Best Gluten Free Bread: 7 Brands Ranked from Worst to Best
Finding the best gluten free bread can be hard. That’s why we have done it for you. Learn more about Gluten Free Bread, the best and worst!
Gluten Free is becoming more and more common in today’s world. What does it mean if something is “gluten free”. How does it affect bread and can you still find good bread that is gluten free?
What is gluten?
To go a little bit deeper into why this is, let’s understand a little bit more about what gluten is. Gluten is a protein that acts as a binder allowing bread to have the elasticity that it does. It is the agent that allows the dough to pull without breaking.
Gluten is most commonly found in things that contain wheat, barley and rye but is found is a huge variety of everyday foods. So when removing gluten from different products, it changes the properties of the food. Not only does it affect the elasticity in the bread but the texture, the moisture, and the flavor.
How do we avoid having dry, flavorless bread, pastas and food? We learn how to add elasticity in a variety of other ways.
Gluten Free bread that is tasty can be hard to find and expensive; that’s why we have gone ahead and bought a variety of common gluten free breads, and have had a taste testing party!
So for our taste testing party we gathered individuals who have Celiacs, and those who don’t, to see which bread is the best.
It is important to eat good food even while having Celiac’s and it is possible if made correctly. I am so excited to share the results with you!
Worst to Best Store Bought Gluten Free Breads:
This taste testing was done blind so there was no bias opinions on specific breads.
1) Food for Life Gluten Free Bread- Rice Almond (worst)
Calories: 120 Calories Macros: Fats- 3.5g, Carbohydrates – 20g, Protein 2g
This bread was by far the worst in every way. It was extremely dense and crumbly. There was no texture and very dry. (Most people couldn’t swallow it.)
2. Ener-G Gluten Free Classic White with Tapioca
Calories: 110 Calories Macros: Fats – 6g, Carbohydrates -15g, Protein 1g
This was the second worst bread which was very dry and bland. It too was dense.
3. Udi’s Delicious Gluten Free Soft White
Calories: 140 Macros: Fats – 4g, Carbohydrates – 24 g, Protein 2g
This bread surprised most of us. It was pretty dry and would crumble in your hands, but didn’t have a horrible taste.
4. Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Country White
Calories: 70 Macros: Fats – 1.5g Carbohydrates – 13g, Protein – 1g
This bread had a good texture but was still pretty dry. Would be good as toast but not as a sandwich or plain.
5. Franz Gluten Free Mountain White
Calories: 80 Macros: Fats -1.5g Carbohydrates – 16g Protein – 1g
This bread tied for number 6 in many cases. It is soft and has a great taste and texture. Was a little sweeter than others.
6. Schar Gluten Free Artisan Baker White Bread
Calories: 150 Macros: Fats- 2g Carbohydrates -32g Protein – 2g
Schar Bread was one of the favorites, however, it does have a sourdough taste to it. It was moist and wasn’t too dense.
7. Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread
Calories: 130 Macros: Fats -2.5 g Carbohydrates – 26g Protein – 2g
Trader Joe’s bread was the favorite bread. It was closest to gluten bread. It was light and fluffy, moist and has a great taste and texture.
In the end, the most surprising bread was the Udi’s bread. Most of us had high expectations for it, but were very disappointed in it.
The best bread was Trader Joe’s. However, the Schar and Franz breads came in a close second. The nice thing about those two breads is that they can be found at most grocery stores like Walmart or Smiths, unlike Trader Joe’s.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the breads we liked? Are there others that we didn’t cover?
Now who’s ready to eat some great gluten free bread?!
In addition to doing a gluten free bread tasting, we have also done a gluten free pizza tasting! Click here to see the results and to get tips for throwing a pizza party!
I will no longer even purchase a gluten free bread item whose primary ingredients are rice, potato, or tapioca flour/starch .. they’re just hideous. The two gluten free brands my mom and I have tried and liked are Simple Kneads (a variety of flavors), and Happy Campers Gluten Free. The latter is made with whole grains, so gluten but not grain free (the flour mix includes whole grain millet, whole grain sorghum, whole grain buckwheat, whole grain quinoa, and whole grain amaranth). Two slices of their Classy Slice bread contains 171 calories; 4g Fat; 226 mg Sodium; 32 g Total Carbs; 5 g fiber; and 0 g of sugar. It’s only gluten that’s an issue for us, not grains; and without the usually tasteless rice/potato/tapioca flours, this bread actually has some flavor. We found that Simple Kneads bread tends to crumble much more easily after freezing. Happy Campers GF doesn’t do this. Having said that, Happy Campers is still best if lightly toasted first. We buy four loaves at a time .. each. I’m a bit surprised that many “best of” search links on gluten free bread did not include either. Happy Camper has been experiencing some growing pains, so we’ve been looking for another brand to hold us over until they can get the guys out. Simple Kneads is good, but we can’t purchase in multiple loaves and avoid freezing all but one .. we just don’t consume it fast enough. And the crumbly thing it does after freezing makes it difficult to make a sandwich .. it might be good for croutons or breadcrumbs.
Thank you so much fore the recommendation! I’ll keep my eye out for the Happy Camper brand!