Trader Joe's white bread - kind of chewy

[y_p_w]

I admit I'm kind of price sensitive and a lot of bread these days seems to be really pricey. I typically get the least expensive sliced bread like at Target or Walmart. Or perhaps off-branded bread at bargain stores. But they tend to be soft. I found some Bimbo white bread once that was on sale and similar.

My wife was telling me that maybe Trader Joe's would be better. So I tried it. $1.99 for 20 oz. It looked about the same size, but when I tried it, the bread seemed a bit denser even though the listed weight didn't suggest it. Not sure if it might be better for making French toast of grilled cheese. But it does seem to be pretty good although it's not the kind of pillow soft white bread I'm used to.

 

[Kestas]

I use an app called Yuka to assess the health of foods. At Aldi I once compared all the different breads with this app. Though each brand tried to differentiate themselves from the others, Yuka told me they all had the same level of health. The only difference was price.

 

[The_Sheriff]

I admit I'm kind of price sensitive and a lot of bread these days seems to be really pricey. I typically get the least expensive sliced bread like at Target or Walmart. Or perhaps off-branded bread at bargain stores. But they tend to be soft. I found some Bimbo white bread once that was on sale and similar.

My wife was telling me that maybe Trader Joe's would be better. So I tried it. $1.99 for 20 oz. It looked about the same size, but when I tried it, the bread seemed a bit denser even though the listed weight didn't suggest it. Not sure if it might be better for making French toast of grilled cheese. But it does seem to be pretty good although it's not the kind of pillow soft white bread I'm used to.

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Bake your own. It’s not hard. I do it all the time. Organic flour, purified water, sea salt, sourdough starter. It is the best for your health instead of that commercial kcrapp that takes those giant commercial bakeries three hours from start to finish. Very unhealthy.
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[#18FAN]

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Bake your own. It’s not hard. I do it all the time. Organic flour, purified water, sea salt, sourdough starter. It is the best for your health instead of that commercial kcrapp that takes those giant commercial bakeries three hours from start to finish. Very unhealthy.
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View attachment 308257

One could argue the case any bread is bad for your health depends what camp you believe.

 

[goblin]

I absolutely love Trader Joe's, and with all my love - their bread is universally bad. It is awful. It is subpar.
Their "finish cooking it yourself" breads are meh, but probably ok. Likely beacause every bread hot out of the oven is decently good.

For good bread, Whole Foods is the main supply in my neck of the woods. Their prices are of course insane, as most are. Less insane than bakery prices though.

For good and not grossly overpriced bread, nothing beats Costco in my book. They have very decent baguettes, and their mini ciabatta squares are excellent too. Get a bag, eat one while warm and fresh off the oven, then throw the bag in the fridge and toast them as you need them. They also have rye bread that doesn't break the bank.

For lovers of non-European style bread, a Zojirushi bread making machine remains the best investment ever, to this day. It's just that I can't get myself to eat non-crunchy bread.

 

[The_Sheriff]

One could argue the case any bread is bad for your health depends what camp you believe.

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Everybody is different. Genetics play a factor and so does preparation. Long and cold fermentation times of 36 hours or more using an easily digestible ancient type of non hybridized wheat such as spelt, which I use, and chances are you will be good, if not benefit. Doing that breaks down indigestible gluten proteins into easily digestible proteins. There is alot more science to it than I care to go into but gluten sensitivity is a modern problem because of modern commercial ways of baking.
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[AZjeff]

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Bake your own. It’s not hard. I do it all the time. Organic flour, purified water, sea salt, sourdough starter.

And if someone in the family doesn't like sourdough bread what do you recommend?

 

[Japanese]

Bake your own. It’s not hard. I do it all the time. Organic flour, purified water, sea salt, sourdough starter. It is the best for your health instead of that commercial kcrapp that takes those giant commercial bakeries three hours from start to finish. Very unhealthy.

That's true - it's the healthiest bread because of the long fermentation going on before baking it.
However, that bread is not easy to make at all. It needs a few tries before you get it right. I did't try it yet.
I don't eat any bread, except some Middle Eastern flat bread.

Overall bread is not healthy because of the bleached flour and the yeast. The sourdough is the healthiest because it uses fermented flour (where the name sour comes fom) instead of yeast.

 

[The_Sheriff]

And if someone in the family doesn't like sourdough bread what do you recommend?

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Use conventional instant yeast. Please go to: www.breadtopia.com Use their search function and search for No Knead Bread. It is easy to do and turns out a tremendous loaf.
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[The_Sheriff]

That's true - it's the healthiest bread because of the long fermentation going on before baking it.
However, that bread is not easy to make at all. It needs a few tries before you get it right. I did't try it yet.
I don't eat any bread, except some Middle Eastern flat bread.

Overall bread is not healthy because of the bleached flour and the yeast. The sourdough is the healthiest because it uses fermented flour (where the name sour comes fom) instead of yeast.

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I don’t use bleached flour. I have a stone mill and grind my own organic berries fresh for making whole grain breads. For white bread I use organic white spelt, unbleached. Sourdough starter contains wild yeasts, enzymes, and lactic acid amongst many other compounds whereas commercial yeast is one strain. Very different than sourdough.

Making bread like I make is easier than you might think. See my other post for more info on where to go to learn how.
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[Pablo]

Has anyone analyzed TJs bread for glyphosate level? That's the number 1 problem with bread. #2, how much modified starch, #3 how much seed oil, #4 mostly empty carb calories...........

 

[NiwradND]

And if someone in the family doesn't like sourdough bread what do you recommend?

If you don't like sour bread, something is wrong with the person...........just joking my favorite

 

[The_Sheriff]

Has anyone analyzed TJs bread for glyphosate level? That's the number 1 problem with bread. #2, how much modified starch, #3 how much seed oil, #4 mostly empty carb calories...........

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Commercial breads, yes. The breads I make suffer from none of those things. Make your own bread people! It’s fun and much better for you and better tasting to boot.
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[TijY_]

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Commercial breads, yes. The breads I make suffer from none of those things. Make your own bread people! It’s fun and much better for you and better tasting to boot.
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Lipopolysaccharides (aka LPS) are harder to get rid off. Definitely can cause issue if your gut walls are compromised.

 

[cheech279]

FWIW Southern Living magazine recently tested 10 brands of white bread. The overall winner: Walmart's Great Value white sandwich bread at $1.42 a loaf.

 

[Pablo]

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Commercial breads, yes. The breads I make suffer from none of those things. Make your own bread people! It’s fun and much better for you and better tasting to boot.
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I agree to a point. I was talking about commercial bread and TJs in particular. Depends a lot on the flour. Even organic non-gmo flour useless carbs, but yeah it's good.

 

[97prizm]

I admit I'm kind of price sensitive and a lot of bread these days seems to be really pricey. I typically get the least expensive sliced bread like at Target or Walmart. Or perhaps off-branded bread at bargain stores. But they tend to be soft. I found some Bimbo white bread once that was on sale and similar.

My wife was telling me that maybe Trader Joe's would be better. So I tried it. $1.99 for 20 oz. It looked about the same size, but when I tried it, the bread seemed a bit denser even though the listed weight didn't suggest it. Not sure if it might be better for making French toast of grilled cheese. But it does seem to be pretty good although it's not the kind of pillow soft white bread I'm used to.

Soft and pillowy means full of air and you're paying money for air. If you can swing it costco and Sam's club have Dave's killer bread in twin packs. Try out their white done right. High quality bread and organic milk are one of the few things I refuse to compromise on.

 

[97prizm]

I admit I'm kind of price sensitive and a lot of bread these days seems to be really pricey. I typically get the least expensive sliced bread like at Target or Walmart. Or perhaps off-branded bread at bargain stores. But they tend to be soft. I found some Bimbo white bread once that was on sale and similar.

My wife was telling me that maybe Trader Joe's would be better. So I tried it. $1.99 for 20 oz. It looked about the same size, but when I tried it, the bread seemed a bit denser even though the listed weight didn't suggest it. Not sure if it might be better for making French toast of grilled cheese. But it does seem to be pretty good although it's not the kind of pillow soft white bread I'm used to.

Try out udis take n bake, it at least has minimal ingredients.

 

[BHopkins]

And if someone in the family doesn't like sourdough bread what do you recommend?

Artisan bread. Super easy to make, very similar to sourdough bread loaves in appearance and texture. You can put different ingredients in it, such as hard cheese or nuts, just like sourdough.

 

[Pablo]

And if someone in the family doesn't like sourdough bread what do you recommend?

Most starters are not "sour" IMHO