Foolproof Gluten-Free Bread in a Bread Machine

I don’t know what I would do without my bread machine. If you need to eat gluten-free, one of the things that you might miss the most is delicious bread. I know that sandwich bread has been one of those things that has been hard to replace ever since I started eating gluten-free.

Learning how to make gluten-free bread – yes, from a mix – without messing it up in my bread machine has been integral to my mental health. I can only eat so many lettuce wrapped deli sandwiches without crying. Having the ability to enjoy the smell of fresh baked bread filling my house and slathering delicious butter all over a warm piece of freshly sliced bread right out of the bread machine has brought me such joy. Really. Joy.

This post will be short and sweet … I have tried quite a few bread machine gluten-free bread mixes. I gravitate towards the ones that make sandwich bread. Beautiful, white, sandwich bread. My favorites have been from Pamela’s, Glutino, Hodgson Mills, King Arthur Flour, and GF Jules.

Over the years, having tried different bread mixes, I have found a few tricks that make sure that my gluten-free sandwich bread experience is fool proof. I use an ancient Breadman Ultimate bread machine. I will cry when it bites the dust. Your bread machine might need different tricks but start with these…

Foolproof Gluten-Free Bread in a Bread Machine … A Few Tips! 

1.) Keep all your ingredients at room temperature to start – especially your eggs! If you don’t have time to let your eggs sit on the counter and come to room temperature, run them under warm water to warm them up.

2.) Apple cider vinegar – apple cider vinegar is used in a lot of gluten-free baked goods to help with the leavening – or rising. The acid interacts with a base – baking soda – and creates a little chemical reaction that makes your bread rise so pretty!

3.) Separate liquid and dry and work quickly – In most bread machines, the correct order is very simple – combine the wet ingredients and pour into the pan. Combine the dry ingredients (not yeast) and gently add them to the top of the wet ingredients so as not to mix them yet. Make a little divet in the top of your dry ingredients to add the yeast. Don’t let the yeast touch the liquid right away.

4.) Make sure your liquids are really, really warm – in order to activate the yeast properly, the milk or water that you are going to warm up needs to be between 110 and 115 degrees. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If the liquid is too cool, the yeast won’t activate properly and your bread won’t rise much, if at all.

5.) Don’t walk away right away – For my bread machine, I have two white bread settings – fast and slow. I always use the fast setting – a little over two hours. After the initial combining of the ingredients in the bread machine, I always open the top and use a spatula to scrape down the flour left on the sides of the pan. I have made the mistake of walking away from the bread machine after adding the ingredients – only to open it up a couple of hours later and see all this flour lining the sides. Don’t do that. You just need to check once – after that, let the machine do all the work.

6.) Milk vs Water – Milk is going to give you a creamier, richer bread with a crust that browns a little bit more. That being said, water will work fine!

Good luck! What other tips have you gleaned from gluten-free bread making in a bread machine?