Gluten-Free Bread/Bun Mix Taste Test

The time has come!Today I’m posting my taste test, which is sponsored by the Linden Hills Co-op.This time we’re taking on a gluten-free bread mix made by a company called “The Twisted Bakery”.If you saw my post from December 26^th, you know today’s post involves a prize!More on that later in this post.

Making the Gluten-Free Buns

On December 23^rd, I made this mix so I could have some buns in time for Christmas dinner. The good news is the Twisted Bakery’s Gluten-Free White Bread and Bun Mix has very simple ingredients for you to add during the mixing process; only oil, vinegar, warm water and an egg.I really liked that about this mix.During the mixing it had a very nice consistency as well.

I scooped out the 1 ½ -2 inch dollop of bread dough on the greased pan.I shaped and then let them rise.Now can you feel the tension? This is where bread baking (that doesn’t involve a machine) gets very dicey for me: the rising.Gluten-free items never seem to rise (enough) for me.In fact I wish more companies would be willing to put the expectations of rising on their directions to help better manage expectations of us bread-challenged folks.

Buns that “rose” to the occasion

I created a warm environment in which the dough could rise.I warmed up the oven and placed as many dough-filled cookie sheets as I could on the stove where the heat was resonating.The ones placed there rose moderately – looking more like a shallow biscuit than a dinner roll.The ones that didn’t get on the stove to rise looked much more like a puffy cookie.

They didn’t get really any bigger in the oven either, so I ended up with half of my dough turning into pretty decent rolls, and the other half – resembled more of a hockey puck – but edible. Once they cooled I popped them in the freezer and they awaited a Christmas Day unveiling to my gluten-free family members.

The Verdict?

The GF Crew Eating Christmas Dinner

When it was time for the Christmas meal, I took them out and warmed them up in the microwave a bit and set them on the table.They were well–liked by all three gluten-free family members!Nice job!Even my picky daughter thought they were “pretty good”.My newly-diagnosed brother described them to me as tasting like “…those premade Pillsbury rolls.  The ones you buy in cardboard tubes.  Then you bake them for a few minutes.”That was not a bad review.He ate several of them.And I think any time you can get a gluten-free product to taste more mainstream, I think that’s fantastic!

I do recommend these (especially for people more bread savvy than I); they tended to have a slightly saltier taste rather than sweet.The consistency was very good:a bit of a crunch on the outside but a nice airy consistency on the inside.If you’re looking for a new mix to try I say this is a good one; it costs approximately $5.00 per mix.Plus it’s made in North Dakota, which I thought was cool.You can find a selection of Twisted Bakery products at the Linden Hills Co-op in Minneapolis.For people who live outside of the Twin Cities area, you can go to The Twisted Bakery’swebsite for more information on their selection.

One Free Mix to a Lucky Reader

Back to the contest, in last December’s announcement of this new addition to the blog, I said we would draw names from registered users of this blog who were registered within 24 hours of this blog post. The winner receives one bag of the Twisted Bakery mix that I tried.The drawing will be Tuesday morning as this post will hit at 5:00 a.m. CST Monday January 12th.I will post the winner Wednesday morning!Good luck.

For more adventures in gluten-free baking using The Twisted Bakery mixes, the Linden Hills Co-op in Minneapolis has a muffin demonstration on January 23rd.  Click here for more information.

Tags: bread, dough, Linden Hills, review, rising, taste test, Twisted Bakery