Why is It So Hard to Make a Good-Tasting Gluten-free bread?

Because of the increasing awareness and diagnosis of Celiac Disease and Gluten-Sensitivity, companies have been busy in the lab trying to come up with a good tasting, nutritious substitutes for wheat containing bread.  It is not a simple process. 

Gluten gives  wheat flour some unique characteristics.  It maintains the "cells" or bubbles made by the yeast during baking.  This makes a bread that is light and not dense.  The gluten also helps to keep moisture in the bread. It takes a combination of things to imitate these characteristics.  Then there is the economic aspect.  Gluten-free bread formulations are made by small companies at present. They do not have the economies of scale that lowers the cost of wheat-containing products.  The alternative grains are also expensive for the the same reason.  This cost would need to be passed on to the consumer.

  Current gluten-free bread recipes are based on other starches such as potato and tapioca starch.  These grains do not produce the light texture and nice crust characteristics of wheat.  However, these challenges have not disuaded manufacturers from trying.  One area of promise is sourdough breads made from non-wheat grains.  Sourdough bread relies on fermentation of of grains. However, it would be necessary  to use a different culture or "starter" for each grain.  This is the subject of much investigation at this point since it is thought that this process will produce a better tasting product.  The "ancient grains" such as amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice, sorghum and teff are being studied as possible alternatives to wheat. Teff is used to make "ingera" a popular staple in North Africa.  Canadian researchers are developing a cracker made from chickpea flour. In France, researchers are working on a substitute for the classic "baguette." One product uses a combination of buckwheat flour and guar gum. 

The good news is that the market share for gluten-free grain products is growing.  The market was estimated at $580 million dollars in 2004.  This year's estimates put the value at $1.56 billion.  That is exponential growth and is motivating manufacturers to come up with the next great gluten-free bread.