Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past few years, you've probably heard about "going gluten-free." If you're not entirely sure what that means, here's the gist. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and malts. While most of the human population can digest it, it's estimated that about one in 100 people have celiac disease, which is defined as the body's inability to tolerate gluten. And an even larger portion of our population has gluten sensitivities that leave its victims feeling tired, achy and bloated.
But lately, there's been an increasing number of people following gluten-free diets -- and they don't all necessarily have a gluten intolerance. While celebs like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Zooey Deschanel have a legitimate cause to go gluten-free (they're celiacs), others who are looking to shed a few pounds don't do it for health reasons -- you can count Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham among them.
Regardless of whether you need to follow a gluten-free diet or not, everyone wants their food to taste good. We set out to conduct a blind taste test of 10 types of gluten-free sandwich bread that are easily found in major supermarkets, judging on flavor, texture, and likeness to traditional bread. Several of our tasters follow a gluten-free diet, making them experts in the field (their comments are bolded, below).
We found there to be a wide disparity in the quality and likability of the 10 breads we chose. Because everyone has different tastes, check out our comments below to help you figure out which ones you might (or might not) like.
Which brand of gluten-free bread do you buy? Leave us a comment below.
