Bread choice for a newbie

[humerme]

With all symptoms of gluten intolerance, I have begun searching for appropriate food replacements. In particular I need advice on the choice of wheat-free bread. The choice is vast so choosing the grain alone is confusing.Naturally taste is a personal choice but any thoughts you have will be greatly appreciated.

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @humerme!

Two or three things.

If you are looking to eliminate gluten, you will have to avoid not only wheat but also barley and rye. Those are the three gluten-containing grains.

In recommending gluten-free breads, it would be helpful to know where you live since not all products are available everywhere. For instance, my go to loaf bread is Franz but it seems to be available only in the western U.S. I get twin packs at Costco. And if you live outside the U.S. your choices will likely be very different than for many on this forum who might respond to your question.

Finally, and this is vey important, you need to understand that if you intend to get tested for gluten intolerance/celiac disease you must have been eating normal amounts of gluten for weeks or months leading up to the day of testing. Beginning a gluten-free diet or even a reduced gluten diet will invalidate testing. Many have made this mistake in attempting to test the gluten free waters. Having said that, you can test the gluten free waters to see if symptoms improve and then go back on gluten for the purpose of testing, what we call the "gluten challenge", but many find that once they have been gluten free for awhile they have much more severe reactions when going back on it. Formal testing is necessary to distinguish between celiac disease and NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). "Gluten Intolerance" is a general term that covers both celiac disease and NCGS.

Edited August 26, 2025 by trents

[Scott Adams]

I second that motion! Franz Gluten Free may not be in all Costco's--perhaps in the Western USA only? It's my go to bread for our family because it is whole grain, tastes great, has reasonable sized slices, and is only ~$5 per loaf (sold in twin packs where each loaf is vacuum packed). Most other breads are a lot more expensive.