A good gluten-free bread mix

In our ongoing quest to make a good loaf of yeast bread without wheat, we have found a mix that is really good. Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Bread Mix is evidently a new product for them. It says so on the box!

I have used Hodgson Mill mixes and pastas over the years and I like their products. We used to make an oat bran muffin from one of their mixes at least a couple of times a week and my family loved those muffins. I've also used their whole wheat products -- really they had whole wheat products before most of the other mainstream companies jumped on the bandwagon and started offering whole wheat. It really hasn't been very long, after all, since the American public began to embrace whole wheat bread.

Now that so many people have wheat allergies, this company has expanded to include a line of gluten-free products like all-purpose baking mix and gluten-free cookie mix. Many of their products include speciality flours like this bread mix, with garbanzo bean flour. But it is only gluten-free and not a vegan or organic bread mix. This recipe does include eggs which gives it a very nice texture.

I will say, it is good. It holds together and can be toasted or used for sandwiches. Our little one who is on a wheat-free diet wouldn't touch many of the breads we made using oat and other flours because they were too crumbly and didn't have the taste and feel of wheat. He is now eating sandwiches from this bread and I honestly think he feels much less deprived. I also think this bread could work for pizza dough and buns. I am in the process of shopping for bun pans and when I do, I am thinking this mix would work well for hamburger and hot dog buns.

I discovered this in the regular bread mix section at Krogers and have been back for more. The price was $3.99 and it makes a very big loaf makes approximately 14 large slices.

I am a little disappointed in one of the claims. They say this mix includes whole grain rice but the ingredients only list rice starch as an ingredient. Here's the listing: Garbanzo Bean Flour, Corn Starch, Sorghum Flour, Tapioca Starch, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Fava Flour, Rice Starch, Xanthan Gum, Flake Salt, Soy Lecithin, Ascorbic Acid. I also thought the fiber content was a bit low, so make sure you think this is good for a high -fiber diet. I do think it is a very good alternative to wheat.

I also think garbanzo bean flour mimics wheat better than most flours but you do have to get used to the taste, as with almost everything else. It's not quite what mama used to make but it is very good. To sum it up, I will say that we offered my husband, who is our resident "Mikey" a slice. He added butter and honey and said, "Hey, this is really good. I could eat this all the time." That's good enough for me.