Fabulous and EASY gluten free bread mix!

As most of you know, unless you have a good, gluten free bakery in (or near) your town, you can't buy ready-made gluten free bread that's edible without being heated first. If your local stores carry gluten free bread, they are most likely stored in the freezer case to keep them 'fresh'. We always get a kick (and feel sorrow at the same time) when a newly diagnosed Celiac asks where to buy freshly baked gluten free bread in Atlanta. The answer is from your own oven, of course.

In the past I've made bread from two mixes that deliver wonderful gluten free bread. They also are much easier to prepare if one has a bread machine, which I do not. Since I'm always looking for ways to do everything in the kitchen easier, I recently ordered the new oat bread mix from Tracey's Treats. They have killer pizza crust and muffin mixes so I knew I liked their stuff in general. This new bread mix was supposedly easy to make without a bread machine so I had to try it.

You need a magnifier to read the instructions on the labels from this company if you have over 40 eyes like I do. However, I mixed the bread up quickly and easily and left it to rise for an hour or so. It rose very well and continued to do so when baking. The smell of freshly baked bread is wonderful but smells and even looks can be deceiving when speaking of gluten free bread. The real test would be how it tasted - both toasted and at room temperature. I let the bread cool off slightly before tearing off a piece to test taste. It was just exactly as the name implies - outstanding. Both the taste and texture were phemonenal actually!

The next day I made an open faced sandwich with the unheated bread that I'd stored on the counter in a baggie overnight. Again, the bread was excellent. Several days later I defrosted some of the same loaf (needs to be stored in freezer if not eating in a couple of days) and had another open faced, unheated sandwich. Still, the bread lived up to it's name - Outstanding Oat Bread. I'm likely the worst gluten free food snob you'll ever find. The only way this bread could be better is if it was sitting on the shelves of my grocery store already baked for me. Maybe one day.....