Udi Bread And Bagels Different Lately?

[Nor-TX]

I have been buying the Udi brand bread and bagels for a year or so, and in the last couple of months I have noticed a difference. I buy my products at the same Whole Foods store I always have, always check the "best by" date and make sure it is the freshest. I come home and freeze them in the same freezer I always have.

I take a couple of slices of bread or a bagel, put them in a baggie sealed tight ready to take to work the next day. In other words, I haven't changed anything, yet the bagels and bread are different. The bread is drier, the crusts are firmer and drier and the bagels have started being very misshapen and different sizes. In one bag I might get 2 really big bagels and the rest quite small. Some are round with a nice hole, others are slightly squared without a hole, while others are more hole than bagel. When I go to eat them, they are quite firm and dry. I used to be able to eat them untoasted with marg, but now must toast them to be edible. The packaging is the same... only the products inside are different. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

[buffettbride]

Not really with the bagels, but I have noticed I'll get an exceptionally dry loaf of bread from time to time.

One thing you can do besides tossing a dry loaf of bread is turn it into breadcrumbs or croutons. The dryness doesn't seem to be a factor then.

[Dixiebell]

Yes, I go to whole foods every other week and buy two loaves of udi's sandwich bread and the past few times one of the loaves seems to be stale. At my store they are frozen so that is the last item I pick up before I leave. I carry a frozen item bag or a cooler so they will stay frozen until I get home. I just wonder if maybe they are some how getting re-frozen at the store. The loaf we are eating now is soft. Hopefully the other will be too.

[Superfudge]

I've noticed a difference depending upon at which store I buy the bread. At one it's always been soft and fresh, but at the other more stale-tasting. I wonder if the handling process in the stores is different? I've just decided to not ever buy it at the "stale place."

[Krystyn41]

Please check out the Udi blog on how to make their bread! This is just the reason why I want to learn how to make my own bread because any bread product I have tried, frozen or not, is disgusting!

[GlutenFreeManna]

This is interesting. I just tried Udi's bread for the first time last week and I thought it was a little stale, but I figured that was just the way it is normally. I was actually kind of disappointed after all the raves I have seen. It was still the best gluten free bread I have found but not suitable for making an untoasted sandwich, IMO. I used it to make grilled cheese sandwiches as that was what I was really craving anyway (and they were really yummy). Thanks for sharing that you have had it in the past and it's not always stale. I wonder if we should write Udi's and let them know? Maybe some of their suppliers are not keeping the product frozen prior to stocking it in the freezer?

[gluten-free-foodie]

Interesting. I buy my Udi's bread at Whole Foods, and only began doing so a couple of months ago. When I first bought it, I thought it was great. But until Scott mentioned, it I didn't really think about that it has seemed a little stale lately. I thought maybe I wasn't eating it fast enough. Anyway, I buy it at Whole Foods and I have always bought it off the shelf in the bakery department, NOT in the frozen foods section. I have never seen it frozen. But it says right on the back of the package that "once thawed, you can store the bread at room temperature. Refrigeration will prolong the life of the bread but will also cause it to dry out." 1. I suppose Whole Foods really should be keeping it frozen. 2. If not, then I should just be sure to eat it before the date stamp, and not refrigerate (which I was doing, because I never read the instructions!) and also not re-freeze it once it has been thawed(?)

[larry mac]

I've been noticing a decline in freshness for quite some time with the bread (never had the bagels). Drier bready part, tougher crust. In fact, only my first ever loaf was spectacular. The rest have just been better than any other kind of gluten-free bread.

It does make pretty good grilled cheese sandwiches though.

You should never keep any kind of bread (gluten-free or not) in the fridge. Retards mold growth, but makes the texture stale. I learned that a long time ago when I worked at Frito Lay Research. Plus, I have read that numerous times in food articles.

best regards, lm

[Darn210]

Makes you wonder if the retail shops should be selling it from the freezer instead. I wonder if Whole Foods would let you buy some from "the back" still frozen. Would be an interesting experiment.

Udi's has obviously had to ramp up production as we are all clamoring for their bread . . . makes you wonder what changes did they have to make in order to automate/mass produce?

It's still my favorite gluten-free bread even if it is drier.

[cassP]

i agree with a poster above- i think it's something at the grocery store- maybe getting RE-FROZEN.

i dont wanna slam W.F. but i have had at least 4 gluten-free Frozen food items with MOLD on them.. and had to throw away

i need to speak to the manager at mine- because frozen foods shouldnt be spoiled

OY

[Nor-TX]

Makes you wonder if the retail shops should be selling it from the freezer instead. I wonder if Whole Foods would let you buy some from "the back" still frozen. Would be an interesting experiment.

Udi's has obviously had to ramp up production as we are all clamoring for their bread . . . makes you wonder what changes did they have to make in order to automate/mass produce?

It's still my favorite gluten-free bread even if it is drier.

The problem would be that in the 25 minutes it takes me to get home from Whole Foods, it would already be thawed out. This change in the bread and bagels seems to have happened over the last few months.

I will continue to buy it because here in North Texas, it is really the only decent gluten free bread available. It's a shame that it has gone down hill so much.

I do purchase the Katz Gluten Free Challah over the Internet and that bread is absolutely delicious and really does stay soft and moist. The actual price of the bread is comparable to Udi, but the shipping costs are a little high. If there was a local distributor, they would blow Udi out of the water with the quality of the product.

[sunnybabi1986]

I was actually going to post about this...I've had 4 "dry, crumbly" loaves of Udi's in a row now, but before that, every loaf was perfect and soft.

The dry loaves do seem to come from a certain store in town, so I'll try buying it from another store and see if it's any better. It's pretty discouraging to pay $6 for a loaf of dry yucky bread Especially Udi's, since they're SO good.

The muffins and bagels haven't had any of the issues my bread has been having, though (?)

[Sunny34]

I actually buy mine right from Udis online and have it shipped to me. My first shipment was great... the bread was moist and held together for a sandwich. My next two shipments were not as good... crumbly and they fall apart when I go to eat my sandwich. Because I get mine right from Udi, I think it's most likely their process and not the stores that has changed the quality of the bread. I would say the quality declined sometime in late spring???

--Sunny

[Nor-TX]

i agree with a poster above- i think it's something at the grocery store- maybe getting RE-FROZEN.

i dont wanna slam W.F. but i have had at least 4 gluten-free Frozen food items with MOLD on them.. and had to throw away

i need to speak to the manager at mine- because frozen foods shouldnt be spoiled

OY

I purchased three bags of Daiya cheese at Whole Foods and the first bag was great. A week later, when I went to open the second bag it was green with mold. I opened the third bag and it was the same. I didn't take it back because I didn't have a receipt and the 40 minute drive just seemed too much at the time. This happened in June and I just haven't had the stomach to try it again.

[cassP]

I purchased three bags of Daiya cheese at Whole Foods and the first bag was great. A week later, when I went to open the second bag it was green with mold. I opened the third bag and it was the same. I didn't take it back because I didn't have a receipt and the 40 minute drive just seemed too much at the time. This happened in June and I just haven't had the stomach to try it again.

i am THE SAME WAY- once i have an experience like that- it takes me about 6-8 months to come back to that particular food item

[kareng]

I purchased three bags of Daiya cheese at Whole Foods and the first bag was great. A week later, when I went to open the second bag it was green with mold. I opened the third bag and it was the same. I didn't take it back because I didn't have a receipt and the 40 minute drive just seemed too much at the time. This happened in June and I just haven't had the stomach to try it again.

I have not had this cheese substitute but have heard good things about it. If it is shredded and bagged, that could be the problem. I have bought Kraft bagged shredded cheese several times and it was moldy when I got it home (99% of the bags are fine). The grocery said that sometimes that happens to a whole box that they get in. The bags all seem to have small holes not easy to see. No one knows until hey open them and get a better look. My grocery was trying to insure that the person opening the box wasn't using a knife and puncturing the packs.

[bincongo]

I am going to visit my mother in Colorado and while I am there I thought I would check out the Ud'i bakery where their headquarters are. It isn't too far from where she lives. Does anyone want me to talk to them about specific issues, like there shipping process and do they want to stores to keep them frozen or any other questions?

[Nor-TX]

Bincongo, Yes, yes... talk to them... that would be great. I also think we should start to send them emails when we get a product that isn't the way it used to be. Afterall, if they don't know we are having a problem, they can't fix it. I took three slices of Udi bread out this morning, wrapped them in saran and just felt them (I'm at work)and the crusts feel hard and sharp and the bread feels stale. I am going to toast them anyway but they never used to be like this.

You could ask them if we should be emailing Udi or the store where they were purchased? I did talk to the manager of WF and he said, they put them out the way they get them in...