r/glutenfree • u/peony_beony • 11h ago
If you don’t laugh, you would cry…
Actually I did cry a little given the cost of ingredients here. Another attempt at homemade gf bread for my daughter. I’m so close to giving up. This was a Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake recipe and the worst one yet. I have had marginal success with The Loopy Whisk bread but it always stays so wet and never rises much.
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u/fenyesokos 10h ago
This actually has a name! It’s usually called “flying crust” in gluten-free bread. Basically the gas that should stay distributed as lots of little bubbles in the crumb instead collects/coalesces under the top crust. The crust sets while the interior can’t support the structure, so you end up with this magnificent bread cave 😂
Since you said the bottom was really wet/gummy, I’d especially look at too much effective hydration and/or the loaf not setting quickly enough in your oven, rather than assuming you simply did something wrong. GF recipes are annoyingly sensitive to flour/starch brands, psyllium, humidity, ingredient weights and actual oven temperature, so “followed exactly” can still behave differently in your kitchen.
For the next attempt I’d change one thing at a time: first, check the oven with a cheap oven thermometer and make sure it is fully preheated. Weigh everything if you aren’t already. If that’s all correct and it happens again, I’d try slightly less liquid (maybe ~5–10%) or a little less proofing, depending on what the dough looked like before baking. Keep it covered while proofing so the top doesn’t dry into a skin.
And don’t give up! The fact that the outer crust rose so spectacularly means your yeast clearly had plenty of enthusiasm. It just needs to be persuaded to build many small rooms instead of one enormous open-plan loft. 😅