Recipe Review: Elana's Pantry Bread 2.0

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I am still on my quest to find the best gluten free bread recipe. This week I tried Elana's Pantry Bread 2.0.  I enjoyed her Paleo Bread and thought I would give this one a try as well to compare the two.

Pros:

This bread is very easy to make, and just like the Paleo Bread, there is no need to knead the dough or let it rise. Simply mix the ingredients, pour into a loaf pan, and bake. It also does not require a food processor like the Paleo Bread does, so it's an even easier clean up.

Another benefit of this recipe is that, similar to the Paleo Bread, it only takes 30 minutes to bake, which saves you time if you don't have over an hour to wait for the bread to bake.

This bread tastes great! It has a slightly different texture and flavor as compared to normal whole wheat bread, but I enjoyed the flavor and so did my family members who tried it. 

Finally, this recipe is very healthy when you look at the ingredients. Anyone worried about not eating dairy, soy, gluten, potato starch, and butter will be very happy to see that this recipe contains none of those ingredients.

Cons:

 

The same problem exists with this recipe as I found with the Paleo Bread. The bread doesn't really rise, so it comes out rather short in a normal bread pan. As with the Paleo Bread, the recipe author recommends a special loaf pan which I do not have.  As a result, my bread came out about half the height of a normal slice of bread. This is not a huge deal but somewhat annoying if you want to use the bread to make a sandwich. I ended up making two mini sandwiches with my loaf, which was fine with me, but others may want to invest in the recommended loaf pan. If I end up buying it I will post my thoughts about using it.

Another downside of this recipe is that I could not find large quantities of arrowroot powder, a required ingredient, at my local grocery store. As a result, I had to buy 2 small containers of it so I would have enough for this recipe, which was a little more expensive than I would have liked. I did not try looking at a specialty store like Sprouts of Whole Foods because I did not have time this week, so it may be the case that you can buy it in bulk at those stores. Arrowroot powder is not an ingredient I have used in cooking before so I did not have it readily available in my pantry.

I also think this bread is not quite as healthy as the Paleo Bread. I love that the Paleo Bread has coconut flour and coconut oil. I think that is a great addition that is not commonly seen in bread recipes.

 Conclusion:

Overall, this is a very healthy and easy to make recipe that I think most gluten free people would think is a great substitute for normal bread. However, comparing it to Elana's Pantry Paleo Bread, I think the Paleo Bread is healthier and I would be more inclined to make it again in the future.