Product Review: Pamela's Products Gluten-Free Bread Mix

First Published September 24, 2010

Update: I haven't made bread for some time; brands such as Udi offer bread now that is pretty good, and it freezes well. But I want to try making a loaf of bread using one of the flour blends that claim a 1-to-1 cup exchange. That is, you can replace the wheat flour ingredient in a recipe for the gluten free blend -cup for cup. If it calls for three cups wheat flour, use three cups of the blend. So yes, I have to try that.

Thanks for reading. September, 2025

Watch how this bread comes together on our YouTube video

Demonstration of Pamelas Amazing Gluten Free Bread Recipe

Original Post: Each week I make at least one loaf of gluten-free bread from scratch for my son. This week, though, I made bread using Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix. It's a yeast bread, and a packet of yeast is included. All I needed was 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of oil and about 1 3/4 cups of water. Into the stand mixer it goes and then into a prepared 8x4 loaf pan. Let it rest for an hour and then into the oven for 70 minutes.

I was skeptical. I've been disappointed before by bread mixes: the taste is bland, the texture crumbly or the middle collapses during the baking process. But I hadn't tried Pamela's bread mix yet, so I purchased a 19 ounce package for $5.99 and made a loaf of bread.

The final product tastes good, isn't crumbly and rose just like yeast bread should rise, with a nicely browned dome shape. Now, $6 is a bit high for a loaf of bread, plus the cost of additional ingredients, but contemporary cooking is sometimes a bit more costly.

Pamela's Products Gluten-Free Bread Mix, though, is available in bulk through Amazon.com, and it brings the cost down a bit. And you can store the packaged mix in the freezer, so the investment is well worth it.

Considering that I often pay as much as $4.50 for a loaf of whole grain, trans-fat free bread in the supermarket, the cost of Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix isn't too bad.

Disclaimer:

 I did not receive this product as a promotional item. I paid for it myself.

Gluten Free Daily Bread

I make gluten free bread from scratch. It’s a rice flour bread and the process is a departure from the usual one used in bread making.

Let’s start with the recipe.

Dry ingredients
3 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons milled flax seed
3 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup dry milk
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Wet ingredients
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon molasses
1 1/2 cups water

Butter a 5x9 loaf pan and sprinkle with rice flour to coat.

Mix all your dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl, including the yeast. You don’t proof the yeast with this gluten free bread as you would with wheat-flour bread.

Put the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat lightly with the whisk attachment. Add the vinegar, the canola oil and molasses and beat again to mix. Add half the water to this and mix again.

Change to the dough hook. Add your dry ingredients to the bowl all at once.

Mix the dry ingredients at low speed. Add the remaining water one to two tablespoons at a time.

The trick here is to add the water slowly, keeping the dough moist. The dough will not look anything like wheat-flour dough. You want to add the water slowly and get the bread dough to the consistency of thick cake batter. You may not use all the water. You may need a little more.

Adding the water is the equivalent of adding the flour in traditional, wheat flour bread making.

Once you get the dough right, spoon it into the pan. Spread the dough out evenly and set in a warm place. Cover with a clean towel and allow the bread to rise. Once it reaches the top of the pan, it’s ready for the oven.

Bake the bread at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes, depending on your oven.

Allow the bread to cool completely, at least two hours. Now you have to store it.

Gluten free bread should be frozen. If you leave it on the counter in a plastic bag, it will dry out, crumble and go bad within a couple of days.

I slice the bread, place the slices in plastic sandwich bags (I put in two slices to each bag) and then put all the bags in a larger gallon-size freezer bag. I take out a bag or two at a time, depending on need.

Just set the bag with the slices in it on the counter and allow the bread to defrost. This takes less than an hour. You can also put it in the toaster on low, if you like.

Unlike wheat-flour bread, gluten free bread doesn’t get soggy when frozen.

This bread won’t taste like white bread. It’s denser, hardier, and has an almost nutty taste. It tastes great with homemade jelly, which we’ll talk about in an upcoming post.