looking for recommendations on store-bought bread

[Blackdog Lin]

I need to make the commitment to make all our bread, but it ain't gonna happen anytime soon, so.....

I made the commitment in the last year to switch to all whole wheat bread items, when available (mostly, I've made the commitment to SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY to buy whole wheat). But I was disgusted to see this week that the loaf of Sara Lee I bought - and I checked the ingredient list to make sure whole wheat flour was the first ingredient, but I didn't check far enough - had sugar listed as the third ingredient! Well, I'm not doing our health any favors with that. We only buy/eat about 3 loaves a month, but still.....

My small-town grocery store has a limited selection, but we shop at Wal-Mart every 3-4 weeks so I can purchase there and freeze. Do any of y'all have any recommendations for a brand to look for at Wal-Mart? I'm hoping not to have to budget the time to read a bazillion bread packages in the bread aisle to find something that's halfway healthy, even though store-bought. Extra points if they also produce a hamburger bun product.

Thanks!

[Zoe Girl]

oro wheat is good, and can be found at most stores. i like it because they do not use high fructose corn syrup so i can just buy the brand and not read ingredients EVERY time i go to the store. i would check the overall sugar amount as well as where it is on the list. homemade bread also has sugar and about 5 ingredients, the nutritional label will show how much sugar it has percentage wise. the whole wheat bread is also soft and holds together well.

[lhamo]

Dave's killer bread is really killer. We binge on the 21 grain (I think) every time we are back in the US. So hard to get decent bread in China....

It is much less expensive at Costco than other places (Like $6.50 or something for two large loaves at Costco versus $5.99 for just one at Fred Meyer). It freezes really well, too.

[pinkytoe]

As far as grocery store breads, we have gotten hooked on Alvarado Street Bakery breads made from sprouted grains. Do you have Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocers? They carry it - otherwise you can mail order. Makes great toast. I keep a loaf in the freezer because we don't eat much bread anyway.

[kib]

Not to be a nag about it, but if you can find a thrift store bread maker you get total control of the ingredients at about 1/10 the cost and honestly it's easier than making a crock pot meal. Barring that, no sugar is unusual because it helps bread rise quickly, but Nature's Own makes a sugar free whole grain bread.

[Tiam]

I need to make the commitment to make all our bread, but it ain't gonna happen anytime soon, so.....

I made the commitment in the last year to switch to all whole wheat bread items, when available (mostly, I've made the commitment to SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY to buy whole wheat). But I was disgusted to see this week that the loaf of Sara Lee I bought - and I checked the ingredient list to make sure whole wheat flour was the first ingredient, but I didn't check far enough - had sugar listed as the third ingredient! Well, I'm not doing our health any favors with that. We only buy/eat about 3 loaves a month, but still.....

My small-town grocery store has a limited selection, but we shop at Wal-Mart every 3-4 weeks so I can purchase there and freeze. Do any of y'all have any recommendations for a brand to look for at Wal-Mart? I'm hoping not to have to budget the time to read a bazillion bread packages in the bread aisle to find something that's halfway healthy, even though store-bought. Extra points if they also produce a hamburger bun product.

Thanks!


I don't buy much bread these days. I can get free bread that the stores give away weekly at the Salvation Army. But mostly, for bought bread it's Daves Bread. Spendy but very good. And unlike Orowheat and some other breads no hidden HFCS or white flour. It's organic and non GMO. Also texture and taste wise, it's the only whole grain bread I care for anymore.

[creaker]

I've been buying pretty much only Ezekiel bread for about a year now - good for toast, so-so for sandwiches - if it's toasted first :-) But considering I was trying to cut white powders (flour, sugar, etc.) out of my diet anyway, it works.

[lessisbest]

Before going gluten-free 2-years ago, I milled my own flour from seeds/grains/beans and made all our bread, BUT for something different that I couldn't make easily and inexpensively at home, I would buy a loaf of Food For Life Sprouted Grain Bread. http://www.foodforlife.com/products?tid_1=All&tid=4 Yes, it's expensive, and it's not your soft spongy bread (best used grilled or toasted as creaker pointed out), but soaked and sprouted grains/seeds/beans are easier to digest and don't raise blood sugar like breads made with wheat flour.

Do you have a bread machine? That is a great way to get homemade bread back onto your busy schedule. You can choose to bake in the bread machine, or just let it do the work to make the dough. I usually made enough 100% whole wheat dough to make a 1-pound loaf of bread, and with the remaining dough I could make one of the following: 6 burger or hot dog buns, 6 jumbo sticky pecan rolls, or an 8-inch pan of dinner rolls.

[awakenedsoul]

Blackdog Lin, I don't shop at Walmart, so I'm not sure which brands they carry. If you do start baking your own bread, the recipes I use don't have any sugar. They are just flour, yeast, salt, and warm water. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand of flour at Sprouts. One recipe I use is the NY Times No Knead Bread recipe. The other is a french bread recipe from the old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I also make a brown rice bread from The Tassajara Bread Book. It uses cooked brown rice, oil, salt, and whole wheat flour. It's heavy and dense, but delicious!

[domestic goddess]

lessisbest, would you please share your gf bread recipe? I have been trying to find some bread for my dd, who has Crohn's, and is gluten free. The bought breads are miserable, and I can't really read a gf recipe and tell much about it yet. I would really appreciate some help!

[Blackdog Lin]

Thanks for the ideas so far.

Don't have a bread machine - if I did I would definitely be making our own bread. And not trying to go sugar-FREE with it, I just thought that maybe with sugar as the third ingredient listed that was proportionately way too much.

One of my goals for retirement was to start making all our own homemade bread. Two years later, and it hasn't happened yet! :)

[lessisbest]

lessisbest, would you please share your gf bread recipe? I have been trying to find some bread for my dd, who has Crohn's, and is gluten free. The bought breads are miserable, and I can't really read a gf recipe and tell much about it yet. I would really appreciate some help!

Sorry I missed your post....

I make a number of "breads", but there really isn't anything that equals "regular" sandwich-type bread, unless you purchase some of the commercial brands (Rudi's, Udi's, LivingGFree, etc.). I generally avoid them because they are made with high-glycemic flours and I try not to over-use rice flour because of arsenic, and nearly everything made commercially that is gluten-free has rice flour in it.

PALEO BREAD - http://elanaspantry.com/paleo-bread/
I use this bread for making French Toast or regular toast. I only make it when I get eggs cheap or free because it takes so many!!!

Have you ever made Arepas? They are a great item to keep in the freezer. I've made several different recipes of them, but my newest favorite is from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring by Nicole Hunn. If you aren't familiar with arepas, do a Google search for more information, recipes, and how-to videos on YouTube.

AREPAS
(makes 10-12) [You could easily make 1/2 a recipe.]

1 c. precooked cornmeal flour (P.A.N. Flour http://www.amazon.com/P-N-Harina-Blanca-Pre-cooked/dp/B004TDAPYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422367076&sr=8-1&keywords=pan+flour)
1 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1/8 t. kosher salt
1 c. plus 2-4 T. tepid water
1/4 c. vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal flour, cheese, and salt. Add 1 cup of water and stir to combine and incorporate the water into the flour mixture. Add more water by the tablespoonful if necessary for the dough to come together. Once the dough has come together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to stand at room temperature for 3 to 4 minutes. The cornmeal flour will continue to absorb water, and the dough will stiffen as it stands.

2. After the dough has stiffened, wet your hands and divide the dough into 10-12 portions of about 3 tablespoons each. With wet hands again, form the first piece of dough into a ball, then flatten into a disk about 1/4-inch thick and 2-1/2-inches wide. Repeat with each piece of dough.

3. Pour the oil into a 12-inch skillet with at least 2-inch sides, and heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. While the oil heats, prepare the first portion of dough for frying. Wet your hands again and press all around the edge of the disk, eliminating any cracks. Flatten along the side, smoothing as you go. When you fry the Arepas, if you have successfully eliminated all the cracks, steam will build up inside and they will puff and swell. It takes some practice, but it's well worth the effort.

4. When the oil is ready, place each portion of dough carefully in the pan and fry until golden brown, turning over once during frying and fry for 4-5 minutes per side. Do not crowd in pan. Fry in batches.

5. Drain Arepas on paper towels before serving. With a wet serrated knife, slice the Arepas in half horizontally and serve warm or at room temperature.
[NOTE: I split them and add some ham and cheese and grill them for a ham and cheese sandwich. I make sure I split them before I wrap them in foil and freeze them. A trick I use for splitting Arepas (and other gluten-free flatbreads) is to use a thin lid - like one from a large container of yogurt that is about 1/4-inch deep). Lay the Arepa (or flatbread) in the up-side-down lid and use the rim of lid as a cutting guide.]
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I would also suggest you find a copy of Cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet - by Erica Kerwien. I make a number of recipes from this book, including:
-Sandwich Rounds (pg. 81)
-Banana Bread (pg. 92)
-Pumpkin Bread (pg. 93)
-Cinnamon Bun Muffins (pg. 96) these are to die for.....http://comfybelly.com/2011/08/cinnamon-bun-muffins-using-coconut-flour/#.VMecxWc5BVI
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I have a lot of recipes I make, including flatbreads. I make a recipe from The No-Gluten Cookbook - series editor, Kimberly A. Tessmer for Crunchy Cornbread Squares. The gluten-free cornbread is baked in a 9x13" cake pan and is very thin. I cut the cornbread into bread-size portions and split them with a serrated knife. The slices can then be used for grilled sandwiches. I also cut the pieces smaller and use them for regular cornbread. These freeze well wrapped in foil pop-up sheets (I get boxes of them at Sam's Club). You can warm the cornbread in the foil in a toaster oven.

Let me know if you want any other gluten-free recipes. Perhaps we should put them in a new thread entitled "gluten-free" baking so they would be easier to find and add to when we find a new recipe to add.

[catherine]

I buy Ezekiel bread, which is bread made from sprouts, and it's great, but you can only get it at selected stores like Trader Joe's.

http://www.foodforlife.com/about_us/ezekiel-49

[Gardenarian]

As far as grocery store breads, we have gotten hooked on Alvarado Street Bakery breads made from sprouted grains. Do you have Vitamin Cottage/Natural Grocers? They carry it - otherwise you can mail order. Makes great toast. I keep a loaf in the freezer because we don't eat much bread anyway.

Another vote for Alvarado Street Bakery. It's organic, employee owned, delicious, and (for me) local. I like their low-carb flax seed bread; my daughter likes the California Protein style. I simply can't make my own sandwich bread that is as healthful and tasty.

[seedycharacter]

Ditto on the Alvarado Street Bakery. Trader Joe's carries it with their name on it. It is sprouted and flour less which slows down the digestion and keeps blood sugar from spiking. Like Gardenarian, I like that it's employee owned. It makes such delicious toast--OMG crunchy and tasty.

Sounds like you read the labels closely. So many breads are white flour with a few seeds sprinkled on top or some whole grains added way down the ingredient list, making you think it's whole grain. NOT! The fiber content is one good way to assess the degree of whole graininess.

[Tussiemussies]

We also buy Ezekiel bread just as Catherine mentioned. Luckily they have it in our local grocery store, Shop Rite. Today DH came home with their brand of English muffins, they were delicious.

I do have an older breadmaker that I use a Cookbook for Ethnic breads for the Breadmaker. A lot of times with the breadmaker it makes up the dough and then you take it out and form the shape with it. One of my fsvorite recipes is for Semolina italian Baguttes (sp?) You take the Rt isen dough out, form them, let them rise and then spray them with water which gives a nice crust!

If you are interested, I eill get the exact name of the book and author....

[pinkytoe]

At $4.50 a loaf, I splurged on a loaf of Dave's Killer seed bread this past week. Pretty darn tasty toasted with almond butter.

[Tenngal]

I do recommend the store brand bread. We like the whole wheat and honey wheat. I have found that the store brand, both at Walmart and Ingles is fresher, they have to replace it more often because it sells out.............