Gluten-Free Bread Machine Tips

Warm, gluten-free bread with sorghum flour, just baked.

Need to troubleshoot a gluten-free bread machine disaster? Here's a few key tips on baking gluten-free bread in a bread machine.

Match your g-free bread recipe or gluten-free bread mix to your bread machine (pan sizes vary). Are you baking a 1.5 pound loaf? Or a 2-pound loaf? Check manufacturer's instructions for loaf sizing. Often, "short" loaves are the result of not enough dough for the size of the pan.

Use a good recipe. Or a tasty gluten-free bread mix with superior ingredients (sorghum flour, brown rice flour, almond flour, millet, to name a few). Not all recipes and mixes are created equal. A bread based on white rice flour and potato starch is never going to be amazing. Honestly. Remember that starches are dirt cheap for manufacturers (hence their popularity). But they're also devoid of nutrition, texture and flavor. So choose wisely. Because the cheap stuff still sports a hefty price tag (the gluten-free market is booming, after all). So why not go for the higher protein, more flavorful gluten-free flours?

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Delicious Gluten-Free Bread Recipe - dairy-free and rice-free, too

My best gluten-free bread recipe. Note: The loaf pictured has eggs.

Man shall not live by bread alone, so the famous saying goes. In other words, we need ideas to feed us, too. We need awareness. Conscious action. An expression and celebration of the spirit.

And yet (here's the sticky part, folks) almost every spiritual tradition includes the bread we shall not solely live by, whether it be a hand-torn loaf, a paper thin wafer, a piece of matzoh, a curve of naan, or a sprinkle of cornmeal. Breaking bread and sharing grain is a cherished and beloved symbol for community, celebration and tribal nourishment. From Holy Communion to the Super Bowl gatherings around an elevating principle or a family milestone (from birth to marriage to funerals) include the simple but connecting gesture of sharing food.

Because cooking makes us human.

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