Mamacado: Easy homemade bread: Gluten-free, vegan and sesame-free

Where in the world do you buy FRESH tasting egg-free, dairy-free and sesame-free bread?

So far, I have no idea. I haven't found ONE off the shelf bread that's safe for Little Guy.

But I sure do know how to make it!

Even though Little Guy grew out of his wheat allergy, he still prefers the original gluten-free and vegan bread he ate as a toddler. I've tried a number of times to bake vegan wheat bread (whole wheat, half whole wheat half white, etc.) but he still asks for "my white bread".

Argh.

Every other week I make a different kind of bread in our breadmaker with different portions of white and whole wheat flour. I know that someday he WILL eat other bread. In the meantime, I'm going to keep on truckin' along with the same King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Bread Mix! All you need is the bread mix box, a loaf pan and the ingredients!

Let me tell you, I'm thankful that this bread mix exists. It has made my life a whole lot easier for these past few years. Yes, it's expensive, but only Little Guy eats this bread, and the convenience factor outweighs the expense for now.

I figure, we don't buy many other "convenience" foods, or even eat out much. So, I can justify the convenience of this bread!

Here's the back of the box with the necessary ingredients. You can see the directions for the dairy free version under the pictures. In addition to the bread mix, here are the ingredients we use as substitutes:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1.5 cups lukewarm water
3/4 cup applesauce (1/4 cup applesauce = 1 egg)

We follow the other directions as usual, and the bread always bakes to a wonderful light brown color, soft texture and fresh taste.

It's not crumbly like other gluten free breads, and it's light and fluffy. It's also a perfect for a toddler/preschooler sized sandwich!

(And let me take a moment to thank my wonderful Mama for her bread making efforts and skills. Many days when she's watching the kiddos and I'm at work, I come home to find that she's made Little Guy his bread. What an angel she is to us).

Now, how do we store it?

Since this homemade bread doesn't have any preservatives in it, it gets moldy with a few days on the counter. It also gets a little mushy in the fridge and doesn't keep as long there either. We've had lots of trials and errors of storing it, believe me.

Here's how we find it works best.

After it cools, slice the bread and place as much as you want to freeze in layers in a big Ziploc freezer bag. I usually freeze one or two pieces on the bottom, and then layer it on top with wax or parchment paper. Then add another layer of bread.
Save a few pieces of bread to be stored on the counter. This is only if you know you're going to eat it in the next one or two days.
When you're ready to eat your bread from the freezer, microwave it for 30 seconds or more depending on your microwave's power.
You can defrost your bread overnight, but it will become nice a soft if you microwave it for a few seconds even after it's defrosted. I still do this even if I'm packing a sandwich for later in the day. Wrap the sandwich in foil when the bread is still a little warm.

This is actually a photo I took before we left for a week at the beach. I baked a loaf two days before, stored it in the refrigerator until we got there, and then put it in a Ziploc bag as I usually do in the freezer.

Some of Little Guy's favorite sandwiches are:

Sunbutter and banana sandwich
Chicken salad with avocado (mayo-free)
Ham or turkey sandwich with Daiya cheese slices

If you deal with multiple food allergies, what's your usual go-to bread?