meant that even sourdough won’t work for you, then you’re looking for “quick breads” risen with baking soda and baking powder, and I don’t have any recipe for those. A million books cover that topic though.
I need to make a GF challah, but the recipes for the flour mixes would not make it Hamotzi (needs to be at least 51% oat). Can the amounts of rice flour and oat flour be swapped so that the oat is the majority?
Thanks.
I’m not sure which of my recipes or flour mixtures you’re talking about, maybe Mixture #2 on page 62 of my Gluten-Free book (Whole-Grain Gluten-Free Flour)? If so, swapping those won’t push oat above 51%, so I may be confused here. Can you be specific about which recipe you’re using? Mixture #1 doesn’t contain any oat flour.
Is there a reason you can only use up to 2 cups of old dough for the pate fermentee (GF Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day, page 73)? I’ve found that as I incorporate the old dough over multiple weeks, the dough gets less dense and more airy/springy. I had to start over with no old dough but wondering if I can speed up the process of returning to the less dense texture by using greater quantities of old dough.
It all depends on how old your old dough actually is. I have found that it loses significant rising power later in its lifespan. So if you exceed two cups with old stuff you can get something that’s dense. I have a feeling this is mostly a matter of taste, and that most of my readers are looking for something with a little bit less of that sourdough flavor. If you’re finding this to be perfect for you, I never argue with success. Keep doing it!
I put together the GF bread dough following the recipe. It is very dry – is there any way to recover this dough or use it. I did make English muffins that were tasty and very dense. Would like other ideas if there are any.
Thank you for all your efforts to include the GF population.
What brand of flours did you use to make the mixture? My recipes were tested with Bob’s Red Mill, and any brand substitutions will throw off the water requirement. You can try adding some water so it looks like what’s in my videos. Have you seen those? You may need to add water but also a little bit more flour mixture to restart The fermentation process
I have had good success making the GF crusty Boule (combo of the website’s technique/ instructions of using a dutch oven and the book’s recipe and rest of the instructions). What I can’t seem to find is a way to increase the size of my loaves reliably. The grapefruit is just too little for my needs. Double would be ideal.
I have played with increasing rest time, adjusting timing elsewhere, but I haven’t found a winning combo. Can you advise or direct me to the answer?
I’ll try, but you haven’t told me what goes wrong when you double the size. What is the result?
Hello – I am new to GF and purchased the book GF Artisan Bread in 5min. I am very excited to try the Baguette recipe! (p75) I have a few questions I need your help with:
1.) I have a Miele oven with steam settings for various types of breads. Has anyone tried using the Miele’s steam vs using the methods in the book? If so, were the results good?
2.) I purchased the metal pan for the baguette as suggested. Should I put the filled baguette pan directly on the stone to cook? Do I need to move the baguette pan up a rack throughout the process to get a harder crust?
Thank you for your help.
Well, in 2022, I also bought a Miele oven with the steam function, and I still haven’t found a setting or approach that works as well as the methods in the book. That said, I haven’t really tried all that hard. With a bigger dose of steam, you can manipulate that. Given that I get good results the old fashioned way, I haven’t been motivated to experiment with this.
Your pan can be placed directly on the stone, but it’s possible you won’t need the stone at all. I wouldn’t say this for the Boule, which I think works better on a stone. You may or may not need to move to a higher shelf, as the Miele gives very even heat. For each oven… experimentation is helpful
I have made the Brioche dough from “Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day” twice, halving the recipe. Both times It came out like popover batter. I followed the recipe carefully and am not sure why I had these results.
Before I answer, did you try to bake it. If so, how’d it turn out?
I did try to bake it as rolls. They didn’t hold their shape and the baked result was flat, like a corn bread
Did you make any substitutions, including for a different brand of gluten-free flours? This was tested with Bob’s Red Mill, and I can’t vouch for results with anything else. Did you weigh the flour, or try to do it by volume? If you did it by volume, which is less accurate, did you use the scoop and sweep method as recommended? Did you use a stand mixer?
I made no substitutions. I used the brioche recipe on page 216 in “Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes”. I weighed all the ingredients, as I always do, and used a stand mixer. I let the dough proof for 2 hours then put in fridge overnight.
If you used 300 grams of Mixture #1, and you made a batch of #1 using weighed Bob’s Red Mill products according to the formula on page 60, and you included xanthan gum or ground psyllium husk, and used the additional cornstarch and xanthan or psyllium… then there isn’t an explanation that I could offer from a distance like this. The only possible explanation is some accidental error in weighing. This recipe was tested as written over and over again, so I’m stumped. One minor thing– the GF doughs work better when mixed in a stand mixer– better emulsification. But that doesn’t explain why your result is the consistency of pancake batter. To salvage the batch– you could try adding more of #1 until it looks like what’s in the video at https://artisanbreadinfive.com/2015/03/03/gluten-free-bread-in-five-minutes-a-day-the-video/. But depending on what the problem was, this might be iffy.
Thanks Jeff. I appreciate the time you spent responding to my situation. l will try adding #1 incrementally.
Hi Mark,
I had this happen to me, too, but for the GF Master recipe. I had to add a full half batch of dry ingredients to get a dough that resembled what I saw on the website for this bread. I used another baker’s bread recipe a week ago, and the same thing happened. I wonder if my brown rice flour has a different absorbency than Bob’s Red Mill. I am going to cut the liquid way back and experiment.
I have found, that yes this is exactly. The problem. Is tremendous variability across brands, and that led me to test with only this single brand that is available across the United States. It’s going to take experimentation with others. After you added the extra flour, how did the bread turn out?