A Review of New Things I've Tried #38 (Breads Edition)

It's time for baked goods! Bread is remarkably challenging for me to find, so I'm honestly a bit surprised that I found 10 new-to-me bready things. If bread is hard for you to find as a vegan, I hope this helps you, too.

1. Trader Joe's Organic Super Bread

This is a dense bread with a ton of stuff in it: pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, carrots, dried apples, and sesame seeds. It has a whopping 9 grams of protein per 2-slice serving. I liked this, but it would never work as a standard, use-for-everything bread. It has so much going on. Peanut butter and jelly goes well with this, as do savory fillings that can pair with fruit, like Tofurky, non-dairy cheese, etc.

2. Arnold's 100% Whole Wheat Buns

As I continue to explore the swaps that help me improve the way I feel, I decided to finally take the plunge and change the buns I was using for my veggie burgers. Although this is definitely a very different experience from, say, a sesame seed bun, I enjoyed this with my burgers. However, this had more flavor than you get in a white burger bun, so it doesn't take the back stage the way I'm used to. I think I like these better with sandwich fillings like Tofurky slices than on a burger, but these definitely have a place in my arsenal. (Note: Since I first tried these and wrote down my thoughts, Arnold's started putting honey in virtually all their breads, so please read labels. If you can find it with all-vegan ingredients, though, they're good! I think the buns are still vegan but I haven't seen them in local stores for a while so I don't know for sure.)

3. Bowl & Basket Original Fork Split English Muffins

I used to always buy Vermont Bread Company English muffins, but the pandemic killed the company (sadly), so I've had some trouble finding English muffins without dairy in them. Fortunately, this store brand (from ShopRite) is dairy-free, so I'm able to grab them again. I'd already eaten one before I remembered to take the photo--I was so eager to have one! I'm so glad these are available, because I had missed English muffins.

4. Dave's Killer Bread Thin-Sliced Good Seed Bread

Yes, I said "bread" twice there; it's a brand name and the kind of thing I'm talking about, so it was intentional! I liked that this was a manageable sized loaf, and that there is a pretty hefty dose of protein in the slices. It does have a lot going on in terms of textures, so that may take some getting used to. This is also one of the most expensive options for bread locally, and I can only find it in one store. Bread was a major part of my dietary transformation, however, so to me this is worth it if there aren't similarly protein-heavy options at the store where I find this.

5. Fresh Gourmet Organic Seasoned Croutons

A friend who reads this blog sent these to me because I had mentioned the difficulty I had in getting dairy-free croutons during the pandemic. I would typically buy them from the kosher section of a market that I couldn't get delivery from, in the before times. These are a good, basic, go-with-everything crouton. You have to love that!

6. Farm Country Crumpets

I am no expert on crumpets, but these are nice--they toast up beautifully, with a crisp outside and pillowy soft inside. There aren't that many brands of crumpets available in the U.S., so I'm always excited when I see them.

7. Wegmans 27 Grains and Seeds Sandwich Bread

At some point, honey started creeping in to nearly all of the bread options I could find at Wegmans, and I don't know why. But this one is still vegan. I'm really used to the way grain-and-seed bread tastes and feels now, so I don't know what I would have thought of this when I was still commonly eating white bread, but as for now I like it! And that's good, because at my Wegmans, it's literally the only sandwich bread available for a vegan except plain white bread.

8. Wegmans Plain Bagels

These are the bagels from the freezer section at Wegmans, and helpfully they're explicitly labeled as vegan. Unlike the bagels you're likely to find in the bakery section, they aren't huge, though they also aren't mini--I think these are actually the perfect size if you don't want to just fill up on bread and want to have something else with your bagel, so I love that. I followed the directions to warm them in my toaster oven from frozen and they were so delicious--nice and chewy on the outside, but pillowy soft inside. Plus, I like that having them in the freezer means I can just grab a bagel when I want one, rather than eating a bunch of bagels right in a row. Sadly, these seem to have disappeared from my local Wegmans as quickly as I found them, and I haven't seen them in months. So I'll be trying out some other brands from other stores, and keep my fingers crossed for their return.

9. Stroehmann Dutch Country 100% Whole Wheat Bread

This is a lovely, soft sandwich bread. It has more protein than your basic white bread, but not as much as the loaded-with-seeds multigrain breads I usually buy these days. But when I want a soft sandwich bread, this one is great! It's also relatively local to me, which is nice.

10. Old Tyme Omega Me Crazy 21-Grain-and-Seeds Bread

This bread often goes on sale at the market where I can find it, so I've had several loaves of it! I like it a lot. It's pretty soft in spite of having all those grains and seeds. Like most of the breads I gravitate toward these days, it has a hefty boost of protein, too.

Do you have a favorite bread?