You may have to try several times to get your gluten-free baked loaves to come out right, so don’t get discouraged if your first attempt isn’t picture perfect.
Use these troubleshooting tips to solve potential problems:
Underdone bread: If your baked loaf of bread isn’t fully cooked inside, the easiest remedy is to bake the dough in two smaller pans next time. If your bread is still mushy inside, often the cause may be due to the oven temperature.
Gluten-free products frequently need to be baked at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. If you lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees, that may solve the problem. If the loaf starts to get too dark, cover it with foil halfway through baking. And don’t use dark or Teflon-coated baking pans. They may cause the bottom of the bread to burn before the inside is completely baked.
Crumbly bread: If your loaf looks pretty and smells divine, but falls apart when you cut it, it has a case of the crumbles. First, do not throw out the crumbs. Dry them out and add seasonings to make bread crumbs. Then try any or all of these remedies:
The cause of the crumbles may be that the dough was too dry. Next time, slightly reduce the amount of flour.
Add a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin to the dry ingredients to help bind the bread (in addition to the xanthan gum called for in a recipe).
Before even trying to cut the loaf, refrigerate it and then slice it with a serrated knife while it’s cold.
Tasteless bread: Without some precautions, gluten-free bread can easily taste like cardboard. Fortunately, you can add all sorts of things to the dough to avoid this from happening:
Substitute some of the water with a liquid that has flavor, like cold brewed coffee, honey, maple syrup, molasses, or fruit juice (pineapple, lemon, orange, or apple).
Add extra flavoring (more vanilla or almond flavoring, cinnamon, Italian seasoning, Parmesan, or cheddar cheese). Toasted coconut or mini chocolate chips are also optional stir-ins, as are minced dried fruits.
Toast seeds or nuts and sprinkle them on top before baking. Sesame, poppy, caraway, and sunflower seeds are popular choices.
Try using dark brown sugar in place of granulated sugar.
