Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix by Bob’s Red Mill

I am about to write a product review of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix,
but before I do I have to fess up. The FTC says I am supposed to tell you when I write about products that I receive for free, and the truth is – I don’t remember if I the folks at Bob’s sent me this mix, or if I purchased it. I have (from time to time) received product from Bob’s Red Mill, and I have also purchased quite a bit. So there you have it.

During the writing of Learning to Bake Allergen-Free I tried many off-the-shelf baking mixes, and created recipes from some of my favorites for the book. This happens to be one mix I hadn’t got around to trying prior to publication.

This mix is part of Bob’s gluten-free line, which means it is made in a dedicated wheat-free and dairy-free facility. While it doesn’t contain any of the other top-8 food allergens, the facility does process tree nuts and soy. The mix uses a garbanzo bean flour base (along with other flours and starches), and guar gum. I know that some of you need flour blends without rice or xanthan gum, and this contains neither.

Another thing I am asked a lot about bread mixes is – can you make it in a bread machine? The answer is yes. While I used the by-hand instructions, this mix can also has instructions for a bread machine.

I did need to adapt the add-in ingredients. I used hemp milk for the milk. Instead of ¾ cup eggs plus egg whites I used ½ cup flax seed gel and
¼ cup applesauce. Instead of butter I used grapeseed oil.

I found that I needed considerably less time in the oven than suggested. The directions called for 60-65 minutes baking time. I set my timer for 50 minutes (15 minutes less than the suggested time) and found that I left it in a little too long; my thermometer was already up to 212 degrees – optimal would be 205-210. Forty-five minutes would have been perfect.

The result was a slightly deformed bread (it sunk in along the sides a bit), but nicely browned and quite tasty:

I know some of you turn up your noses at garbanzo bean flours. To my taste buds there is no discernable bean taste to the bread – it has a nice mild taste with a very traditional bread-like consistency. It also held up well over the next few days without getting the mushy tops that some gluten-free bread does. All in all I was very happy with this bread mix, and add it to my list of off-the-shelf options. It makes a great sunflower butter and jam sandwich: