Bread, one of the staples in our daily diet, is unfortunately one of the items that, at least to me, seem the most challenging to find. Yes, there are many gluten free bread choices, but the taste and texture of many let’s enough to be desired.

Experience:
I have to say, Kinnikinnick made a very good bread here. It has a nice taste that won’t interfere with whatever you want to put on it. Be it something rather sweet like jam or honey, or something more hearty like cheese or sausage. We have a real nice all purpose bread here. A winner.

Kinnikinnick Brown Sandwich Bread

The texture of this bread is rather close to the regular wheat containing variety. It is not too dry, not too dense, just about right. The slices are on the thinner side, which is nice for sandwiches. I don’t really like thick slices of bread.

You will probably find this gluten free bread in the frozen food section. The instructions on the package say to keep it that way. The problem with frozen bread is that it is most often frozen in one block (or two). Now try to pry a slice off. Not much fun. For this reason I just keep it in the fridge. It lasts quite a while that way, but your mileage may vary, so do what you think is best.

Ingredients:
Water, White Rice Flour, Whole Eggs, Potato Starch, Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Cellulose, Sugar, Sunflower and/or Canola Oil(), Yeast, Flax Seeds, Dextrose, Pea Protein, Glucono Delta Lactone, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Pea Fibre, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Bicarbonate, Caramel colour, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Vitamin Blend(Thiamine, Vitamin B2, Niacin, Folic Acid, Iron)

Where to Buy:
To my delight I found this bread at my local Giant store. I hope they do keep it stocked. You will also be able to get it at your local health food store.

Website: consumer.kinnikinnick.com, Store Finder

Rating: 4.75/5

Experience:
These buns are also sold frozen, a common theme with wheat and gluten free baked products. Also here you have different options to thaw this product.

The first time I used this bun was during a BBQ we have been invited to. I simply wrapped the frozen thing in foil and brought it with me. It had plenty of time to thaw and I didn’t even think of using a toaster. Bad decision on my part as I learned later on. The bun felt very dense, not as soft as the regular wheat/gluten containing counterparts. Due to the density of the bun, and I mean dense, the whole hot dog experience wasn’t all that great. While the regular buns kind of wrap around the “dog” and other ingredients you might have added, this gluten free one did not. It stayed open in an angle. Oh well. At least a bun, right?

The taste was OK, maybe a tad sweet, but not bad. The texture was too dense and it also was quite dry. The density did ruin the hot dog experience for me. I think I’d rather forgo the bun the next time.

I wanted to give it another try though. This time I didn’t let the bun just thaw on its own, I used a toaster instead. This makes a difference. More than I thought it would. It was less dense and a bit softer, but crunchy at the same time. Still not like the regular ones, but much better. The taste changes a bit too, just like with any other bread you put in a toaster. I liked it better this way. Although it still was not the soft hot dog bun most people are used to, it was much better than I experienced the first time.

The verdict: toasted it is fine to eat, but don’t expect it to be a regular hot dog bun. Definitively room for improvement.

Ingredients (according to the package):
White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Whole Eggs, Yeast, Cellulose, Sugar, Sunflower and/or Canola oil, Dextrose, Pea Protein, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Salt, Vitamin Blend (Thiamin, B2, Niacin, Folic Acid, Iron).

Where to Buy:
I bought mine at my local Whole Foods store. You might be able to find them in other similar stores as well. I do have my doubts that you will find them in a regular grocery store.

Website: consumer.kinnikinnick.com, Store Finder

Rating: 2.75/5

Kinnikinnick is a Canadian company that produces several different wheat and gluten free products. Let’s see how these hamburger buns fare.

Experience:
These buns are sold frozen, something to keep in mind when preparing the meal. Now you have different options to thaw those buns. You can just let them sit outside, which of course will take the longest time. You can warm them up in a microwave, which does not seem appealing to me. Or, last but not least, you can put them in a toaster, which hopefully is not gluten infested. I opted for the toaster. The manufacturer recommends to toast or microwave.

The taste of these buns if fine, they do not get in the way of the hamburger meat, but it is a bit different compared to their gluten containing counterparts. The texture of these wheat free buns is also fine. Although they are more dense than the regular buns, they still will give you an all around pleasant hamburger experience. It does beat eating a burger without the bun. That’s for sure.

Would I buy them again? Yes, but I will also keep looking for alternatives.

Ingredients (according to the package):
Water, White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Whole Eggs, Sugar, Yeast, Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Dextrose, Poly Dextrose, Pea Protein, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Salt, Vitamin Blend (Thiamine, Vitamin B2, Niacin, Folic Acid, Iron)

It does not contain: wheat, dairy, soy, nuts and potatoes.

Where to Buy:
I bought mine at my local Whole Foods store. You might be able to find them in other similar stores as well. I do have my doubts that you will find them in a regular grocery store, but I’ll happily be corrected.

Website: consumer.kinnikinnick.com, Store Finder

Rating: 3.25/5