Battle of the Breads - Honorable Mentions

Image Source: someecard.com

To wrap up Battle of the Breads I wanted to highlight some of my favorite gluten free breads that you can easily (or semi-easily) buy in New York City. These are local companies that have fantastic products; if you are not NYC based, you may want to check websites for availability close to you.

• Everybody Eats although I have not had their sandwich bread, their baguettes are incredible. A bit pricey ($8-12), but worth the splurge. The are in Gowanus and accept retail walk-ins on Saturdays. They seem to have many grocers selling in NY and outside NY as well.
• Heidi's Gluten Free  sandwich bread is really good and you can buy it fresh Saturdays at GFree NYC. 
• My favorite bakery, Tulu's Gluten Free Bakery, offers fresh bread. You must have a cupcake if you go there. Locations in NY and Dallas.
• Not in NYC, but in Albany, Sherry Lynn's Guten Free sells the best fresh bread ever made. This establishment is part restaurant (with a 100% gluten free menu), part grocer and part bakery with my two favorites: fresh bread and apple fritters. Whenever I drive through Albany I take a detour here now. 

Do you have any local favorites?

Battle of the Breads - The Winner!

After trying the four different brands I posted about this week, there are two lead contenders to be name winner: Udi's and Rudi's. However, my choice between the two was very difficult. I like the Udi's is sold unfrozen, its durability, and that I can eat it untoasted. I dislike that is can be dry. I like Rudi's taste, that although sold frozen it can be left out after purchasing, and its lightness. I hate that when frozen the slices seem almost impossible to break apart. 

But it would be a complete cop out to not pick one winner.

So I have to err with Rudi's. This actually surprised me as up until the battle of the breads I always reached for Udi's as my number one choice. However, I really love Rudi's taste and doughy texture. I feel like I am eating actual bread. Knowing I can let it thaw and not have the all stuck together issue qualms that complaint a bit - at least it does when I choose to leave it out.

Honestly though, none of the breads I have were terrible  and there would be advantages of some over others depending on how you're using it (croutons, stuffing, bread crumbs, etc). 

What do you think? Do you think Rudi's is the best? If not, which brand do you prefer?

Battle of the Breads - Food For All

Next on our battle of the breads roaster is Food For Life. I had actually never had this brand. 

Taste

Very neutral. There is not unpleasant about this bread, but there is nothing amazing about it. It tastes alright. 

Texture

I was really wary about this one. The loaf is very heavy in weight, and when I pulled out my slices I saw the bread itself was very dense. Based on this I thought it was going to be bad. However, when you bite into it the texture is a bit crumbly - however when you chewy this becomes quite doughy. 

Durability

Despite the crumbly texture when bitten into, the bread was quite sturdy. 

Normal vs. Toasted

I have only had it untoasted, and overall I would eat it untoasted again. That said, I do think it would be nicer toasted. 

Other

There was nothing else of particular note here. This loaf was more expensive than my Rudi and Udi's loaves. I think this bread would make fantastic bread crumbs and croutons (I fully intend to make the latter). 

Battle of the Breads - Rudi's Gluten Free

 I first tried Rudi's gluten free bread after moving to New York. Do be mindful when buying Rudi's as they make organic gluten containing bread, as well as gluten free. While they do share a production facility with their gluten containing products, according to their website they have separate equipment and test at less than 10ppm of gluten (below 20ppm is what is required for a product to be labelled gluten free if I understand correctly). 

Taste

I find that gluten free breads can taste flour-y. This not true with Rudi's. In the past I've had their white sandwich bread and multigrain. 

Texture

While is it still gluten free bread, I find Rudi's to have the lightest texture. Enjoying it from frozen, I cannot say I would appropriately apply the label 'fluffy' to it as it is still heavier than gluten bread, but it is almost there - from what I remember, it is the same as actual bread.

Durability

Very durable. This bread even holds up well dipped into soups where most other gluten free breads fail. 

Normal vs. Toasted

I actually really like this one untoasted, the taste on its own is quite sweet. Toasted is fab as well.

Other

I wish I could buy this non-frozen, but alas it is freezer section only. And I find Rudi's bread slices particularly difficult to separate from each other when frozen. Their website does say it can be left out for 4 days before it starts to dry, which is much better than some products which I count as stale after one day on the counter as opposed to freezer. Also, this looks like real bread. Some gluten free bread is notably smaller than its gluten-containing sibling, Rudi's is normal sized and normal looking. A stranger in the street would never know you were eating a GF sandwich.

Have you tried Rudi's? Have you left it on the counter or in the pantry for a few days? How did it hold up?

Battle of the Breads - Glutino

Cucumber cream cheese sandwich on white genius bread.

FIrst up in our brand spotlights is Glutino. This was one of the first brands that I tried which I did not completely despise. Also back then, it was Canadian owned (and as a Canadian I like supporting companies based on my home country). They two versions of bread, normal and 'genius' which they claim does not require toasting. For the battle of the breads I picked up a loaf of their genius bread, which I had actually not had before.

Taste

Glutino products taste okay. They are not the greated, but they are certainly not bad. I do like the cinnamon raisin bread the best and find this to be from a purely taste perspective one of the best.

Texture

Moderate. Glutino bread is somewhat dense but still a bit springy to the touch. This works well with aforementioned cinnamon raisin bread. The genius bread is really dry.

Durability

Not durable. After thawing on the counter, I spread cream cheese on one piece which basically starting falling apart, and this was not firm cream cheese I was using. While in the past I have had it fall apart while enjoying, the product has improved over the years and I find it to be much better these days. One slice started breaking in half for no reason. 

Normal vs. Toasted

I do not find Glutino to be a brand I will eat untoasted. Toasted is certainly the way to go in this one - and they seem to know it. Below is a screen shot from a product description on their website. I do not fault them for this as it seems to be a generally accepted fact that most gluten free bread requires toasting.

Source: http://www.glutino.com/our-products/bakery/breads/premium-flax-seed-bread/

Other

Glutino is found exclusively in the freezer section. They have a few different options for their bread which is nice. 

Have you tried Glutino? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!

Battle of the Gluten Free Breads

The gluten free bread section at Westerly Natural Market in Hell's Kitchen

Remembering back to when I first starting eating gluten free about 6 years ago, bread was a product that was really important to me. I'm a carb-loving -sandwich-eating kind of girl. The fact that gluten free bread was terrible was one of the things (along with no understanding of what gluten was actually doing to my body) that kept me eating gluten a while longer. Luckily now there are actual options. 

Since this is a topic that is widely debated, and is important to anyone starting out on a gluten free diet, I thought I would post a few reviews on the brands which are available throughout the country at major chains and are also available in Canada. 

The contenders.

I will be rating/reviewing on the following criteria:

• Taste. Just because I'm a gluten bigot doesn't mean I like bad food.
• Texture.
• Durability. Because it sucks when your sandwich betrays you by falling apart whilst trying to enjoy it.
• Normal vs. Toasted. Is it edible if not toasted?
• Other. Any other thing I think it notable about the product.

I will review for the next four days (Tuesday through Friday). Saturday I will post about which I like best based on the criteria noted above. And on Sunday I will list some honorable mentions which are New York based companies that I am not sure if they sell elsewhere/how easy they are to find out side the tri-state area. If I am writing about a brand you have tried, I would love to read your opinions in the comments!

Is there any other things I should note? Do you have any favorites I should try? Or any brands which you suggest everyone stay away from?