Bread – Gluten free bread in breadmaker looks weird and doesn’t rise

To summarize the points of Aaronut's answer and provide a framework for answering:

'Gluten is responsible for elasticity of dough, which is perceived as chewiness','The "rising" in baked goods is essentially just stretching of the gluten network', 'Gluten is also exceptionally good at both absorbing and retaining moisture'

• Dough's rising is catalyzed by the yeast eating sugar and giving off gas, the gas becomes suspended in the gluten network which has body from absorbed moisture and is restrained and stregthened by the salt. The end.
• In the absence of gluten, there is no network for the gas to lift. However, when you add xanthum or guar gum, their qualities as hydrocolloids allow them to swell with moisture and rise with the gas.
  • Modified rice starch imitates gelatin in some applications, gelatin also produces flex and supports a smoother texture (common complaints about gluten-free breads refer to their grainy texture).
  • If you remove the gums and hydrocolloids from the gluten free dough you'll get a sopping wet mess that does nothing; using flax and chia seed will pull it back into shape. Both seeds, when milled will gel andprovide the meringue-type (though not as effective or durable) effect.
  • Tapioca starch also gives body and accommodates a smoother texture, hence it's addition to the King Arthur's gluten free flour mix.

'When baking without gluten, you will have to be very precise about all of your measurements', as gluten is more forgiving due to its slow-acting nature

• Yep.
• In gluten-free baking one must substitute precision for not precision. Over kneading can be fatal especially in recipes with flax and chia.

'Its coagulation action is actually very similar to that of egg whites... gluten is basically doing the same thing inside of whatever you're baking'

• Gluten allows you to replicates the function of eggs in some use cases.
• Flax and chia eggs as well as Ener-G egg replacer are common vegan replacements to eggs, but as this question is simply about gluten-free baking the answer is to just use an egg; some recipes call for one, some don't. However, there is no likely use case where the functionality of an egg being replicated by gluten would preclude using an egg.

'Finally, it provides nutritive protein when eaten. Wheat gluten is about 75% protein':

• Yep.
• Get protein somewhere else. There are 2 grams of protein in a slice of white bread, have an ounce of black beans.

'In short: Gluten does a lot of things. Keep in mind when doing gluten-free baking that a lot of the substitutes only replicate one or two of the effects.':

• The combination of multiple agents is generally necessary to provide the same functions. If you look at this methodology for high-rising gluten-free dough from King Arthur's, you'll see that the bread flour alone contains a super-fine flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. The recipe calls for xanthum gum and an egg in addition to the tapioca and potato starches. There you already have four ingredients doing the work of the gluten.

I imagine you have tried recipes already with an appropriate quantity of xanthum gum and starches... are you making any substitutions, or omitting ingredients?

Substitutions really change the game significantly, even unwitting substitutions like sweet rice flour vs white rice flour, potato flour vs potato starch. Substituting an alternative flour directly for wheat flour in non-GF recipes won't work (unless you find a GF flour blend that specifies so - for bread, I haven't).

And when I started GF baking I omitted some tiny amounts of ingredients as I didn't want to go out and buy a whole packet/bottle of something just to use a few grams. Turns out some of those little things were absolutely essential. Don't skimp on them. Also, if using yeast, you can take a little bit and proof it to make sure it's not the dud.

Try finding a specifically gluten-free bread recipe with many positive comments, so you are sure it's not the recipe that's the issue.

Personally, my first proper attempt with no subs or omissions at making bread (my first GF bread, and first bread loaf ever - so it had to be foolproof for me) was with this recipe and it rose nicely, much to my relief and delight. Maybe give it a try, and once you got the rising bit down, work on other recipes from there?

If they are not working even though you are following them to a T, perhaps temperature is your issue - is the water too cold or hot for the yeast? Are you leaving the bread in a cold spot? I have a cool kitchen, so when my oven is pre-heating while rising I place the loaf above the stove to rise, as it receives ambient warmth from the heated oven.