Gluten Free Food Reviews

It has been a rough month- I have been sick a whopping three times, which has made it difficult to try new gluten free products. I have had no energy, and nothing seems to taste good. As a result, I have a pantry full of gluten free bread mixes waiting patiently to be prepared and appreciated. It looks like my bread reviews will spill over into March! My March gluten free product give-away will still go on as planned though. Check back on March 1st to enter!

I picked up this large 35.5 ounce bag of Kinnikinnick Kinni-Kwik Bread and Bun mix for $5.79, which was enough to make a dozen dinner rolls and a large yummy loaf of gluten free bread.

This bread mix cannot be easier to prepare! Just add water, milk, or soy milk, mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer, and it’s ready for the oven. No rise time necessary! Seriously, it is foolproof, even for me! The dough was a touchy sticky to work with, but a wet spatula easily smoothed the top of the bread dough.

I baked the bread for 50 minutes, and it came out of the oven looking golden and gorgeous! I couldn’t wait to try a piece warm with my favorite peanut butter. This gluten free bread is very, very soft, with a slightly crunchy crust with a somewhat spongy/eggy consistency. Because of the nooks and crannies, it had a somewhat rough texture. However, because this gluten free bread is so soft, it actually tasted light and smooth. I was surprised, and also pleased to discover virtually no crumbling when sliced or eaten.

This bread really tasted great. The flavor seemed quite mild and would pair up with any sandwich toppings your heart desires. I did not notice an aftertaste, either.

Because the bread turned out so well, I was anxious to try the bun, or dinner roll version. Batter preparation was exactly the same, and I used my favorite scoop to fill greased muffin tins. I smoothed the top of the buns with my fingers dipped in water and popped them into the oven. A mere 25 minutes later they were hot and on the dinner table. The texture and flavor was the same as the loaf prep. However, my rolls rose unevenly, causing them to have a bumpy, lumpy appearance. My gluten consuming family provided mixed reviews. My husband like them but my kids said they tasted “different,” and refused to eat them after the first bite. Overall, I liked this mix and would definitely buy it again.

PROS: soft, fluffy bread, looks great, super easy prep, great price

CONS: a bit spongy, buns rise unevenly

Rating: 4 stars

Want to try this Kinnikinnick Bread & Bun Mix? Click below!

Kinnikinnick - Kinni-Kwik Bread & Bun Mix
From: glutenfree.com Ingredients: White rice flour, potato starch, pea starch, tapioca starch, sugar, whole egg powder, malto dextrin, poly dextrose, dextrose, pea protein, glucono delta lactone, egg white powder, fructooligosaccharide, pea fibre, sodium carboxy methylcellulose, cellulose, sodium bicarbonate, rice bran extract, inulin, salt, sodium stearayl lactylate, fructose.

OK, I have had enough bread for a few days, and wanted to share this breakfast cereal with you. I purchased it to share with my sister before her wedding at Christmas. We were staying with my parents and needed a gluten free breakfast cereal option in my parents’ pantry for a satisfying breakfast in a short amount of time. Getting ready for a wedding is serious business, and not a second is wasted! (Well, almost, right Kristina?) . I purchased this 12.8 ounce box of gluten free cereal for $5.29 at a nearby grocery store.

I admit the picture on the box looked really good- the clusters of granola amongst plump juicy berries- yum,! Oh boy was I in for a surprise. I opened the box to discover that it was only half full. Nope, the contents just hadn’t “settled”, but the inner sealed bag was only as large as half the box. Very deceptive!

Then I poured some granola into my bowl. My first thought was. “Where are the berries?!” I saw large one to two inch chunks of granola cereal with a bits of color, but I had to look really hard. I started to get that sinking feeling that I had wasted my money. However, wanting to give it a fair shot, I poured some milk and dug in.

Thankfully, I was surprised- it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Even though the freeze dried berries were hard to see, this gluten free granola cereal had a pleasant strawberry and raspberry flavor that blended well with the granola. This cereal wasn’t too sweet, but lacked a traditional “granola” flavor since it does not contain nuts or oats. The texture is also hard to describe, since it consisted mostly of brown rice flakes and rice bran. I also noticed a strange aftertaste, but couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was from.

This cereal did not get soggy and remained crisp and crunchy in my milk. However, it was almost too gard to eat and enjoy. I found this cereal to be quite filling thanks to the 5 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein per serving half cup serving.

Overall, I found this cereal to be quite unexpected. I enjoyed the berry flavor but found the rest of the “granola” a little strange. I feel this is a good option for those that cannot have nuts or oats. However, for myself I think I will stick to a more traditional variety of granola cereal.

PROS: nice berry flavor, allergen-free

CONS: deceptive packaging, very large chunks, aftertaste, hard to chew, appearance is less than appetizing

Rating: 2 stars

Want to try it? Click the picture and link below:

Enjoy Life Foods Very Berry Granola Gluten-Free Cereal- glutenfreemall.com

Read more Enjoy Life gluten free product reviews:

Enjoy Life Soft Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Enjoy Life Soft Baked Snickerdoodle Cookies

I found this loaf of packaged bread on display at my local Wegman’s grocery store. I was curious, and nervous, all at the same time. I have yet to discover a great dark bread , and was curious as to how it tasted. However, I was also nervous, because my last encounter with a dark gluten free bread ( Bob’s Red Mill) was less than tasty. I decided to take the plunge at plunked down $5.69 for my 1 lb. 8 oz. loaf of Le Garden Bakery’s Country Seed Bread with the hopes I could have a tasty sandwich for a late dinner that night.

When I arrived home I discovered the bread was double wrapped for freshness- a big plus in my book since this gluten free bread does not contain any preservatives.

The bread looked really good- a dark crust dotted with cornmeal, brown sesame seeds and whole millet sprinled on top of the loaf. However, it was softer than I expected and the crust toppings did not provide any of the “crunch” the package boasted. The loaf felt dense and firm as I held it in my hands, and much to my surprise it sliced easily with slight crumbling with small chunks of crust separating from the bread. I found that thinly slicing the bread seemed best for my sandwich.

The flavor was just wonderful! It was actually reminiscent of wheat bread- mild but flavorful. The bread kept it’s shape and didn’t fall apart with each bite. The brown rice flour, arrowroot flour and tapioca flours blended nicely and hardly tasted gluten free. I noticed the bread tasted slightly grainy, a more fine verses a course crumb, and was definitely on the dry side. However, I noticed on the package, that I purchased it on it’s expiration date and ate it the following day, which might explain the graininess and dryness.

Overall, it is a versatile dense and chewy bread. Due to the dryness, I will probably use the rest of this bread as french toast, croutons, or toast with butter and strawberry jam. I plan to try this bread again, except this time I will look for an expiration date.. If I notice a big difference I will let you know! That would definitely bump up the star rating.

PROS: nice flavor, great for slicing

CONS: dry and slightly grainy- watch the expiration date!

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

For some beautiful pictures of this bread and packaging, click HERE

Want to try this bread?

Check out your local Wegmans , natural foods store, or order directly from Le Garden Bakery by clicking HERE

Ingredients: Whole grain brown rice flour, spring water, whole eggs, arrowroot flour, evaporated cane juice, tapioca flour, organic palm shortening, baking soda, kosher gelatin, yeast, sea salt, brown sesame seeds, whole millet, cornmeal

As I stocked up my own gluten free pantry one Saturday, the clerk at my local natural foods store offered me this free Bob’s Red Mill gluten free whole grain bread mix. I couldn’t believe it! I really miss my whole grain gluten filled wheat bread, Could this be the substitute I was hoping for?

Mixing this whole grain gluten free bead mix with water, eggs and cider vinegar was a snap with my Kitchen-Aid mixer. The dough was thick and hearty, but not overly sticky or difficult to work with. So good, so far.

The bread baked up beautifully with a nice dark and slightly crunchy crust and boasted lots of little nooks and crannies I let the bread cool, then sliced it and topped with with a bit of butter and jam. I was impressed with how easily the bread sliced with little crumbling. Unfortunately, my gluten free bread glee stopped there. The bread looked good, but oh my, it tasted AWFUL!

The texture was rough, thick and very strange- like nothing have ever tried before. The plethora of caraway, sesame, sunflower seeds; and whole grains in this bread seem out of place. The ingredient flavors do not blend well and are a harsh and chaotic blend of flavors. There is no sweetness to this bread, and the dark color is only based on the addition of cocoa. Even though I used to enjoy multi-grain breads, I was not used to this. I tried to eat this bread twice and became nauseous after each attempt. I don’t think I will ever buy this bread on my own. If any of my readers have tried this mix with better results, I would love to hear about it!

PROS: looks great, slices easily, lots of whole grains

CONS: flavor and texture is just awful

Rating: 1 star

Feeling brave? Wanna try it for yourself?

Ingredients: Whole grain buckwheat, garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, cornstarch, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour, turbinado sugar, cocoa powder, evaporated cane juice, fava bean flour, dried molasses (molasses, maltodextrin), xanthan gum, caraway seeds, active dry yeast, sea salt, whole grain teff, potato flour, onion powder, guar gum, soy lecithin.

See what Stephanie at What I Eat ,and Sea at the Book of Yum had to say about this mix!

(For Sea’s review, just scroll down the page. You’ll be glad you did!)

One night my fabulously talented husband cooked pork BBQ for me and my entire family, perfectly flavored and super savory. However, in order to have a great dinner, I wanted my BBQ on a sandwich roll, not just on two slices of rice bread. It’s just not the same! So, when I came across this four pack of gluten free tapioca hamburger buns, I thought I’d give them a try. I purchased them for $4.95. To prepare them, simply slice the bun in half and warm in the microwave or oven if you wish. This is what I did, since I like warm bread with hot fillings.

I must admit, these Ener-G gluten free hamburger buns really surprised me. The first bun I tested from the package didn’t disappoint me at all! It was soft and chewy, but kept it’s shape with no excessive sogginess or crumbling, despite the healthy slathering of BBQ sauce I enjoyed on my sandwich. The flavor was light and mild, had no funny aftertaste, and would pair well with any hearty burger or sandwich filling you desire. The texture was smooth with no graininess, thanks to its tapioca flour base. These gluten free hamburger buns did seem a touch dry, but not so much that it would keep me from buying them again.

I did not feel like I missing out of the dining experience at all because I had to eat gluten free. Now, that is some thing to be happy about!

On the downside, I found that the extra hamburger buns went bad really fast. I stored them in the refrigerator and used two more for my lunch and dinner the following day. The texture definitely seemed grainy, drier, and just not as good. On day three, I threw away the last bun of the pack; it just wasn’t worth eating.

Overall, these gluten free hamburger buns were great straight from the package. However, you must eat them fast and/or share with someone for maximum flavor and texture.

PROS: texture, density, flavor, appearance, 4 grams fiber

CONS: slightly dry, eat them VERY fast!

Rating: 4 stars

Ingredients: Filtered Water, Rice Flower, Tapioca Starch, Cold Pressed High Oleic Safflower Oil, Pear Juice Concentrate, Bamboo Fiber, Yeast, Methylcellulose, Tapioca Syrup, Guar Gum, Salt, Palm Oil, Calcium Phosphate, Glucono Delta Lactone. Enriched with Thiamine (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin, Iron and Folic Acid.

Hooray Michelle! You are this month’s winner with the following comment:

“The bread mix that I use that is soooo yummy is the Pamela’s mix. BUT I spice it up. I add pecarino or romano cheese and rosemary that I grew in the backyard and a bit of roasted garlic. It is fantastic! The smell that fills your kitchen is unreal.”

Please email me at glutenfreefoodreviews[at]gmail[dot]com with your address and your bread mixes will be on their way!

Our next gluten free product give-away will be March 1st to kick off the new theme of the month!

Free Gluten Free Bread! Wha-Hoo!!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Subscribe to receive gluten free food reviews via email

( top right side of the homepage- the winning name will be delivered to your inbox with future reviews . If you have already subscribed in the past, then you don’t have to do it again)

2. Leave a comment to this post and tell me you favorite gluten free bread, bread mix, or recipe, or suggest a gluten free bread product for me to review this month. OR, tell me what you have tried and didn’t like!

3. You must complete #1 and #2 to be eligible!

4.Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, 2/6/08.

February’s winner will receive:

1)Pamela’s Products Bread Mix

and a

2) Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix

A winner will be selected at random and announced on this site, and only one entry per person pretty please!

I am willing to substitute one of the above prizes for the bread mix of your choice if you just aren’t a fan of Pamela’s or Gluten Free Pantry’s bread mixes.

Good Luck!

A good gluten free bread can be hard to find, especially if you are newly gluten free! This month I will post reviews on a variety of bread products like mixes, fresh baked items, prepackaged buns and rolls, and frozen bread products. I will also toss in a few non-bread reviews, because, let’s be honest, I can only eat so much bread in a month!

Be sure to check back tomorrow to enter to win February’s gluten free food giveaway!

(Shhhh, it’s a secret until tomorrow)

Also, a belated congrats to Heather from Connecticut for winning the January give-away:

Heather won a box of goodies that included:

Envirokids Panda Puffs cereal

K-Toos Chocolate Sandwich cookies

Tinkyada Penne Noodles**

‘Cause Your’e Special Pie Crust Mix**

Southern Homestyle Corn Flake Crumbles

Gluten free Pantry Sandwich Bread mix

Lundberg Creamy Parmesan Risotto

Schar’s Crackers **

Ener G Sesame Pretzel Rings

**Look for upcoming reviews on these yummy gluten free products