So I used to have a bit of an infatuation with Udi’s. And not in a good way.
I wrote about them in 2013 about the god-awful holes in their bread.
Their response? “We are aware of the issue and we are fixing it.”
I wrote about them in 2105 about their new partnership with an unsafe restaurant to promote their gluten free bread.
Their response? Crickets.
I wrote about them again in 2015 about their complete lack of quality control and utter disdain for the celiac community.
Their response? “We are aware of the issue and we are fixing it.”
I wrote about them yet again in 2015 (I told you it was an infatuation) when they promoted Omission Beer to their millions of followers.
Their response? “The fans of our page include a mix of those with celiac disease as well as those who choose to be gluten-free because it makes them feel better.”
And finally, I wrote about them in 2017 about all of the issues they promised to resolve but didn’t.
Their response? Who the f**k cares at this point.
Then I broke free of my Udi’s infatuation and went on with my celiac life. Then yesterday, out of the blue, I saw them on Twitter responding to a complaint about their…you guessed it…awful products and lack of quality control. Since there is nothing else going on in the world, I decided to take a quick peak at their Twitter and Facebook accounts. Surprise surprise. Nothing has changed.
I’m not mad. There are more important things in life. But I just hate to see the celiac community continue to get ripped off and lied to. We deserve better. Anyway, here are some pics from the last few months that took me all of 5 minutes to round up. They just suck and I’m sorry for everyone whose only choice is Udi’s.
I thought they were changing their name to Ewww…die’s.
Nicely done…
Canyon bread is perfect & my non-glutenized family likes it.
As for me, yeast is the most toxic gluten cross-reactor. I would die for a piece of “holey” bread.
Most industrial innoculants have ingredients that can’t be reliably proven to be gluten free. Malts that are non specific, extracts, and oligosaccharides that could’ve come from anything. The theory goes that they’ve been broken down enough that it isn’t detectable. But not detectable by testing and not detectable by the human gut aren’t the same thing. In the 1990s, one of the biggest hints that should’ve told me I was reacting to gluten or FODMAPS (not defined at the time) was, it was fashionable to take FOS as a supplement, but that made me violently sick every time. People told me, oh you just need to take less and work up to it. But I never could. The immune reaction I have to gluten screws up my flora, and then I can’t tolerate fodmaps. And it’s a chicken and egg thing, because many fodmaps can be purified from gluten sources as well. And fodmaps are excellent foods on which to grow the yeasts that make good bread.
To make a long story short, your only choice may be to make your own sourdough the slow way, if you want a more bready bread. But your tolerance for it may still be hit or miss. If there’s a yogurt or goodbelly drink you can tolerate, then you can use that to innoculate your sourdough, leading to hopefully better chances of tolerating the finished bread. Gluten free sourdough bread making is hard, but very rewarding.
LOL @Frank! Good one.
At first, I thought, who cares? It’s just bread, half the time, I can’t eat carbs anyway. But it’s surprisingly upsetting to have bad bread. And even more upsetting to imagine having bad bread for the rest of your life. It took a while to emotionally hit me, but when it did, it hit me hard.
I don’t think they’re even trying. Someone at one point made a tapioca recipe for gluten free people in the 1970s and manufacturers have been reusing that awful flavorless recipe since then.
I proved (on my blog) you could make a better bread at home using whole grain flour after considerable experimentation. And the flavor was awesome, because, real food means flavor. A new book has been written (from Australia) about making sourdough gluten free bread. It’s called Promise and Fulfillment by Chris Stafferton. Best bread is homemade, just like always.
Gluten Free Girl may be my favorite baker of real-food baked goods for the gluten challenged. I’m just so, not into, the flavorless, pure starch yuck, that passes for gluten free “products” these days.
But not everyone has time or patience to make stuff at home, people will want to simply buy something. So, if you see starch, gum, and tapioca in a packaged bread,that’s a recipe that hasn’t changed in 50 years and has zero innovation. Maybe try the Canyon breads, or look around for a local baker that’s using seeds or coconut flour as dough builders.
PS: I can’t wait for the app. Thank you for your hard work, Dude.
You are quite welcome. I just hate the fact they still own the store shelves and they simply don’t care.
The biggest problem with these types of issues coming from larger companies is the harm it does to the whole industry. People will declare that all gluten free bread sucks based on their experience with Udi’s and that just isn’t fair to the hundreds of bakers making excellent gluten free bread. I’d I’d needs to get it together or go completely away.
Yes, I can’t understand why they are SO popular when they suck SO bad! It’s like they sold their souls to the (gluten free) devil. How else can you explain owning the business with that kind of quality??
They’re not the only game in town. Canyon is SO much better!
I’m amazed they are still having these same issues in 2105. 😉
I hate giving them my money, but I do like their thin crust pizza, and their Mac & Cheese is ok for a quick meal out of the freezer. I have a loaf of their bread that I bought in the dark times (April/May when my grocery store didn’t have any other option), but it’ll stay in my freezer for emergency use only.
biggly fan of canyon bakehouse ( love the deli rye and everything bagels) but after so many years I still get holes in 1 loaf out of five, with one in ten being BIG holes—-
Yeahhh…about their bread. $412 for crouton sized pieces that fall apart just taking the out of the packaging? Blessed…so blessed to have their shi…crappy products the only ones available in my lil hometown. 🙏 If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have discovered what it’s like to go for yeeeeeeeears without a sandwich. 😌
I was recently diagnosed with celiac disease and have not even remotely enjoyed any breads I’ve tired so far, but am hopeful about GF Happy Campers Bread which looks to have real ingredients! Oddly enough, I have read and heard nothing about it in celiac forums. A friend who does not have celiac recommended Happy Campers, so I feel like it must be good- !?