Which gluten-free bread machine to choose? Well, here is our opinion on the best gluten-free bread maker.
Comparison of the Best Gluten Free Bread Machines
Are you gluten intolerant? Well, if you are, this shouldn’t stop you from preparing delicious gluten-free recipes at home! Many brands have taken to heart this health problem that affects more and more people, so it is now easy to find a quality gluten-free bread machine. The gluten-free bread machine is not that different from the others. though. In fact its only difference is usually the gluten-free bread program. As a result, such bread maker would have features and options that are pretty much common to other similar devices in its class.
A gluten-free bread machine is very practical and functional household item and can make all kinds of recipes, in addition to the preparation of gluten-free bread. Since not all bread machines have a gluten-free program, we will help you choose the best gluten-free machine for your kitchen. We will also give you some tips to easily prepare your gluten-free recipes.
Gluten-Free Bread Machine: The Essential Criteria to Pick the Right One!
In order to choose the best gluten-free bread machine, it is necessary to consider certain criteria that would guarantee you a choice adapted to your real needs, and will help you find the ideal bread machine for your kitchen.
Check for Gluten Free Bread Baking Program
Before looking at other important criteria, you should of course check if the bread maker you are interested in has a gluten-free bread program. Once you make sure the machine has such gluten free feature, you can evaluate the other options if offers and see if they will really be useful to you.
Always prefer a machine that can meet your needs, no matter how simple it is, as there’s no point in buying a bread making machine full of unnecessary programs which won’t give you what you are looking for.
Check the capacity.
The baking tank or pan is the place where everything is done, from the preparation of the dough to the cooking. Choose a machine with a tank of adequate size, so you can make a firm, fleshy bread in sufficient quantity. If you are a large family, choose a device with a tank capacity of about 2 kg.
Number of Features
The fancy features would give a bread machine all the charm and ensure an easy and pleasant use. You don’t have to have all of them to appreciate the performance of your machine, some of them are more practical than others. For example, the delayed start mode for 13 or 15 hours is quite often much appreciated by users, as it allows you to launch your machine at night to enjoy a fresh steamy bread for breakfast. You can also have automatic ingredient distribution, choice of loaf size or baking of gluten free bread …
Don’t forget the Design.
We already forgot about the clumsy big cooking appliances that took up too much space in our kitchens, especially nowadays when they get smaller and smaller. Compact models are more aesthetically pleasing and easy to transport. So, you want to choose a device that ultimately weighs no more than 6kg. There is no need to overlook design really. Having an elegant bread maker will give nice charm and cozy feel to your kitchen.
Gluten-free bread Machines: Best models
Check some of the best trending bread machine models right now:
Where can I find gluten-free bread maker recipes ?
To make the most of your gluten-free bread machine, you need to have a good amount of recipes to vary your pleasures. Contrary to what some people think, getting such recipes is not hard at all.
There are many websites that offer gluten-free recipes. These are often sites that sell kitchen appliances such as bread machines.
On cooking websites and blogs, you can also find a variety of recipes for gluten-free bread machines. Most often, you’ll just have to type “gluten-free bread maker recipe” into the search engine to make it all appear. They are easy to implement and usually free of charge.
It is also possible to obtain gluten-free recipes for your machine along with your bread maker package too. To please the users and give them practical ideas to use their bread machine properly, it is common to have a recipe book provided with the machine. Since these recipes are original and tested with the bread maker in question, they will allow you to properly explore new gluten-free flavors.
What gluten-free bread machine flour to use ?
With the increasing number of people suffering from gluten intolerance, it’s necessary to incorporate the ingredients adapted to this gluten free diet, and in particular gluten free flour.
Since we have quite a variety of buckwheat, rice, quinoa or millet flour or all the other gluten-free flours, it’s not always easy to make your choice on which flour will be a good fit for your gluten-free bread machine recipes. So, here are some tips that should help you:
With its very light taste, rice flour will be ideal for making a wide variety of bread machine preparations. It does, however, have some minuses, such as making a dry, crumbly bread. Don’t hesitate to combine it with any other gluten-free flour to make up for this “defect”.
If you use flour with a strong taste like soy or quinoa, it is best to combine it with a flour with a rather neutral taste like rice flour for example.
Some gluten free flours are very water absorbing. So, it’s important to carefully follow the recommended amounts in the recipe for each flour you use.
You can sometimes choose to use ready made gluten-free flour mixes. But it is usually better to make them yourself to be sure that the taste will suit your taste buds.
It’s often more sensible to make gluten-free bread machine recipes by mixing your own flour. This will compensate for the unpleasant features of each of the different gluten-free flours.
You can try to make a gluten-free flour mixture by yourself with the ingredients below:
- 350 g white rice flour
- 75 g Corn starch(Maizena) or potato starch
- 50 g soya flour
- 25 g chestnut or quinoa flour (for flavor)
- 10 g guar gum
This solution is cheaper than store bought blends and you can also measure proportions according to your taste and try other possible variants. The key is to find the mixture that will have a nice taste and can make you a little puffy and not too dense bread.
Bread machines, in theory, should all be able to make gluten-free bread since it is the ingredients that matter after all. But the absence of gluten gives the dough a lack of elasticity and a major inability to aerate and rise.
Assessing the Performance and Mode of Operation of the Best Bread Machine
Yield ratings are the meat and potatoes in our review process. Here, design and functionality meet. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
Programming and interface: the programming of a bread machine is usually carried out by a digital interface. We examine everything from the type and location of the buttons to the readability of the screen and the ease of understanding.
General ease of use: this is a complete score that addresses all aspects from the point of view of a novice user, from the first measurement of flour to the finished bread.
Versatility: bread machines are touted for their versatility, pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a “unitasker” we count the number of pre-set programs and the inch through the recommended recipes to get to that score.
Low noise level: at the end of the day, the sound level of your bread machine can make all the difference. When we had three at a time, the marks for this category quickly became clear. Depending on your intention and the location of your kitchen, your bread maker can become a nuisance or an alarm clock.
Ease of removing the ready bread loaf: turn, pull or both? Removing a hot bread mold from the machine has a slight learning curve for each machine, varying in process, ease and feel. The location and swivel of the handle also makes a difference.
Removal and cleaning of paddles: we noticed that some breads came out of the cooking tank more easily than others and we can attribute it to the removal of the kneading blade or paddle. Cleaning these paddles is by far the most difficult task of bread-making, apart from sweeping flour and breadcrumbs. Although the paddles rarely remained stuck inside our loaves, this nevertheless prolonged the overall cleaning process, which added to the task of removing the kneading paddles.
The Bread Maker Taste Test
Finally, what we have been waiting for 3.5 hours: the taste test! We baked each bread almost simultaneously, which allowed us to make a side-by-side test of the bread after leaving the oven and after a few hours of rest.
Taste: we used identical recipes to determine whether the above criteria and price made any difference. The texture, crunchiness and balance of flavors complement the factors in this category.
Overall Look: visual appeal always plays a role in taste and the same will be true in our tasting test. The appearance of a bread always indicates the success (or failure) of a baking. Size also plays a role.
Crumbliness: otherwise known as ”hole structure”, it is a useful visual indication of the process a bread has undergone. Larger and more varied holes allow the dough to be well knotted and aerated, and thus better inflated for a delicate bread.
Crust: the color of the crust can be adjusted on our finalists models, allowing you to choose between light, medium or dark roast. We selected the medium for testing and examined each one to verify color uniformity and relative darkness.
Paddle print in the bread: one of the main complaints of the use of bread machines is the unsightly impression left by the paddles of the bread machine. It also compresses the bottom areas near the pallets, making them slightly denser than usual. We noticed that some machines made more than one mark while others always slipped clean.
The best overall winner: Zojirushi – BB-PAC20
- Bakes a large traditional rectangular shaped 2-pound loaf; Gluten Free and Custom Menu settings will accommodate gluten free and organic baking ingredients.
- Bakes a large traditional rectangular shaped 2-pound loaf;Electrical Rating:120 volts
- Dual kneading blades to knead the dough thoroughly.
- Quick baking cycle prepares breads in about 2-hour.
- Includes a measuring cup and measuring spoon.
It is not a big surprise that the Zojirushi-BB-PAC20, nicknamed “Zo” by its fans, wins. It is also the machine that is more expensive, and it is obvious why. The bread mold seems to be able to survive a few lives. The most unique feature, however, is the shape of the bread: those who want “traditional” sandwiches at normal height will want to party on this workhorse of a machine.
Because of its superior construction quality and thoughtful design, The Zo ranks first in our design ranking. Its bread mold was by far the strongest, an important quality because it is the most used element of a bread machine. Its horizontal orientation and weight hold it well in place during operation, while others twist and move considerably.
When it comes to taste, this bread maker ranked first in competition with the Panasonic model. Both machines obtained constant results on repeated cooking. The unique shape of the bread mold requires two kneading blades, which adds a bit of inconvenience since you have to clean two of them, but the quality result can be worth it.
Scientists at the Bread Lab at the University of Washington shamelessly approve and recommend their Zo whenever it comes to bread machines. It has our vote of confidence as the bread machine most likely to last longer than other machines.
The biggest drawback is that it was not the quietest of the machines, producing a substantial noise sound during the mixing phases. Secondly, its footprint, size and weight are greater than others, which could be an inconvenience for some! There are compromises to be made, so it depends on your needs. If you need a long lasting sturdy bread machine, that is well designed and manufactured, and you have the counter top space available, Zojirushi-BB-PAC20 is the ideal solution for you.
Key takeaways:
- The Zojirushi-BB-PAC20 wins the best scores in all three categories, but it has a prize. It is the most expensive bread machine, but it’s the one that is most likely to last longer than the other finalists, because it has the best construction quality.
- It is the only machine that produces bread of a familiar size and shape instead of the clumsy loafs made usually by other “bread machines”.
- This bread maker is the most stable of the finalists, but it is also one of the heaviest and largest and will occupy valuable counter space.
Economic Choice: Oster-CKSTBRTW20
- 650 watts oster bread maker with upto a 2.0 pound loaf capacity is ideal for larger families
- 12 bread settings and 3 crust settings for making a variety of breads, dough, and jams
- Expressbake setting bakes bread in under an hour
- 13 hour programmable baking timer for fresh bread anytime
- Large LCD display and intuitive button controls for easy operation, 40 inch cord length
If the Zo has won our minds, the Oster-CKSTBRTW20 has won our hearts. Although much lighter and smaller in size, the Oster delivered consistent breads and also scored high in taste.
In a clean white plastic body, this machine is more user-friendly and less industrial looking than the Zojirushi. Its lighter weight allows easier mobility (if you need to store it after use), but also contributes for a visible shaking during kneading. The compromise is that it is much quieter than the more stable Zojirushi and Panasonic machines. Surprisingly, our test results show that despite its visible oscillation while cooking, the Oster managed to remain in place like the competition did.
The Oster bread maker controls and buttons were simple and easy to access. A blue light on the front panel is as obvious and indicative as the use of the machine itself. The lid is removable and easy to clean in case you need fast bread baking. The bread mold is not something outstanding, but it works sufficiently and very well.
In general, the breads that came out of this machine were beautiful, with a light and aerated texture. More importantly, its slightly more developed flavor distinguished it from the other economic option, Hamilton Beach. Although it was the cheapest finalist, it more than doubled its cost compared to other machines.
Key takeaways:
- The Oster-CKSTBRTW20 was the quietest machine we tested.
- As the cheapest finalist, we were surprised to see it surpassed some of the most expensive machines.
- The low weight, compact size and low price make the Oster an excellent candidate for beginners and people with small kitchens.
- Its small size and low weight make it ideal for storage on limited counter space.
Conclusion
One cannot deny the magical attraction of the alchemy of bread making. With your machine, you can transform inert powders and liquids into this magical form of food love. For amateurs, these romantic ideas swirl with the practical result of coherent and controlled results. Although yes, you’ll save money by cooking your own bread rather than going to the store, there is an intangible benefit that cannot be better expressed than the “joy” there is something special to use your time and effort to create something out of nothing to feed yourself and your family.
For demanding users who want customizable program options and a machine built like a tank, Zojirushi’S BB-PAC20 will bring you closer to cooking at home. Its superior construction, consistent results and traditional-looking breads are worth the investment, especially if you appreciate the longevity of the product.
For those who only want to dip their toes in it, our second choice, Oster – CKSTBRTW20, takes (and cooks) the cake, by becoming our best budget choice. Quiet, reliable and visually appealing, the Oster combines the consistency of the most expensive machines with the best features of the latest bread machines.