Our Favorite Gluten-Free Bread

The two questions I am most often asked is “What’s our favorite gluten-free pasta?” and “What’s our favorite gluten-free bread?” I answered the pasta question in a blog post about a year ago (and will update with some new ones!) and am finally answering the bread question today.  Can’t wait for you to read and let me know your favorite gluten-free bread too!

Background

Great tasting gluten-free bread can be one of the most difficult things to find once you start a gluten-free diet. 

With “regular” bread, gluten acts as the literal glue that holds the bread together and gives it it’s great rise and texture.  So not every gluten-free bread does the best job of replicating it.

But, just because you’re following a gluten-free diet doesn’t mean you don’t want to or can’t enjoy a great bread!

In the 10 years since my son was diagnosed with celiac disease, we’ve tried looootttssss of gluten-free bread.  Some has tasted like cardboard or been gritty, just like the jokes about gluten-free bread.  But other gluten-free bread has been really good!

Unfortunately,  over the years, sometimes our favorite gluten-free bread is from a company or bakery that closes but we always seem to find a new one!

And in this post, we share all the breads we’re currently enjoying.

An overall tip

In our opinion, nearly all store-bought, gluten-free bread tastes best when toasted. 

When it’s not toasted, it can sometimes have that gritty texture. But toasted, the texture is much more like it’s gluten counterpart.

But we have had amazing gluten-free bread at restaurants, bakeries and homemade that tastes great not toasted, so don’t despair!

Disclosures

Here I’m sharing our favorite store bought bread we use for sandwiches, french toast, stuffing and the like, as well as our favorite bakery bread and bread mixes if you’re inclined to make your own bread.

These are all brands we use regularly and purchase on our own.

From time to time, several of these brands have sent me packages of their newest products and for that we’ve always been grateful, and I always let you know when we receive gifts.

But at this point, I have no business relationship with any of the following brands (except GF Jules – who’s bread mix we love and for whom I’m an affiliate)

As an aside, purchasing through an affiliate link generates a small percentage of the sale for me, but does not change your cost at all.  So purchasing through an affiliate link helps me fund this website and all the recipes I share, so thank you!

Our Favorite Breads

Today our fridge and freezer has 7 different brands of bread and 2 bread mixes. We have a variety because we tend to like them for different reasons and for different meals.

Here’s a peek inside our pantry and what we love about each of these brands:

Schar Gluten-Free Artisan Bread :  We  have been using Schar bread almost since my son was first diagnosed with celiac disease. It it easily available and reliable. Note, this bread is found un-refrigerated in the gluten-free aisle generally.

The slices are a good sandwich size, the texture is good and my son likes it toasted in the morning with eggs. 

They have multiple varieties of bread. My son prefers the Artisan White. I prefer the Artisan Multigrain or 10 Grains & Seeds. 

While we also like that they have multiple shapes of bread. We often have their Ciabatta bread in the house. It makes really yummy garlic bread, just saying. 

Also, Schar is a brand I have worked with from time to time because we love and use their products.

 

Canyon Bakehouse Bread: Canyon Bakehouse is one of the brands we have been purchasing since my son first went gluten-free as well.  Their breads are almost always found in the freezer section of grocery stores.

And Canyon Bakehouse is one of my favorite, readily available breads.  They have multiple varieties and they all have great flavor and texture. 

We’ve been lucky enough recieve samples of Canyon Bakehouse new products from time to time and they are always delish!

This Summer we were particularly excited to receive a box that included their bagels and Hawaiian bread!

 

Against the Grain:  This is another brand we have enjoyed for years. They were the first bread we found in a baguette shape and we have been loyal to it ever since! It is found in the freezer section at grocery stores and it readily available. They also have rolls and plain pizza crust which we’ve used.

But it’s the baguettes we go back for. It has a great shape, texture and taste. My son loves them for garlic bread and we use it when making homemade Italian meatballs.

 

Everybody Eats: This is a brand we first learned about from Bistango, a restaurant in NYC. They served it to us while waiting for our meal (a real treat!) and we loved it so much, we asked what it was and where we could find it. 

Everybody Eats is a bakery (wholesale, I believe) in Brooklyn, NY. We now purchase their baguettes online and the arrive quickly and still frozen.  The bread has an amazing texture, like a great baguette and great flavor too.  And, it is the bread we use when making gluten-free stuffing.

Udis:  Udis is probably one of the most widely known and used in the United States. We used their bread for many years but haven’t recently just because we prefer others.  When we do have it, it tastes best when toasted or made for a grilled cheese in our opinion.

We do however, like their hamburger buns and always keep a pack in the freezer. They are a good size and they don’t seem to have the issue of “holes” that their sandwich bread does.

 

The Gluten-Free Bakery Bread: This a brand that we used many years ago when a local store carried it.  The Gluten-Free Bakery Bread is made in upstate NY and sold mostly locally I believe. 

Recently a friend (who also has a child with celiac disease) re-introduced me to it. She purchases it from Fresh Direct (a food delivery company for NY and CT friends!).  This is my favorite of the moment! The slices are big, and it has a great texture and flavor.

 

Bakery bread! As I mentioned earlier, some of the best bread we’ve had has been homemade from restaurants or gluten-free bakeries. 

We love the bread, for instance, at Georgies Diner (and their sister Shoreline Diner) in New Haven, CT.  It is thick and has great texture and flavor. They used to sell loaves of it but stopped doing so. 

Now we love the bread at Modern Bread and Bagel in NYC, a 100% gluten-free eatery.  They have amazing bagels that taste like legit NY bagels and my son loooovvves their loaves of white bread. You can see from the snapshot above, you can purchase an entire loaf of bread, un-sliced, which is a treat in a of itself in the gluten-free world.

The bread nice and crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside and tastes amazing!  It’s my son’s favorite bread for french toast because he can cut nice, thick slices.

My point in sharing this bread is not only to recommend Modern Bread and Bagel if you’re in or visiting NYC, but to encourage you to seek our local gluten-free bakeries if you’re lucky enough to live near one. Sometimes they have the best breads!

Bread mixes: As you may be aware if you follow my Instagram Stories, we recently purchased a bread maker around Christmas.  We’ve been loving it so far! The bread is warm and fresh and has the BEST texture (like real gluten-ful bread)

We have been using the Pamela’s bread mix and recently received the GF Jules Sandwich Bread Mix and can’t wait to make it.

We used to make bread in the oven with the GF Jules Sandwich Bread Mix and loved it! It was so easy! No bread maker required! Not sure why we stopped, to be honest… But I’m glad we’ll be making it again soon!

Addendum: Tortillas

We have tried many gluten-free tortilla brands as well and I will add them to this post. But our favorite gluten-free tortilla right now is Siete Foods Almond Flour Tortillas.

Wrap up

Have you tried these brands? What’s your favorite brand? Are there any brands we need to try?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!