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Hi Everyone,
My thanks to all who sent me answers, which we excellent and I plan to try  
each and every one.  My original question was what to do so my crust didn't 
 come so browned, etc., and never soft.   The question covered  insulated 
pans, baking times, and other things.  Many suggested I  contact Anna, as I 
am using the Bread From Anna mix.   She  also responded.    Please read below 
all the responses I  received.  You are a great group!!!     Bev
 
 
We  also bake Breads from Anna here in our bakery, and use the heavy-duty 
pans from  Williams-Sonoma.  When we first moved into this building, we had a 
lot of  problems getting the bread to work, but it finally did!  We now 
bake at a  lower temperature (335) for a slightly longer time.  We actually do 
not  even cover it at all now, although we did in our previous  location.  
Maybe you could try a lower temp and a longer time?   We check for doneness 
by "thumping" it.  I'd love to hear what you're  doing.
 
 
Use 2 standard bread pans with 2  pennies in between the two to make like 
air pan.  WHAT A GREAT IDEA! 
For several years I have  baked gf bread in an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 pan and I 
place an identical pan upside down  on top of it for he entire baking period.  
You won't be able to watch the  bread rise but the result is always very 
nice.  If I don't use the second  pan, my crust always gets too brown.  These 
pans are cheap ones from the  hardware store.

I like using this size pan because the bread gets a good  domed shape.  
With a larger pan, it always falls, and small pans don't give  me the size of 
loaf that I like.  I get sixteen slice of bread from this  size.  Also grease 
top  pan. 
Here is a long response from Vic  who is always experimenting:    
I don't use the mix you use, but  I can give you a tip. When I bake breads 
at 375 degrees, they usually cook in  about 40 minutes. But time is not a 
good indication of temperature. You can get  an inexpensive Taylor digital 
cooking thermometer at Wal-Mart  for way less than $10. I don't remember the 
exact price. The thermometer has a  shaft that is pointed at the end. Take the 
bread out of the oven at 30 minutes,  put the thermometer into the center, 
but don't let it touch the pan. I'd guess  that it will be about 180 
degrees. Now go for another 10 minutes. What you are  looking for is the internal 
temperature of 200 to 210 degrees F.

I happen  to use a pyrex 5" X 8" glass pan because I don't like a heavy 
crust. Metal pans  will often give a heavier crust.

If you want to bake your bread for an  hour, drop the temperature to 350 
degrees F. Sometimes that improves bread and  sometimes it is harmful to the 
texture. I generally bake at 375, and that works  for me. If you want to take 
a look at the breads I bake, go to 
_http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/gfbaking_ (http://home.comcast.net/~vhdolcourt/gfbaking)  .  

Anna's mix ingredients are pretty standard and do not differ greatly  from 
ingredients I use or have used: Cornstarch, tapioca flour, powdered skim  
milk, chickpea flour, pinto bean flour, navy bean flour, sorghum flour,  
Montina®, crystallized honey, xanthan gum, salt and gluten free yeast. Federal  
law requires that ingredients be listed in order of amount. Cornstarch and  
tapioca flour make the bulk of the ingredients. We already know that about 
1/3  cup of powdered skim milk (equivalent to 1 cup of fluid milk) is optimum 
for a  loaf of bread. Therefore, the amounts of chickpea, pinto bean, navy 
bean,  sorghum and montina are probably 1/3 cup each or less. There will be 2 
- 4  tablespoons of dried honey. 
I  do bake some things in metal pans - the smaller loaves - and they come 
out just  fine. Of course they cook in a shorter period of time than the 
large loaf. So,  glass is not the key, I don't believe. When you mix the bread, 
do you use a  stand mixer and mix for a minimum of 5 minutes on high speed? 
It is really  important to do the blending. Bread from Anna contains a lot 
of pretty neutral  starches which have fine particles. These are going to be 
harder to mix.  Therefore, you'll really need aggressive mixing.

Perhaps I can suggest  that you try a different mix, just to see how it 
cooks up. I recommend a mix  where starch (tapioca flour, cornstarch, potato 
starch) is not the first  ingredient - perhaps something with lots of brown 
rice as the first ingredient  or Bob's Red Mill which contains much more 
protein. You may not like the taste  of these as well as Bread from Anna, but it 
would be interesting to see if you  can get a well baked loaf in less time. 
I really believe that you are greatly  over-baking your bread by 1/3 unless 
there is something drastically wrong with  your oven. Bread is done at 200 - 
210 degrees. After that you are dehydrating  it.

Gluten free breads contain much more water than wheat based breads.  This 
is unavoidable. Chef Richard Coppedge Jr. from the Culinary Institute of  
America is the authority on the composition of gluten free breads. I don't like 
 his recipes, but he is a smart guy and understands the science. Bottom 
line is  that the gluten free breads are likely to be wetter and perhaps 
gummier. This is  not a sign of being undercooked.

I have a couple of breads that are good  to eat untoasted that are less 
gummy (maybe not gummy at all, but that is a  personal sensation) and don't use 
exotic ingredients. You'd have to make these  without a mix, unfortunately. 
The Potato bread and the Portuguese Broa (my  version) can be eaten 
untoasted. I freeze them just after they cool and then let  them come to room 
temperature or hurry them along with 10 -- 15 seconds of  microwaving.

I've had some bread mixes, and they are good for what they  are. Whole 
Foods 365 (just discontinued) is a great white bread that isn't all  that great 
for you. It bakes up a little gummy. I actually have the recipe for  it, and 
I have cut back on the water slightly in my test versions. What happens  is 
that the rise is not as good, but the bread is less wet. The issue here is  
that heavily hydrated starches become irretrievably gummy. Have rise, have  
texture, pick one. I'm willing to give up a bit on the rise. I just use the 
best  yeast I can find and baby it. I also add baking powder, and that 
gives me oven  spring.   Vic 
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