The best gluten free bread should taste a lot like bread made with wheat and other glutinous grains. It should be good for toast and sandwiches. It should not feel like a compromise.
As lifelong bread eaters, it is our understanding that gluten is paramount to baking good bread. It’s everything. It traps gas bubbles and helps dough rise. It provides necessary protein for structure, and helps produce a soft, fluffy, chewy texture. That said, more and more brands are figuring out how to turn science on its head by making gluten free bread that actually tastes like bread—bread that’s soft and fluffy and has chew. In our two gluten free bread taste tests, we tasted a lot, and I mean a lot, of bad gluten-free bread. Tiny loaves of brown bread made from a witch’s brew of ancient grains. Rice bread that tastes like dirt. Sourdough so acrid it’s inedible. Yes, a lot of gluten free bread is bad, but some of it is pretty good—and that’s coming from real bread heads.
Here’s what we were looking for in the best GF bread: It should have good structure. It should be good for sandwiches and toast. And, whether it’s white or multi-grain, it should taste good. Bottom line: Gluten free bread should be like bread. Here’s the best gluten free bread we found.
- Little Northern Bakehouse Cinnamon & Raisin Gluten Free Bread
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Little Northern Bakehouse Cinnamon & Raisin bread is much less dense than a lot of gluten free bread. It’s downright light, although that also means that it loses some of its structure as you chew. But cinnamon and raisin are heroes here—besides giving the bread a lovely, sweet flavor, the raisins impart a little bit of moisture, too. This is the best gluten free bread for French toast. Dredge this in egg and there’s no way it will come off as dry. Especially after you drench it in butter and syrup. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Whole Foods
- Trader Joe’s Gluten Free White Sandwich Bread
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This bread is soft and eggy, and, overall, the flavor is fairly sweet. It’s a little bit like dessert, and we love that. The only problem is that the bread is so damn tiny. Why do most gluten-free bread loaves look like they’re made for gnomes who live inside of a tree trunk? The answer here is that bread made with gluten-free flour has trouble rising. So, you’re usually left with these small, appetizer-sized slices of bread. Still, Trader Joe’s gluten free white bread tastes very good, and that’s a huge achievement. It’s the best gluten free bread for making tiny, toasted sandwiches, like tuna melts.. The egginess of the bread tastes great when it’s heated up, almost like a pastry. Not only is this one of the best tasting gluten free breads we tried, it’s cheap, too!. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Schar Deli Style Seeded Sourdough
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Don’t be put off by this bread’s feel or smell when you first open the package. Yes, it’s a little wet. And, yes, it sort of smells like grains that were fermented to make beer. Once you take a bite, you’ll be glad for the moisture and the grainy nature. This is a flavorful gluten free bread from the best gluten free bread brand at the grocery store (see #1). It’s perfect for a Reuben, although I’m leaving it up to you to figure out whether corned beef, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing are GF. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Canyon Bakehouse Mountain White
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This bread is sweet and wide, making it the best gluten-free bread for a sandwich. Pile this high with turkey and cheddar or ham and Dijon mustard or bacon and tomato for a GF BLT. Look, we’re not going to tell you how to make a sandwich; you know how to do that (hopefully). But, in a lineup of gluten free breads that are far too small to make a substantial sandwich, Canyon Bakehouse Mountain White stands taller than the rest, making it our pick for the best gluten free bread for sandwich-making. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Liv Averett / Whole Foods
- 365 Gluten Free Multigrain Sandwich Bread
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Whole Foods’ Gluten Free Multigrain Sandwich Bread has a really nice flavor, especially if you’re a fan of wheat bread. It’s also soft and chewy, making it the best gluten free bread for soft sandwich fillings like egg salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad. You know how an Egg McMuffin is kind of all the same texture? That’s the vibe I get from this bread. There’s something utterly delightful about how soft it is. This would make a great cold sandwich, which, in my opinion, is where wheat bread shines brightest. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Liv Averett / Whole Foods
- Canyon Bakehouse Hawaiian Sweet
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If you’re into Hawaiian sweet bread but you’re not into eating gluten, you should give this Canyon Bakehouse bread a shot. It’s soft and spongy, but not disturbingly spongy like some GF breads—it just has a nice chew. The sweetness is the star, though. It’s almost pineapple-y, but has a nice butteriness on the finish. The impulse might be to use this in sweet applications, like PB&J, but I think this is the best bread to heap with savory fixings, like salty ham and tangy mustard. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Pavilions
- Schar Gluten Free Artisan Baker White Bread
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Schar appears to have updated its recipe since our first taste test (there’s a little badge on the bag that says “New Recipe”), but it’s still the best tasting gluten free bread out there. Simply put, it is the most convincing bread. Now, there are a ton of ingredients in Schar’s white bread, but you don’t make gluten-free bread without summoning a few demons and reading from The Book of the Dead. There are enzymes, oils, modified cellulose, gum, and flour. Still, the result of all of this unholy wizardry is some pretty satisfying slices. Schar’s is sweet, sizable, and well-made. It’s damn good all on its own, and it will make an excellent sandwich. This is white bread, and it’s the best gluten free bread we tasted. —Danny Palumbo & Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
Best for French Toast
Best Tiny
Best for a Reuben
Best for a Sandwich
Best Multigrain
Best Sweet
Best of the Best
