Whether it’s headed back to school or back to work, the sandwich has returned from its summer break. And for the majority of Australian families, a sandwich or pre-school-run slice of toast means store-bought sliced white bread. But which supermarket loaves are the real bread winners? We tackled a dozen popular offerings, tasting them both on their own, and as a classic cheese and tomato sandwich, to help you separate the wheat from the chaff.
To all the coeliacs of the world, we feel for you. As a wheat-eating bunch, this section of the program was an eyebrow-raising one for team delicious., particularly as these were the priciest loaves. Let’s just say, we scored on a bell curve. See it as our service to a community that will never be able to eat real pasta. Look, you’re really not missing out on that much, guys. Honest…
What stale hell is this? Let’s take a look at the comments section to find out. “Looks like cake, doesn’t taste like it,” says one. “So dry, it would give the Sahara a run for its money.” “I needed a glass of water after each bite,” says another. “Crumb city. Smells like plastic,” another fan chimes in. Glowing tasting notes aside, this also presented significant challenges when it came to spreading with butter and slicing in half, as it crumbled under the slightest touch. 2/10
This oddly grey loaf bore some resemblance to regular wheat bread on the texture front. However, being uninitiated in the many and varied joys of gluten-free living, we were unsure whether the top of this loaf was meant to taste burnt, or if it was some kind of one-off freak bakery incident. A slightly synthetic taste was also noted, and this one lost more points on the sandwich staying-power test, turning even greyer over time as it softened into sog. 3.5/10
Once again, a burnt top left us scratching our heads. But at least this had a slightly more convincing ‘bread’ texture than other GF offerings, even if it did leave a strange gritty after-feel in the mouth, which we quickly learned was a gluten-free bread signature move. “Tastes like it’s been sitting around for a while,” one tester said, as we all reached for our water bottles. 5.5/10
This won a few hearts at the outset because it looked just like one of those pieces of toy bread. Of all the gluten-free breads we tried, this one had the best texture, but was still quite dense and dry, and left a gritty residue in the mouth. 6.5/10
We tucked into loads of loaves of supermarket white sandwich bread to find out which ones you should skip, and which ones are the best thing since sliced… well, you know.
More bread that doesn’t really taste like bread. Or anything else to speak of. But it does the job. Bung some Vegemite on there and you can expect at least most of it to be gone by the end of the school day. 5/10
While this contains more fibre than your average slice, you wouldn’t know it. This almost disappears in the mouth like fairy floss when eaten. Clearly aimed at well-meaning parents of young children who won’t eat their vegetables. 5.5/10
Generously large slices, but the bread was alarmingly squishy, difficult to spread with butter without ripping, and relatively flavourless. So yeah, the kids will love it. 6/10
This thinly sliced loaf had a slightly salty taste, and was quite squishy, to the point that it almost disappeared when bitten into. But being one of the most affordable loaves, “it is what it is,” as one tester sagely noted. As an additional test, we made extra cheese and tomato sandwiches with all the loaves, and left them to sit for several hours to test their structural integrity. This was one of the few to fail, ending in a claggy mess. 6.5/10
This was quite airy and fluffy, with some holes in the bread, which may add to bakehouse authenticity, but did make spreading with butter harder and could lead to an issue with leaks. Oats on the crust add a nice rustic touch, but could put some fussier kids off. 7.10
Proof that sometimes it can be worth heading straight to the bakery section, this supermarket bakery loaf had the best bready aroma of all – we all dived in for a good sniff. A lovely chewy crust, large slices and soft interior make this one a good lunch box choice at an affordable price. 7.5/10
Nice and fluffy, with some good ‘oomph’ that others lacked. Decent holding power, if a little spongy, and generous, thick slices with a good crust and the same ‘this is actually bread’ look as the previous. Easy to spread. 8/10
This was our pick of the lot, and among the most proper ‘bread’ looking of all. It won points for not sticking to the roof of the mouth like glue – a serious risk-factor of sliced white bread consumption. Nice thick slices and a convincing crust round out this good sandwich choice. 8.5/10
