For $10/loaf It Should Be Fresh

[NewGFMom]

So, we've finally got some decent HOT summer weather her in the Northeast. Which means I really don't want to be running my oven.

But if I want bread or rolls in the house I have to make them otherwise I'm stuck with the frozen "microwave by the slice" bread from Whole Foods.

WHY can't they provide any fresh gluten free baked goods? gluten-free stuff just doesn't keep well. It's 200% better when it's fresh, but there is no source for it anywhere in Boston.

If I buy a loaf of gluten-free bread from Whole Foods it's because I'm on the go, and don't have access to a toaster or microwave. It just crumbles away and tastes like sand. I've tried all the "Ener-G" bread sand they're just awful.

Come ON folks. Gluten Free bread is not rocket science.

I want to approach Whole Foods about this. It's great that they have so many gluten-free choices, but 90% of them taste like sugared sand paper.

Thanks for letting me rant a bit..

-Margaret

[njbeachbum]

i understand your frustration, but the main reason is that their "gluten free bakehouse" is only in one location and the finished bread product must be shipped to all of the stores. it would be way too costly for them to have a gluten free baking facility at each store location, so for now, i think we are stuck with the frozen products.... which are not that awful for day-to-day use. i found a great multigrain bread recipe online that feels and tastes like real bread, so i've been making that a lot lately. it keeps really well for a few days at room temp, but i usually throw it in the fridge after a day or so to keep it fresher longer.

unfortunately, i think we are just beat.... if we want fresh, then we have to make it ourselves!

[KathiSharpe]

Back when I made gluten-free bread often (and will do again, very soon), I froze my own bread. Doing the whole loaf made things awful, even if sliced! So, I made 2 loaves at a time, sliced them, and put it in bags, 4 slices to a bag. That way I could only take out what I needed, it would thaw quickly, and none was ever wasted or re-frozen (or chiseled!).

This also makes lunches portable - pack the bread with a small tub of tuna salad or PB&J.

[momxyz]

I could live w/o "regular" bread; we're not that big on sandwiches anyways. But for the occasional time we'd like one, I am thinking pita pockets would be a good option. Are gluten free pita pockets out there?

[brigala]

So, I made 2 loaves at a time, sliced them, and put it in bags, 4 slices to a bag.

That's what I do, too. As the only gluten-free person in my household, I have a hard time eating a whole loaf of bread (let alone 2) before it goes bad. I keep out about 1/3 of a loaf to eat "fresh" and slice, bag, and freeze the rest.

I can't find a store-bought bread I can stand to eat, at any price. A few can be forced down in a pinch of baked with a slice of cheese or something, but I have to be very very hungry to even be willing to do that. I felt so bad a few weeks back when a friend bought me a loaf of almond bread (I forget which brand -- maybe Kinnikinnic?) so I'd have something to eat at her house since I'm over there all the time. I think most of it's still in her freezer. I've tried to eat it, and sometimes I've been desperate enough to put it on some foil and "toast" it in the oven, but I could never consider it edible except in case of emergency.

It seems strange to me that I can bake and freeze Pamala's bread and not have any trouble with it, but nobody seems to be able to do that and put it in a store's freezer section.

-Elizabeth

[TrillumHunter]

Any chance you'd consider a bread machine? I make up my own mix and bag it. I do enough for at least five at a time. Making bread then becomes a no-brainer that doesn't heat my kitchen at all. I never freeze bread and if I have a slice or two that get stale, they get tossed in the freezer to become bread crumbs. Not only does the bread taste so much better, I don't have any waste.

Just a thought.

[ravenwoodglass]

I have never found any fresh baked gluten-free bread in my area. The ones that come frozen and even the ones from Energy are all parbaked and you have to toast or microwave them to be able to use them. I use Kinnickinick Italian white or sandwich bread which comes frozen from the store or if ordered from the company needs to be frozen as soon as it arrives. When toasted or zapped it comes out like regular bread with the same texture and doesn't not crumble.

[Takala]

This is why I make my own. If you use some amaranth and almond meal in the mix, it keeps for a week easily in the refrigerator. I make small skilllet breads all the time in cast iron, started on the stove and finished in the broiler, 1 egg, a heaping cup of gluten-free flour mix and the other stuff and I get 4 servings.

Threads I have described doing this in

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...rt=#entry529726

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...mp;#entry525023

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...mp;#entry506343

[emcmaster]

I really like Kinnikinnick brand breads. I eat their "white" sandwich bread for most sandwiches but I haven't tried any I didn't like.

The loaves come frozen and I defrost what I need each time (usually 2 slices).

[nasalady]

I've just bought a new bread machine (Zojirushi), after resisting for a long time.

I also purchased Pamela's Amazing Wheat-Free Bread Mix for the first time (from the online store that shall remain nameless), along with the Annaliese Robert's cookbook, Gluten Free Baking Classics. It turns out that her bread recipes are specifically for the Zoji! I dialed in her program for the gluten free breads in her cookbook, and used that same program to make the Pamela's Bread. All I can say is WOW! My whole family is gluten free, and we all loved it!

It tastes very much like regular wheat-based bread! I don't have to refrigerate it until at least 3 days have passed (by which time it's usually gone anyway!)....it stays soft and fresh tasting on the counter.

[RESO]

So, we've finally got some decent HOT summer weather her in the Northeast. Which means I really don't want to be running my oven.

But if I want bread or rolls in the house I have to make them otherwise I'm stuck with the frozen "microwave by the slice" bread from Whole Foods.

WHY can't they provide any fresh gluten free baked goods? gluten-free stuff just doesn't keep well. It's 200% better when it's fresh, but there is no source for it anywhere in Boston.

If I buy a loaf of gluten-free bread from Whole Foods it's because I'm on the go, and don't have access to a toaster or microwave. It just crumbles away and tastes like sand. I've tried all the "Ener-G" bread sand they're just awful.

Come ON folks. Gluten Free bread is not rocket science.

I want to approach Whole Foods about this. It's great that they have so many gluten-free choices, but 90% of them taste like sugared sand paper.

Thanks for letting me rant a bit..

-Margaret

Hi Margaret,

I just moved to the Boston area from CA and let me tell ya, it's so much easier here in Boston as far as gluten-free... First, trader joe's has gluten-free french rolls (more like hamburger buns in shape and size) that toast up crunchy and yummy. Call the one you're going to first because they run out sometimes since people come in and buy them all up. There's a food mart in Wakefield, pretty sure it's actually called food mart, that has gluten-free pizza and carries gluten-free coffee cake and other desserts by the slice from a company called strawberry moon (strawberrymoon.com) I haven't checked out their site yet, maybe they have breads too? The desserts are expensive but I bought a slice of the coffee cake and thought it was pretty good. I have been to a couple whole foods in the area and all I found at both stores was a couple loaves of rice bread (blech!).

Hope this helps a little,

R

[Juliebove]

I have a bread machine but only had sporadic success with it. The main problem I have is that daughter will want a couple of slices of bread maybe once a week. If I have a whole loaf, that's too much! I've had no success freezing it. It just crumbles. We do avoid eggs, dairy and almonds as well. That could be why.

I guess I am lucky she likes the Ener-G. She prefers it toasted or heated in the microwave.

[NewGFMom]

I make great gluten-free bread and rolls... It's just been too hot to bake.

The point is if Whole Foods has the gall to charge us $10 a loaf, I think it should be fresh.

I met the father of a celiac boy who lived in Italy. He said that his wife goes every day to a baker and buys fresh gluten-free bread for her son.

I just wish something like that was available here. SO tired of having to toast and microwave things to make them good.

[KathiSharpe]

The point is if Whole Foods has the gall to charge us $10 a loaf, I think it should be fresh.

If WF is going to charge $10 a loaf, it really should be gold plated.

Just sayin'

[PattyBoots]

If WF is going to charge $10 a loaf, it really should be gold plated.

Just sayin'

It would at least be an ATTRACTIVE doorstop, eh?