I am on a constant quest to find whole, real food alternatives to processed foods. I consider it a bonus when I can find a palatable one without dairy, gluten, corn, soy and eggs as many of my clients are in need of such items. One of the most challenging foods to find is a decent bread devoid of these ingredients. Since the surge of people going gluten free, there has been a bombardment of new gluten free products, including breads on the market. Some are hard and dense, some are a bit sawdusty and others are so processed, the ingredient list hardly fits on the side of the bag.
I grew up in a Milwaukee suburb and one day, on my search for convenient, non-processed foods, I came upon a small store in Grafton, Wisconsin called Slow Pokes. The proprietor had also looked high and low for healthy gluten and dairy free products and stocks them in her 200 square food shop. In her freezer, I discovered Deland and Sami's gluten free millet based breads. I quickly read the ingredients (quickly because there were so few, not because I was in a hurry) and purchased them.
With a hope on my tongue and a heavy foot on the pedal, I raced home to try the bread. Lightly toasted, smeared with a little grass fed butter and a sprinkle of sea salt, I took my first bite of Deland Millet bread. The texture was the first thing I noticed. It actually had a chewy bite to it, almost like a piece of gluten-filled wheat toast. The flavor is bland, but completely unoffensive and left no unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth as is so common in GF alternatives. The ingredient list and nutrition facts were exemplary and the taste was the best yet. Gold struck.
These are the ingredients of the Potato Millet Bread, one of my favorite breads by Deland:
Organic Millet Flour, Potato Flour, Organic Brown Rice Flour, Filtered Water, Baking Powder, Sea Salt.
Compare with the popular Whole Grain GF bread made by Udi's:
UDI’S BEST BLEND (TAPIOCA & POTATO STARCH, BROWN RICE & TEFF FLOUR, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH), WATER, NON-GMO VEGETABLE OIL (CANOLA OR SUNFLOWER OR SAFFLOWER), EGG WHITES, EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, TAPIOCA MALTODEXTRIN, TAPIOCA SYRUP, YEAST, FLAX SEED, XANTHAN GUM, SALT, BAKING POWDER (SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, SODIUM BICARBONATE, CORN STARCH, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), CULTURED CORN SYRUP SOLIDS (NATURAL MOLD INHIBITOR), DRY MOLASSES, ENZYMES.
Whew! That exhausted me. Plus, the list includes some very high glycemic starches such as tapioca and potato right at the beginning of the list. Also, some very refined oils, and egg and corn products are included which don't work for everyone.
The one hiccup with the Deland Bread and the very similar Sami's bread is that they are more challenging to locate. Here in Minneapolis, with a co-op in every neighborhood, I have only found them at the Lakewind's co-ops. The Whole Foods by my sister in Schaumburg, IL stocks the Sami's breads as does the Outpost in Milwaukee. Call around and if they remain illusive, you can always order a box of loaves from the web and keep them in your freezer until you are ready for them.
Enjoy your Deland and Sami's in moderation (it's still bread after all) with a little avocado smear, a bit of hummus and tomato or an old fashioned BLT!