Also check your area and anywhere you are planning on traveling to for gluten-free bakeries. There are some hidden gems, especially in big cities (Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Oakland, New York) and even in some smaller ones (Davis Ca etc). You can do better than Ener-g and still not have to bake!

Thanks for commenting!
-Sea

I’m honestly glad you liked the bread. I think we can do much better, though, especially if you can tolerate things like dairy.

Here are the ingredients of the Brown Rice Bread, for example:
Filtered Water, Brown Rice Flour, Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Pear Juice Concentrate, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Yeast, Methylcellulose, Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose, Orange Citrus Fiber, Sugar Cane Fiber, Baking Powder ( Glucono Delta Lactone & Calcium Carbonate),Calcium Phosphate. Enriched with Thiamin (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin Vitamin B2),Niacin, Iron ,Folic acid and Vitamin D.

While there may not be “preservatives” in the traditional sense- the recipe is formulated for longevity, not taste, in my opinion.The bread smells bad and tastes bad in many cases due to the weird ingredients they use- and this is my beef with the recipes. I don’t know any home cooks that use oh-so-tasty methylcellulose, Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose etc.- do you? I don’t want to eat these ingredients. Give me a bread with a shorter shelf life that tastes better or let me bake my own!

Here is an example of ingredients in a bread that I personally like and prefer to the Ener’g foods:

Whole Foods Bakehouse Sundried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Bread

Nonfat milk, rice flour, tapioca starch, eggs, evaporated cane juice, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, yeast garlic salt, xanthan gum, lemon juice, canola oil, basil, oregano.

Every ingredient goes towards the flavor of that bread and would be something I would use in my kitchen, not in a lab. I think the difference is clear. (Although it isn’t a good recipe for those with dairy intolerance.) No weird chemicals involved!

Anyway, if you like the taste of your bread doctored up with butter, more power to you. It is certainly easy to find Ener-g Foods bread, especially in some regions, and that is a definite plus. Besides, butter will cover a lot, and when I was a kid, I ate this stuff too. Just glad I can bake for myself these days!

Happy toasting,
All my best,
Sea

Taste is ALWAYS subjective, isn’t it- which is why I encourage people to try things for themselves.

I qualify my praise because (as should be obvious) I don’t like Ener-g foods’ processed products all that much. Would a dishonest review be more palatable to you? Their flours are fine (although their rice flours are critiqued by many as “gritty”) and would be great for making soy-free homemade baked goods. Since you trust their processed products I would assume you would trust their flours, thus solving the soy-free flour dilemma.

By all means, disqualify Namaste for their xanthan gum if you wish. However, Mum’s daughter was not listed as being allergic to corn. Also, in many cases such as soy lecithin or soybean oil, the processing DOES make a difference so xanthan gum may or may not be a problem to someone with a serious corn allergy.

In this review, I compare Ener-g foods bread types to themselves and with other gluten-free options available for bread available, such as Kinnikinnick or homemade bread. The fact is, that there isn’t something exactly like it with quite as many preservatives or lacking allergens, so criticizing me for not doing so is a bit silly. Finding flour safe for your specific allergies is something I assume you are able to do for yourself- and you can always mill your own flour if necessary.

As far as prepared breads, here in the states we have the prepared Food for Life bread and Glutino bread which may be suitable for those with some allergies but are unlikely to be available to you in the UK. Food for Life bread is not something I enjoy as it is heavy and bland, but I know some people with soy allergies (serious, anaphylactic) that eat it for convenience. It is unlikely to be safe for anyone with nut allergies as two varieties contain nuts:

https://www.foodforlife.com/procart_lecatalog/index.cfm?SubCategoryID=1&do=list

Glutino has prepared bread- some varieties are at least gluten and dairy free, but I don’t know about their soy status, and I believe they have eggs. Kinnikinnick is interesting for having a gluten-free and nut-free facility, although they have other allergens in their facility. Manna from Anna has bread mixes that have varying allergy-free mixes but I believe you need to use eggs for them to work. I don’t know if any would be appropriate for the various allergies listed here. You are welcome.

I am dedicated to passing on whatever information I have (including my highly subjective opinion) to my readers. Because I love many of my friends with multiple intolerances, I often post recipes or post information about allergen-free products, but the main focus of this blog is for those with gluten intolerance. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not written for or read by a huge audience of UK retailers, at least as far as I know. To any such retailers, i would say- by all means, stock this allergen-friendly bread lest the cranky allergic hordes descend upon your establishment with pitchforks. In the interest of brotherhood, I’ll loan them the pitchforks.

-Sea
(currently eating a completely gluten, rice, soy, corn, egg, dairy etc. free diet to breastfeed my own allergic baby, thank you very much. And I can’t eat the nasty Ener-g bread THESE days because it all has rice in it, but somehow I will carry on.)