This Popular Store-Bought Gluten-Free Bread Is Actually Our Least Favorite

Gluten-free bread is a godsend for those on a gluten-restricted diet who also want to enjoy a good ole sandwich now and then. The problem is, not all store-bought brands can be winners, and there was one leading brand that really disappointed us in a taste test. Unfortunately, it's one that's commonly available at many major supermarkets, so if you see it, there's a chance you might be as disappointed as our taste tester was during their ranking of 11 store-bought gluten-free breads.

The brand to take the unfortunate spot of last place was Udi's Gluten-Free Soft White Bread. Its main ingredients include things like rice flour, sorghum flour, pea, rice, and tapioca starches, among others, and as you can imagine, it really missed the mark in multiple ways. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the taste that made the bread rank so low, but rather a poor showing of a few other key characteristics that we typically desire in a slice of bread. With such an impressive variety of choices on store shelves these days, the competition is fierce — so if a gluten-free brand's going to take our hard-earned money, it better be good.

What our taste tester felt was severely lacking was the size and the texture of the bread. The flavor of it was neutral-tasting and inoffensive, but our tester's notes said that it "had a look and feel similar to couch foam," and that it was "extremely dense and not bread-like at all." Ouch. Part of the joy in a sandwich slice is in its squishiness, and a dense bite simply ruins that whole experience. 

That, and feeling like you got your money's worth is important, too. $4.92 for a 12-ounce loaf, purchased at Walmart, just didn't seem fair when lined up with the rest of the bunch in our group, which is also part of why Udi's Gluten-Free Soft White Bread sank all the way to the bottom. Fortunately, that means we did enjoy many other options (did you know Aldi has its own gluten-free bread?), so just know that you have plenty of good choices too. Udi's version of store-bought soft white bread just doesn't happen to be one of them. 

Not all Udi's products are what we consider a bummer, though. Udi's also supplies Jersey Mike's with gluten-free rolls, which stand up well to the sandwich chain's fillings, so at least we know the brand can perform well under much different circumstances.