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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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