Long gone are the days when our only choice for storebought bread was between the squishy whiteness of Wonder Bread or the somewhat kooky Roman Meal Whole Grain, with the occasional pumpernickel thrown in. Now the bread section takes up a good half aisle of your average grocery store and the choices are vast. In fact, some people don't even purchase their bread in the grocery store and instead seek out 'artisan' bakeries or they make their own bread. And of course, there is the gluten-free option or those who eschew bread altogether. What about you?
The most significant difference these days are the many whole grain options: 7-or 9-Grain, Flax Seed, 100% Whole Wheat, Multi-Grain, Sprouted Grains, some with nuts, some with seeds, some with both. Some are healthy, some aren't -- you really have to read the label and avoid 'wheat flour' or 'unbleached wheat flour' or 'unbleached flour' which is often the first ingredient on some loaves. In order to be sure you're not consuming white flour, the label must say 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain.
How do you choose your bread? Are you loyal to a type or brand , or do you shop around and select a new variety each week?
Related: Baking Recipe: Whole Wheat Bread
(Image: Utah State History)
Martha Concrete Lam...

I'm not big on bread but I have to say I'm leaning more towards homemade or artisnal bakery. Living in Europe I was annoyed b/c the bread never lasted more than a day or two before hardening - great that it was so fresh, but we often wasted a lot of bread and it was a pain to shop for so frequently. We often froze it, but the texture was never quite right when we unfroze. But here in the U.S. it really freaks me out now how long American bread lasts. It is seriously frankenstein bread. No bread should last a month without molding or turning hard yet somehow it does. I'm leaning towards going the bakery way again cause I'm just not comfortable with the amount of preservatives that must be in grocery store bread.
I baked all of ours for a long time, but then my child decided she wanted "soft" bread for her lunchtime PB&Js, so I bought sliced whole wheat. Recently I made bread using Julia Child's recipe (just white sandwich bread) and she has a renewed love of homemade. The little bit of hands-on time makes a huge difference to my family.
I frequently make home made as a meal accompaniment. But for sandwiches, I prefer a sliced grocery bread, I always loved Oatnut as a child and still do.
All "Food for Life" bread. Ezekiel, Genesis, 7-Sprouted Grain, and the list goes on.
I LOVE bread, all kinds, but I'm trying to cut back how much I eat. Generally now that means I treat it like dessert and can have it if I make it myself. My favorite bread, though, is a "milk" sandwich bread with a mix of white and whole-grain flours and topped with rolled oats. It looks like something from a bakery, which satisfies my "we eat with our eyes" tendency, and is perfect toasted with eggs for breakfast or soft as part of a PB&J. It also lasts for nearly a week wrapped in foil on the counter.
For better or worse, I haven't yet figured out baguettes or sour dough.
I miss the NY Rye bread, so I make my own whole wheat bread and pita breas whole wheat. Never was a fan of Wonder Bread as a kid, mostly ate Freihoffer wheat, nutty oat bread. Believe it or not PBJ is really tastey on toasted seeded Rye!
We buy Ezekiel and a bakery fresh sliced white from the co-op.
I make America's Test Kitchen baguettes every week and eat them as my snack when I get home from work with some Nutella. That's what I had when I came home from work in France and it's just a very satisfying snack. We generally don't eat other breads in my house, but when we do, they're homemade.
We don't eat bread that often anymore, but mostly make it at home when we do. (The big exception to the rule is buns for sausages or hamburgers: there's a local Portuguese bakery that makes a much better bun than I've ever managed to turn out.) I can't remember the last time I bought sliced bread from the grocery store, though.
We mostly eat homemade bread but I keep a loaf of sliced whole grain bread in the freezer for the occasional sandwich or toast.
Grand Central como ... so good.
It totally depends on what I'm making! My go-to bread is a local German-style sandwich bread, when I'm making sandwiches... but I change it up often!
Homemade, a variety (white or whole wheat sandwich loaves, artisan bread, challah). Occasionally I buy a loaf of Pepperidge Farm sliced white sandwich bread because I love store bought bread for grilled cheese. (It also makes good breadcrumbs.)
I eat bread about once every 2 weeks. When I do eat that serving, I treat myself to white bread. Might be a baguette, might be ciabatta, but it very well might be white american sandwich bread.
If I ate bread daily, I'd probably eat something whole grain, dark, with wheat berries. But since I don't, I let myself enjoy white bread :)
A second-hand bread machine changed my life. It is easy and Husband frequently "makes" the bread. I would like to find a bread machine that doesn't tear a hole in the bottom of the loaf, but this is still preferable to packaged bread. I use a white bread recipe, with buttermilk and honey.
My husband has been on a huge baking kick recently, and I've been reaping the benefits. My favorite so far has been an 80% brioche (80% butter that is!) It was amazing. Otherwise, he's been experimenting with other enriched breads like challah. I'm looking forward to a return to regular old crusty breads for my morning toast.
We eat a variety of breads. About half our bread is homemade from white whole wheat flour or half-white half-wheat: sandwich loaves; ciabatta, focaccia, or French bread; pita bread. We're lucky to have a locally owned not-too-fancy market on the corner where we can buy loaves of locally baked hearty whole wheat sandwich bread or squishy "Italian" rolls for making subs or even locally baked white-flour pita sometimes, so in particularly hot weather (when I can't bear to run the oven) or when I'm feeling too lazy to knead, we can pick up decent bread for a few dollars. (Around the other corner, we have a gourmet place where I could drop $10 bucks on enough bread for two meals, but it IS mighty good bread.)
Nothing beats dipping fresh, crusty white bread in good olive oil.
But I live alone and can rarely go through bread before it stales, so I don't buy it often. Probably a good thing.
Caramelized bread right out of the toaster topped with fresh butter. Delicious!
I can't imagine being able to say I only eat a single type of bread, and I don't even eat bread very often. There are almost always slices from AT LEAST two or three kinds of loaves in my freezer: a dense artisan wheat, a good ciabatta or sweet batard, and some "sandwich bread," usually whole grain. But I also make bread, and I buy other kinds, depending on my mood/the season/what I'm making.
For most of my life, I had sliced bread (white when I was a kid, multigrain as an adult). But since I got a bread machine as a gift last May, I've been making home-made bread pretty much every day. I don't think I've bought a loaf in months. It's super-easy and super-tasty!
Only homemade. Once I started making no knead in a loaf pan my wife has agreed to stop buying the bags of starchy air.
Sliced sourdough.
A nearby supermarket sells something called "English toasting bread" in either a full sliced loaf, or a half sliced loaf-it makes the best toast and grilled cheeses!!!! It is a loaf bread with a strong similarity to english muffins.
Why isn't there an "all of the above" choice? I'll eat whatever bread is in front of me.
Generally whatever's on sale that week - we'll grab a white for the teenage boys, and a multi-grain (latest favourite - quinoa and pumpkin seed) for myself and Mum. I'll still eat the white, if that's what's open at the time. Also, bagels.
I also really really love the kalamata olive batard we get fresh from the (supermarket) bakery oven. Mmm.
When we move, I'm going to try homemaking it!
Just switched from sliced whole grain to an artisan whole grain after we read how to keep it from going stale throughout the week on this blog! By purchasing a small loaf, cutting only what we need and turning the cut side down on the cutting board, the loaf usually lasts the entire week.
Any one every seen "Captain John Derst's" Bread. It comes in a borwn bag, and looks like a military ration or something. Yellow Bread, and taste fantastic.
I like all those breads....there does need to be an all of the above button!
Please fix the survey ... nothing happens when I click to select an answer. If the survey is already closed, display the results without the survey question.
I eat whole grain bread (buy 8-grain sliced & bake whole wheat).
Sourdough!