After that conversation with my dad about what I could eat (see previous post), mom and I went to Whole Foods to pick up a few supplies. We went down most of the aisles pouring over ingredients and trying to come up with a few general meal ideas. When we got back to their house, "Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Homemade Wonderful GF Bread Mix" was the first thing we made (Bob's website). Mom had made bread years before so she had a general idea of what to do. I, on the other hand, had not.
The directions were fairly straight forward, so I went ahead and took charge. I was a bit worried that the bread would not turn out well since I had issues making the included yeast fizzle. Once it had spent the recommended 25-30 minutes rising in a warm place, it did seem like the dough had puffed up a bit. I slid it into the preheated oven and set the timer for 60 minutes. I came back a little early since I could smell the bread baking. It was a good thing I did since it was a smidge away from being burnt. Oh, and I shouldn't have worried about it rising. It came out of the oven as "Franken-loaf": a huge, hulking, oddly shaped loaf of indeterminate bread (I must have not smoothed out the top layer enough before baking).
After cooling on a rack, I decided to cut a piece to see what my lovely brown bread would taste like. I already knew from other gluten-free blogs that gf bread does not taste like the real thing. I went into it expecting "different" and wasn't disappointed. The biggest obstacle to me was just how darn dry it was. I don't know if it was me, the oven, or what because it made my mouth drier than the Sahara in June. I slathered all natural peanut butter and apple butter on it to see if it would make a difference. It helped some, but I was a bit sad that I had a whole loaf still left to eat.
"Bob's Mix" redeemed itself the next day after sitting wrapped in foil overnight. I think the trapped moisture helped soften it up some. I decided to make it into toast since toast is dry anyway. It was pretty good with the apple butter and an orange. So that is the way I have enjoyed the whole loaf since I returned home from holiday. I would purchase the mix again now that I know to trap some moisture before eating. I have used the white rice flour previously and will definitely continue to purchase other products in the future, but I think I will try some other brands before returning to this bread mix.
Speaking of, I made a loaf of bread in my new bread machine last night. Details to come once I actually have taste tested.
So, I guess this cooking adventure is really going to turn out like I thought it would: burnt, strange looking, but eventually edible just like all those early experiments when I was learning how to cook. I guess it is time for another one of my tasting parties!
:D
*I do not get paid or otherwise rewarded for any of the products I review (at this time). The review is just my personal experience with the product. If a product sounds like something you would enjoy or you have tried it yourself, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought.
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