This gluten free french roll does not contain any artificial color and flavor, and it also is free of preservatives. Because of this is it best to keep these rolls in the fridge or even freeze what you cannot eat right away. It is produced in a gluten free environment, great!

Trader Joe's Gluten Free French Roll

Experience:
I have mixed feelings about this gluten free french roll. It is always great to have alternatives but to me this roll tastes and feels more like a hamburger bun, less like a roll. Maybe I just have the wrong expectations – a roll is something different to me. If you ever had rolls in Germany or Austria you know what I’m talking about.

This roll is not bad by any means and I might use it instead of regular gluten free hamburger buns. Go and give it a try.

Ingredients:
White rice flour, tapioca flour, water, soy flour, guar gum, egg whites, yeast, salt, raw cane sugar.

Where to Buy:
You can find this product at your local Trader Joe’s store (east coast).

Website: www.traderjoes.com
Locations: www.traderjoes.com/static/find_a_tjs.asp

Rating: 3.25/5

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

This bread is produced by muffinPHYSICS, a gluten-free and allergen-free wholesale bakery in San Diego, CA. Their products are made in a new dedicated gluten-free facility. Yeah! Beside this bread they also make, surprise, muffins.

Experience:
This bread is a welcome addition to my food list. It has a nice texture, like “real” bread. It is not too dry and not sticky either. It feels just right.

Bread Physics Soft Sandwich Bread

The bread’s taste, although it has a slight sweetness to it, goes well with hearty sandwiches but also with jam or jelly. The sweetness reminds me a bit of the sweet taste some potatoes have. I wonder if the potato starch has something to do with it.

The verdict: this is a nice bread that I will definitively buy again. If you can get a hold of it give it a try. It’s worth it.

Ingredients (according to the package):
Gluten-free flours (sorghum, tapioca, potato starch), apple juice, olive oil, non-aluminum baking poweder, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking soda.

It does not contain wheat, dairy, soy, nuts or eggs.

Where to Buy:
This bread might be a bit difficult to get, at least at the time of this writing. It seems to be available only in the Southern California area in selected stores. The company is expanding its reach though, so check out their website to see if it is available in your area.

Website: www.muffinphysics.com
Update Sep 3, 2010: Website seems to be down. I wonder if the company still exists.

Rating: 4.5/5

Experience:
The rice pecan bread is a very good tasting gluten free bread alternative. This bread is rich in flavor, is moist, and has a pleasant texture. It feels like real bread.

The taste is nutty (well, it’s a pecan bread) and due to the added fruit juices a little on the sweet side. This slight sweetness works perfectly with jams, but not so well with things like cheese or deli meat. In my opinion, this restricts the use of this otherwise wonderful bread a little bit. However, if you love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches this bread is fantastic. Or even better, try Trader Joe’s pecan nut spread instead of the peanut butter. Heavenly.

Wheat & Gluten Free Rice Pecan Bread

This bread is definitively in my top 10 list of wheat and gluten free products.

Ingredients:
Brown Rice Flour, Filtered Water, White Rice Flour, Fruit Juice Concentrate (pineapple, peach, pear), Pecan Meal, Tapioca Flour, Safflower Oil, Fresh Yeast, Vegetable Gum (xanthan, cellulose), Rice Bran, Arrowroot, Herbs.

Where to Buy:
You should be able to find this delicious gluten free bread at your local health food store. I have not seen it in regular grocery chains, but your experience might be different. The website shows a store finder that handles the US and Canada.

Website: www.foodforlife.com

Rating: 4.5/5

When I went to a  Mother’s Market, there are a handful in Southern California, I was excited to see a large variety of breads in the shelf. I bought 2 types at my first visit. White Rice Loaf and Light Brown Rice Loaf. Oh the excitement – bread for sandwiches.

Experience:
These breads were very dry and sort of brittle. They fell apart easily when taken out of the package. This is not a great thing if you want to make sandwiches to bring with you to work, to school, etc. You never know if the bread will be in one piece or if you will have crumbs for lunch. Not what I had hoped for.

The taste itself was fine, great for different types of sandwiches. The texture was, probably due to the dryness of the bread, not what I expected. It felt in a way a bit like sawdust.

Since the two rice based breads have been so dry, I tried Seattle Brown Loaf, which is supposed to be soft and moist. Yes, the bread was moist, especially when compared to the two rice breads. However, it wasn’t soft and moist in a good way. More in a way that sticks to your teeth. Not something I enjoy a whole lot.

The taste of this bread was OK, not bad by any means. Nice for hearty sandwiches. The texture and its stickiness however turned out to be the deal breaker for me.

Altogether the Ener-G bread experience hasn’t been the best for me. True – I only tried three of the many bread types available,  but I am honestly not too keen to try the other breads any time soon. Ener-G does offer other wheat and gluten-free products which I will try with an open mind though.

Where to Buy:
You will be able to buy this bread at Mother’s Market & Kitchen (www.mothersmarket.com) and at least some flavors at Whole Foods (www.wholefoodsmarket.com). I did not see these breads at regular grocery chain stores, but that doesn’t mean they won’t cary it.

If there is no store close to you, you will be able to buy the bread in gluten free online stores and at the Ener-G website.

Website: www.ener-g.com

Ener-G Foods, Inc. is a wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut free, tree-nut free and kosher certified facility.

Rating: 2.25/5