Since S. was diagnosed with celiac disease almost a year ago, we have become familiar with many of the gluten free bread products available. I have also gone gluten free, and have responded well to the diet with a reduction in my level of anti-thyroid antibodies. Since J. is on the autistic spectrum, we thought it might be beneficial to do a trial of the GFCF diet so we went casein free a few months after I started cooking gluten free for S. So my husband is the only member of the family that isn't gluten free, although for the most part he eats GFCF at him like the rest of us.
A few months ago, in my quest for GF bread with full sized slices, I found Rudi's gluten free bread at a local healthfood store. Some brands of GF bread contain milk or milk powder, so I was pleased to find that Rudi's was casein free. When I first tried it, I thought it tasted so close to regular white bread that I panicked and ran to check the label on the bag, thinking I might have bought the wrong product and we were all eating wheat bread. It was that good. So I followed @rudisglutenfree on Twitter, and let them know how much I liked it. Recently they asked me if I would like to write a review on their products, and I was happy to give it a go.
So I received Rudi's gluten free multigrain bread, hot dog buns, and hamburger rolls. Now, as an aside, I realized after receiving the products that I really prefer their original gluten free bread to the multigrain version. It's not that I don't like whole grain gluten free breads, I generally do, but for whatever reason I really prefer original from Rudi's. Others might have a different opinion, just depends of your personal preferences.
When purchasing gluten free breads, I do prefer to start out with the bread frozen. When I buy breads in the store that are not frozen, I squeeze them a little to see if they are still soft, and look for a softer package if they aren't. In this case I believe the breads were shipped fresh. I'm not sure how long it took for the box to ship but I felt that the bread was not as soft as what I usually purchase, but they weren't stale either.
We tried the hot dog rolls first. They come uncut so you have to slice open one side with a bread knife to get the hot dog in. Not a problem, especially since the other brand I buy come cut but they often cut them too far and they fall apart into two halves. My youngest son does not appreciate when his bun does not stay together so I'm happy to slice them myself if it means I can avoid hearing him whine. I liked the fact that the buns were thinner than the other brand I use. I don't like a lot of bread with my hot dog. They are also easier for my younger son to take a bite of. The hamburger rolls are also thinner than the other brand I buy and this is a good thing in my opinion. S. also likes thinner hamburger buns, as it is hard for him to bite into thick ones.
My main criticism of the bread and rolls is based on my preference for original. The multigrain is a little heavier in texture, and there are some seeds. I think the seeds we noticed were sunflower, millet, and flaxseed, based on the ingredient list. It also contains cornmeal, but it doesn't seem as noticeable as some of the seeds. S. said he liked the seeds. J. said he did not.
In conclusion, we enjoyed the bread, hot dog buns, and hamburger rolls. But I would personally choose the original gluten free bread over the multigrain. And I would love to see the hot dog and hamburger buns in the original GF bread recipe.
Thanks to Rudi's Gluten Free for sending us the samples to try!
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