Sandwich Breads!

D’you like… bread?

I’ve now tried six different gluten-free sandwich breads… not counting some traumatic ones from last year, that put me off sandwich bread for ages and whose name I’ve blocked out of memory. Yes, I’ll share those as a warning, should I recall the name. But in the meantime, here are some much more pleasant reviews.

All of these loaves come pre-sliced, and are found in the freezer section. I get 2-4 loaves at a time, and store them frozen except for the “current” loaf I’m using. I got all of them at Whole Foods. And of course, all of them work better toasted than not-toasted, regardless of what quality toasting capabilities I give them.

Glutino Flax Seed Bread

Taste: Has a sweet-savory taste that can work well as a all-purpose bread. It’s slightly reminiscent of the seedy flavor of Whole Foods Seeduction bread.

Texture: It’s a bit like whole wheat, but lighter-colored, drier and with chewy-crispy seeds. It crumbles a bit easily compared to gluten bread, but is one of the sturdier gluten-free loaves I’ve found. The seeds can get messy though.

Toasted: It toasts a bit, getting crispier around the edges. It works much better toasted than the cakier loaves do. This has been my standby all-purpose loaf for months.

Glutino Fiber Bread

Taste: I found the taste bland – some whole wheat type bitterness, but without the rounded flavor of wheat.

Texture: It looks and feels a lot like whole wheat, and is similar to the flax seed without the seeds.

Toasted: It toasts about as well as the flax seed, but without the crunchy seeds to make it interesting. Though if you have any OCD tendencies, you may prefer this seedless bread to the flax seed (teh seedz, they go evreewar!).

Glutino Harvest Corn Bread

Taste: This is not ‘cornbread’ in the usual sense. There’s a very mild corn flavor that can sometimes be detected, but otherwise the taste is that of a very unobtrusive sandwich bread.

Texture: Very light, white bread-y.

Toasted: This is the best gluten-free toast I’ve ever had. If you want a light piece of old-school toast that is crunchy all the way through, this is what you want (and as a bonus, it actually turns from white to brown in the toaster). It’s done well with peanut butter, jelly and cheese on it (in separate events!), and has held up well even in thick wet sandwiches. This is my new all-purpose stand-by loaf, though I return to the flax seed occasionally for variety.

Glutino Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Taste: Cinnamon! Raisin! Nom!

Texture: Bready, very slightly crumbly, with raisins of course. This has the dense sweetbread texture I remember from gluten cinnamon raisin bread.

Toasted: Toasts a considerable amount, for GF bread. Keeps some crunch with butter melted in.

365 (Whole Foods) Prairie Bread

Taste: This loaf looked a lot like Seeduction, and I got my hopes up. But this is too many tastes, too many sweets and savories and salties all fighting each other. For bread intended to have at least one other taste added, it doesn’t work at all. I didn’t finish the loaf.

Texture: Mealy and heavy. Rather muffiny. Not terrible for a muffin, but doesn’t work as a sandwich bread texture for me.

Toasted: Doesn’t toast.

365 (Whole Foods) Sandwich Bread

Taste: Quite buttery sweet, and worked fairly well with jelly on it. I found it didn’t quite mix well on most savory sandwiches though.

Texture: This loaf’s texture reminds me a lot of pound cake, and feels about as heavy.

Toasted: Browns a bit around the edges, but doesn’t manage any real crunch.