Newbie: Whole Foods Bread

[skurry]

Okay, so... Im three weeks into switching my diet to gluten free. My gluten-free (girlfriend... lol love how it auto switches "G F" to "gluten free") is a sweetheart and bought me some gluten free bread from whole foods and I gagged. It was DISGUSTING!!!! Dry, Heavy, and all together un-bread-like!!!! Has anyone found a bread that is more bread like and gluten free?

I love sandwiches and have eaten to many salads in place of my regular lunch sandwich... any suggestions?

[GeoffCJ]

Okay, so... Im three weeks into switching my diet to gluten free. My gluten-free (girlfriend... lol love how it auto switches "G F" to "gluten free") is a sweetheart and bought me some gluten free bread from whole foods and I gagged. It was DISGUSTING!!!! Dry, Heavy, and all together un-bread-like!!!! Has anyone found a bread that is more bread like and gluten free?

I love sandwiches and have eaten to many salads in place of my regular lunch sandwich... any suggestions?

What brand/style was it? Was it the Whole Foods bakehouse brand? Or something else? The WF brand stuff is one of the better ones I've found. That said, I really just don't eat bread that much anymore....

I like the Brown Rice Tortillas. I do a lot more wraps than sandwhiches.

Geoff

[DarkIvy]

I recently bought the Whole Foods gluten-free bakehouse "sandwhich bread". Not the best, but believe it or not I've had worse. I probably won't buy it again. However, I DO reccomend the gluten-free Bakehouse chocolate chip cookies... they are fantastic!

Unfortunately, I haven't tried many breads yet. Nothing worth suggesting, that's for sure. I keep hearing that using a breadmaker is the best way to go. If you're really into bread, buying a breadmaker and trying out some gluten-free bread recipes might be worthwhile!

[grey]

I've had great luck with the Whole Foods Praire Bread - I think it tastes great, and I just went gluten-free. When I first bought it, I ate it with cheese without toasting it. At the end of the loaf it needed toasting. Aside from a tiny tiny tiny bit of texture, I don't think I really would notice it was even gluten-free and not another artisnal bread when it's on the fresh side.

Haven't tried the other kinds. I'll miss it now that I've developed/found some other intolerances and need to switch to a different kind. I think the one I bought to try (but haven't yet) on recommendation was Ener-G brown rice bread.

The WF carrot cake was yummy.

[skurry]

Thanks for responding everyone.

It was th WF house brand Sandwich Bread, it was so thick, dry and heavy, it actuallty broke into pices when I tried eating it. The taste wasnt bad but the dryness and how heavy is was makes me never want it again. apparently the girl in the store who cooks it says they freeze it becuase theres not much demand for it, could that me part of the problem?

[DarkIvy]

Thanks for responding everyone.

It was th WF house brand Sandwich Bread, it was so thick, dry and heavy, it actuallty broke into pices when I tried eating it. The taste wasnt bad but the dryness and how heavy is was makes me never want it again. apparently the girl in the store who cooks it says they freeze it becuase theres not much demand for it, could that me part of the problem?

This brand of baked goods is always frozen... at least at every Whole Foods I've been too. These foods are made in a specialty, dedicated gluten free bakery and the products are shipped everywhere nationwide. I believe that's part of why they keep it frozen. I don't think it would affect the texture much... after all if you freeze regular wheat bread and thaw it out it tastes about the same as it did before. The sandwhich bread is a rice/tapioca based bread, and those two grains are really heavy and gummy. All breads I've tried made out of these flours had similar textures... dry, heavy, crumbles into pieces.

I find that it's a bit better toasted (in a gluten-free toaster!) with butter... but even that doesn't help much.

[smowheet]

Thanks for responding everyone.

It was th WF house brand Sandwich Bread, it was so thick, dry and heavy, it actuallty broke into pices when I tried eating it. The taste wasnt bad but the dryness and how heavy is was makes me never want it again. apparently the girl in the store who cooks it says they freeze it becuase theres not much demand for it, could that me part of the problem?

Part of the problem is that any gluten-free bread is dry and crumbly. Would you consider other bread products for your sandwich ?I have bagels or english muffins that I get from Joans great bakes for sandwiches. Kinnickkinick white bread is okay but it has to be toasted when you use it or it crumbles up.

[blueeyedmanda]

I was not a fan of the Whole Foods bread, it was one of the best I had, I am just picky I enjoy the Grainless Baker sandwich bread. I have been eating corn wraps now as sandwiches, much cleanier and less crumbs.

[Karen B.]

Their sun-dried tomato garlic bread is better but since I tried baking bread fresh from a GFP bread mix, I haven't bought bread. It's so much better straight out of the oven.

[loraleena]

I love Food For Life Brown rice wraps. You need to warm them, then fill, roll up and toast. Yum. Also, there is a new gluten free bread made in Brattleboro,vt. It is called Against the Grain. It is unbelievable. They make bagels, rolls and baguettes. The ingredients are Tapioca Flour, mozzerella, and eggs. My non-gluten free son said it was the best bread ever. Also there is a mix called Breads from Anna. You can find it online. They are awesome! You might be able to find Against the Grain online as well. Glutino makes a great gluten free pizza as well.

[ElizabethN]

Glutino makes a cheese bread that is pretty good. I buy it at <www.gluten free.com>. I microwave it with some butter and it is fairly soft, still a little dry compared to regular bread but definitely more edible than many others I have tried.

I am lucky to live in Kansas City where I can buy bread from Olivia's Oven at our local Hy-Vee. Not sure what her secret is, but her breads are WONDERFUL.

[Mango04]

Just to re-emphasize what others have said, make sure you toast all gluten-free bread. Somehow the heating up process transforms the bread from dry/crumbly/yucky to pretty edible and not all that bad.

Glutino Cinnamon Raison bread is pretty good toasted. Whole Foods usually carries it....

[Karen B.]

Just to re-emphasize what others have said, make sure you toast all gluten-free bread. Somehow the heating up process transforms the bread from dry/crumbly/yucky to pretty edible and not all that bad.

Glutino Cinnamon Raison bread is pretty good toasted. Whole Foods usually carries it....

That's true for almost all gluten-free breads and bread products. The only exceptions I've found have been Pamela's wheat free bread and Chebe bread. They are good heated, but they didn't need heating to be good.

BTW, our local Whole Foods doesn't carry much in the way of Glutino products. Each store has a different buyer so they don't all carry the same stuff.

[LLatham]

Thanks for responding everyone.

It was th WF house brand Sandwich Bread, it was so thick, dry and heavy, it actuallty broke into pices when I tried eating it. The taste wasnt bad but the dryness and how heavy is was makes me never want it again. apparently the girl in the store who cooks it says they freeze it becuase theres not much demand for it, could that me part of the problem?

LOL i eat that stuff daily. Maybe you got a crap loaf. There are definetly times when one loaf tastes better than another. I'd say all gluten-free stuff takes getting used to that 'taste'. Maybe give it another try after you've been gluten-free for a while. But another brand could appeal to you more. There's tons at whole foods in the freezer, but the WF sandwich bread is one of the best you'll find.

[loraleena]

You don't need to heat Breads from Anna. It is like real bread!!

[NJglutenfree]

You don't need to heat Breads from Anna. It is like real bread!!

I love the fresh baked gluten-free bread from the Great Harvest Bread co in Cherry Hill, nj. Their bakery in Lititz PA just started gluten-free products as well. Not sure if they ship, its worth a call.

[Karen B.]

Okay, so... Im three weeks into switching my diet to gluten free. My gluten-free (girlfriend... lol love how it auto switches "G F" to "gluten free") is a sweetheart and bought me some gluten free bread from whole foods and I gagged. It was DISGUSTING!!!! Dry, Heavy, and all together un-bread-like!!!! Has anyone found a bread that is more bread like and gluten free?

I love sandwiches and have eaten to many salads in place of my regular lunch sandwich... any suggestions?

Don't know where your location is but the most delicious gluten-free bread I've ever tasted was at Keili's in Seattle WA (now called DaVincci's Cafe). Open Original Shared Link

We went there on vacation and the whole place is gluten-free. They had great pizza, sandwiches, scones, etc.

[sixtytwo]

So far all of the boughten bread I have had is very dense, but WF sandwich bread was the best of what I had. I make my own bread/not in a machine, but I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer. I use the Bob's Red Mill mix and it isn't cheap. The mix is between $3.75 and $4.75 depending where I get it and then it takes a lot of eggs. On the package it says to make one large loaf, but the slices are so large and unmanageable. I make it in four small loaves and bake it for 25 minutes. It is great and the best of the gluten-free breads I have had. YOu must refrigerate/freeze it though as it has no preservatives in it. I am the only person in this household that eats gluten-free, so the four loaves lasts for some time. Barbara

[KJack]

My Dad uses the Whole Foods bread (Sandwich and Raisin). Here's the secret to improving the quality of the bread. It's not perfected, but it's better than dry and crumbly bread. When I've done this the bread starts off frozen. Each person will have to experiment with this until they find what works best for them. The instruction below are how I do it.

1. Place the two slices of bread on a paper towel or paper plate.

2. Using your fingers, sprinkle several drops of water on one side of each slice of bread. Try to cover as much of the surface area of the bread as you can. You have to find the right balance here. Not too little water, but not too much.

3. Place the slices of bread, still on the paper towel or paper plate, into the microwave for 1:00 and press "start" or "go" or whatever yours says.

4. At one minute, open the microwave and using your finger poke the slices of bread. The bread could be hot, so be careful. The bread will be much softer, almost like real bread. But there might be some firm or frozen areas left. If so, you might want to rotate the slices of bread, or flip them over and put the bread back in for 10 seconds. After the 10 seconds, if you still aren't happy with it, do 10 more seconds. But you need to be careful the longer you go, because you are basically cooking the bread. If you have it going in the microwave too long, the bread will be inedible before you can eat it. It may come to a point where the bread has some firm or dry spots, but it's been in the microwave long enough. You'll just have to eat it as is. But overall, the bread will be more enjoyable.

As mentioned when the bread comes out of the microwave, it is hot, be careful!! As the bread cools down, some small areas of the bread (usually corners) may become hard and inedible. But for the most part the bread remains soft and edible. I've seen slices of bread be microwaved as directed, sit on the counter for over and hour, and still be soft to the touch. The whole process is trial and error. You have to play around until you find what works best for you.

I don't know how this process works with other brands of bread.

All the best,

Kjack