Anyone who loved bread when they could have gluten might still be looking for that perfect, normal tasting, I-can't-believe-it's-gluten-free-bread...and hoping the next brand they try will be it. Over the years, I'd pretty much given up ever finding the all-elusive perfect gluten-free bread. Carbs are really not my friend these days so I didn't feel I was missing anything. Recently, with the discovery of Jersey Mike's amazing sandwiches and my favorite freshly baked scones from Seven Sisters, I've enjoyed bread items more than in recent years. However, I still find myself letting sliced bread sit in the fridge too long....until it's almost petrified and has to be thrown out. Throwing out food of any kind is terrible and I try very hard not to ever do it. So, I rarely buy bread, but do splurge on bagels every now and then. Those freeze well and can be taken out the night before you need one and for me, that means much less waste than sliced bread.
For my birthday last year, we went to Scotland for the first time. To say the trip was amazing is an extreme understatement. We went in the warm season - July - making sure to pack like it was winter in the ATL. Yes, we needed gloves, hats, coats, scarves and of course - heavy duty umbrellas! More about the trip later. The point of this post, which is dragging on unnecessarily, is to share the best gluten-free find I've had - EVER!
Rumors about Genius bread surfaced many years ago, but it was the brand of the bread sold in many parts of Europe. What I didn't realize at the time, is when it was introduced in the US, it was not (in any way shape or form) the bread that everyone who'd had it in Europe had raved about. In fact, I could not believe anyone would think the bread was any different than your standard, oddly textured, frozen bread we've all become accustomed to. Eventually, I found out all Genius bread is not created equal - to say the least!
Fast forward several years when I walked into a Sainsbury's in Edinburgh and found Genius bread sitting on the shelf - NOT in the freezer, mind you - in the 'free from' section. Strangely enough, because the bread was as light as a feather AND it was a huge loaf, I immediately assumed that it was regular, gluten containing bread. Seriously - that went though my mind even though the bread was in the 'free from' section. That's where allergen-free products are found in many countries in Europe. They don't mix everything up like so many stores here do.
OK - so there is a light loaf of bread that is labelled gluten-free. The size of the slices is "normal" making it all the more confusing. It's hard to wrap your brain around something you didn't know could, or did, exist. It was...well, it was a gluten-free miracle of sorts. We picked up some basics like eggs, cereal, fruit, cheese, wine, milk and various 'free from' snacks like mini tarts (yum!) and made our way back to our fantastic Home Away apartment. Our plane had arrived just a few hours before so it was time for lunch. Naturally, I decided to have a piece of bread with butter on it along with a grilled chicken salad.
It was love at fist bite for the REAL Genius bread. Even still - I literally ran into the kitchen to read the label on the bread bag again! At this point, you feel as though you're losing your grip on reality. How many times do I have to read a label to believe the bread, as inconceivably delcious as it is, is in fact, GLUTEN-FREE? Enough already - get over it and enjoy it! And that is what I did for the entire trip, even savoring the last slice at the Edinburgh airport, before heading home. It wasn't until after I got back to reality - the one where no amazing gluten-free bread is on the shelf at my local grocery store - that I began to question why that was. More on that another day.
For now, please know that if you are anywhere outside the U.S. that sells Genius bread - BUY IT!!! You won't like it - you'll love it and then you'll be dissappointed that you can't find it anywhere in this country. The only upside is that if this bread was at the store around the corner, I would have a very hard time sticking to my self-imposed low carb diet...lol!
At the time of this post, the original Genius gluten-free products are NOT sold in the U.S. Maybe if we all request they sell the REAL Genius bread in the U.S. - by contacting the company, we'll get it here eventually ;)
For my birthday last year, we went to Scotland for the first time. To say the trip was amazing is an extreme understatement. We went in the warm season - July - making sure to pack like it was winter in the ATL. Yes, we needed gloves, hats, coats, scarves and of course - heavy duty umbrellas! More about the trip later. The point of this post, which is dragging on unnecessarily, is to share the best gluten-free find I've had - EVER!
Rumors about Genius bread surfaced many years ago, but it was the brand of the bread sold in many parts of Europe. What I didn't realize at the time, is when it was introduced in the US, it was not (in any way shape or form) the bread that everyone who'd had it in Europe had raved about. In fact, I could not believe anyone would think the bread was any different than your standard, oddly textured, frozen bread we've all become accustomed to. Eventually, I found out all Genius bread is not created equal - to say the least!
Fast forward several years when I walked into a Sainsbury's in Edinburgh and found Genius bread sitting on the shelf - NOT in the freezer, mind you - in the 'free from' section. Strangely enough, because the bread was as light as a feather AND it was a huge loaf, I immediately assumed that it was regular, gluten containing bread. Seriously - that went though my mind even though the bread was in the 'free from' section. That's where allergen-free products are found in many countries in Europe. They don't mix everything up like so many stores here do.
OK - so there is a light loaf of bread that is labelled gluten-free. The size of the slices is "normal" making it all the more confusing. It's hard to wrap your brain around something you didn't know could, or did, exist. It was...well, it was a gluten-free miracle of sorts. We picked up some basics like eggs, cereal, fruit, cheese, wine, milk and various 'free from' snacks like mini tarts (yum!) and made our way back to our fantastic Home Away apartment. Our plane had arrived just a few hours before so it was time for lunch. Naturally, I decided to have a piece of bread with butter on it along with a grilled chicken salad.
It was love at fist bite for the REAL Genius bread. Even still - I literally ran into the kitchen to read the label on the bread bag again! At this point, you feel as though you're losing your grip on reality. How many times do I have to read a label to believe the bread, as inconceivably delcious as it is, is in fact, GLUTEN-FREE? Enough already - get over it and enjoy it! And that is what I did for the entire trip, even savoring the last slice at the Edinburgh airport, before heading home. It wasn't until after I got back to reality - the one where no amazing gluten-free bread is on the shelf at my local grocery store - that I began to question why that was. More on that another day.
For now, please know that if you are anywhere outside the U.S. that sells Genius bread - BUY IT!!! You won't like it - you'll love it and then you'll be dissappointed that you can't find it anywhere in this country. The only upside is that if this bread was at the store around the corner, I would have a very hard time sticking to my self-imposed low carb diet...lol!
At the time of this post, the original Genius gluten-free products are NOT sold in the U.S. Maybe if we all request they sell the REAL Genius bread in the U.S. - by contacting the company, we'll get it here eventually ;)
