Top 8 clean, healthy wheat & gluten free bread

Have you ever looked at the ingredient’s list on gluten free bread and wept for just a simple bread with flour, water,salt and yeast? It seems impossible to achieve and although there are now some amazing gluten free breads on the market including Genius, NewBurn BakeHouse and M&S gluten free bread, these all contain xantham gum, methyl cellulose and mould inhibitors. M&S at least was one of the first to swap the xanthan gum for the much more natural physillium husk which I applaud. But I really do mourn the loss of simple bread.

Well there is hope for you wheat allergics out there. Not being a coeliac myself, I can eat rye bread and oats and have discovered some really lovely, organic and simple tasty breads on the market.

You may not find them in supermarkets but some of them are stocked in even my local Budgens and the big 5.

I find that the processed gluten free breads are alright for a special treat but if I eat them regularly they cause me eczema and nodular prurigo symptoms, as many processed foods do, even freefrom processed foods. I don’t know exactly which ingredient disagrees with me but I suspect it’s either xanthum gum, calcium propionate or the other mould inhibitor products that the gluten free bread manufacturers have to use in their bread.

What do you do if you can’t find healthy gluten free bread?

Being a simple soul I have a few favourites which, when I can get hold of them, are my staple breakfast and lunch saviours. If I can’t find them I’m quite happy with Nairn’s oat cakes for breakfast – they go great with marmalade and pot of coffee.

So here is my roundup of alternative healthy wheat free and dairy free breads. They are also all egg free too which is useful if you also have an egg allergy. I’m lucky I can eat cooked eggs with no problem and even sometimes fried eggs if I keep my egg eating in moderation.

I’m always on a mission for that perfect, safe, but also clean ingredient wheat free bread. Over lockdown I’ve discovered a few!

My top 8 clean, wheat free, breads!

Here goes, in no particular order – the breads that have got me through lockdown:

1. Seedful Organic gluten free range – These are also really lovely toasted. Packed full of seeds and no other allergens. They do a range of different loaves and buns. Ingredients of the Organic loaf slices: water, gluten free oat flakes, sunflower seed, brown linseed, golden linseed, rapeseed oil, pumpkin seed, millet seed, psyllium fibre, milled brown linseed, apple cider vinegar, Himalayan salt. I found these at Holland & Barrett online.
2. Everfresh sprouted Rye Bread – This is so gooey, moist and soft that you don’t need to toast. Great with humous and dips. I do love it toasted too though, bit of a toast addict. Ingredients: Sprouted Rye (100%) No added sugar, Salt Free. I found these on Holland & Barrett online.
3. BIONA Rye bread with chia and flax – This isn’t to everyone’s taste and obviously not OK for coeliacs but since I’m only wheat allergic, this bread is great for me. Ingredients: Wholegrain Rye Meal*, Water, Sourdough* (Wholegrain Rye Meal*, Water), Flax seeds* (5%), Chia Seeds (salvia hispanica)* (2.5%), Sea Salt. *certified organic ingredients. I buy this in most supermarkets and also available from Holland & Barrett as linked above.
4. Waitrose Rye and Spelt Sourdough – Now be careful with this one as they do varieties that also contain wheat. But if you search in store they do an amazing sourdough that is wheat, egg and dairy free. It has only a very few ingredients and is really really good toasted! Very crispy and crunchy and pretty close to a normal sour dough. No link as I can’t find it online.
5. Venice Bakery pizza bases and flat breads – Not technically traditional bread, but The Venice Bakery make the most amazing pizza bases and flat breads which are gluten, wheat, dairy AND egg free. They are delicious and come frozen so you just have to cook them when you need them. I have cooked up a batch of the flatbreads and eaten them for lunch, dipped in oil or humous or made into a rustic sandwich. I have just spotted on their website that they also make tortilla wraps. The ingredients of the small plain pizza bases are: Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour, Potato Flour, Olive Oil, Fresh Yeast, Water, Sugar and Salt. That’s pretty simple and also the product is pretty impressive. They are also brilliant cold the next day. The bases can go a bit soggy in the middle of you overload the middle of the pizza with toppings before cooking but this happens with any pizza, gluten free or not!
6. Barkat rye breads which come in small slim packs and are usually pre-sliced. They can often be found in the speciality bread or normal bread section of most supermarkets. These are much more dense than the Rossisky loaves and tend to crumble more. I do buy them, they have been a life saver before, but they’re not my favourites. Great toasted!
7. Dillon organic Keto Bread – comes in different varieties but looks really good. I’ve not tried this brand myself but found it on Holland and Barret online. Ingredients for their Original Flax bread: Water, Sunflower seeds*, Flaxseed* (13%), Tapioca flour*, Psyllium husk*, Sunflower oil*, Apple cider vinegar*, Sea salt, Caraway seed*, Baking soda  *=Organic
8. Sweet potato rice bread patties – I make these myself when I have time and they’re so easy to make. Boil sweet potato for 10 minutes,. peel off the skin and mash with the rice flour or other preferred flour. Shape into balls and pat into flat little patties then fry on either side till golden and crisped.

What are your favourite wheat free clean breads?

Has anyone else discovered any other really simple, organic, tasty wheat free bread?

Any had success baking at home? Something I really want to try experimenting with when I have time.

I did make the rye flat bread from the Eczema Detox cookery book and it was really good, so I must share that recipe here and show you my results next time I bake it. It was really easy to do.

You may also find the following interesting:

• Can you be allergic to Xanthan gum?
• 20 tips to cutting out processed food
• Soya allergy – a complex issue