I never thought I would be writing this post. I have spent the past 7 years baking all of my gluten free bread from scratch and this summer I was finally able to stop. Yes, I stopped baking gluten free bread, but not for the reasons you might think.

Please don’t worry! I plan to share my gluten free bread and bagel recipes with you. They are amazing. But for this mom, today, to not HAVE to bake gluten free bread has been such a blessing.

Why I always baked my own gluten free bread

With all of the gluten free breads available now, I am sure you are wondering why I was baking my own gluten free bread anyway? Well, the answer is simple. My oldest is allergic to much more than just gluten. With his corn, egg, dairy and nut allergy as well, it has been impossible after all of these years to find him a bread that was safe to eat. Until now.

You see, last year we found out it was safe to do a baked egg challenge in our allergist’s office. I was thrilled when he passed. Having just failed a typical egg challenge 2 weeks prior, I was cautiously optimistic. I was hoping and praying we could have more doors open in the food department. And they have!

We still have to use extreme caution when eating egg containing foods, but I am so thankful for the new lifeline we have been given.

How I found our gluten free bread

Since I have been baking my own gluten free bread, I had no idea how far store bought gluten free bread had come since I first became gluten free back in my 20’s. It was with the help of my Stay Gluten Free Community {Click here to join us it’s FREE} that I was able to discover Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bread.

Many of our members in the group raved about this bread for so long but I always stayed away from it because it contained egg. So when I mustered up the courage to give it a try, me and my son were more than thrilled with the taste, texture and freshness. It really looks and tastes like regular bread.

How to buy Canyon gluten free bread

I have come to find that there are a couple of different ways to buy Canyon Bakehouse gluten free bread. You can buy it frozen or thawed. You see, retailers like Target and Lucky’s receive it frozen and let it thaw naturally then put it on the shelf to sell. It took me the longest time to find it at Target because they stock it with the produce, not the bread. At Lucky’s it is found in the bakery.

Retailers like Whole Foods Market keep it in their specialty freezer and I have found that still thawing it out naturally, rather than the microwave, is the best way to enjoy this bread. After thawed it has a shelf life for about 5 days.

Canyon Bakehouse bread also comes in a wide variety of flavors. They offer bagels, hamburger and even hot dog buns. You can also order it online. I just ordered hot dog buns and noticed that they even offer a bread club. This is such a brilliant idea so that your bread keeps coming and you never run out. If only there was paper towel club like that, I’d be all set.

This bread is now definitely a staple in my pantry and I am so thankful that I have been able to have this new found freedom from my kitchen.

Will I bake bread again?

Yes, absolutely! Don’t get me wrong, I love baking when I have the time and desire, but having to make my own bread weekly for years, has been very hard. Living with food allergies doesn’t have to be that hard anymore and I am so thankful.

Please don’t worry, especially for those of you who need a completely allergy friendly bread. I will still be sharing my recipes for buns and bagels. When you are feeling inspired to bake you will absolutely love these. We still prefer my bread over store bought bread, but we also are enjoying the quality time store bought bread has brought into our lives.

So for now my advice to you is, enjoy playing with your kids and go BUY the bread!

Also, don’t forget, if you want to stay in the know about what is current at your grocery stores be sure and join our Stay Gluten Free Community {Click here to join, it’s FREE}. We also share tips, recipes, dinner ideas and so much more. It’s much easier to stay gluten free when you surround yourself with others just like you who are also trying to build a gluten free life. I’ll see you there.

(The photo that was used for this post was taken directly from the Canyon Bakehouse website)

This post first appeared on Stayglutenfree.com