grindstone bakery

When I heard about Grindstone Bakery's fresh-baked gluten-free bread I thought it was too good to be true. It seems impossible to find gf bread that isn't frozen, vacuum-sealed, or both, to ensure "freshness." I decided to pay the price ($10) to find out how it would be.

It wasn't exactly warm from the oven, but it was a fresh loaf. The first thing I thought was, "Whoa. Heavy." It's as heavy and nearly as dense as a brick. It certainly is a hearty bread. It's not a nice, soft, "bready" loaf. (I don't know about anyone else, but I miss a good, soft bready bread.) But the taste is pretty good. For the first day or two it was moist enough to eat without toasting. It does make a very tasty slice of toast though, especially when sliced thick so the outside gets crispy and the inside gets warm and soft. Eat it fast though. In less than a week it looks like this:


One of the ingredients listed is raisin juice. Huh? Isn't a raisin a raisin because it lacks juice? Whatever it is, it seems to be what gives this bread a moist chewiness, almost stickiness. And as you can see from the photos, it's an attractive loaf of bread, even when moldy. This would be a good bread to serve with a hearty winter meal. A toasted slice next to a bowl of soup could be an entire meal, actually. This bread is filling.

I ordered mine through Planet Organics. You can order directly from Grindstone Bakery and if you live in the San Francisco area you can buy their loaves at some local stores. They have a variety of whole grain wheat-free and gluten-free artisan loaves. The gluten-free loaves are made in a separate facility with a grinding wheel that is only used for gluten-free grains. All of their breads are also yeast- and dairy-free.