New Gluten-Free Bread: My Review of Genius by Glutino

There's a new gluten-free bread in town: "Genius" by Glutino. I noticed it the other day at Earth Fare market in Columbia, South Carolina. Whenever I run across a new gluten-free product, especially a bread, I always get excited to try it! So I picked up the multigrain version of Glutino's Genius, which promises to be so "deliciously soft and light" that "you won't believe it's gluten-free."

Ingredients

Water, potato starch, canola oil, corn starch, tapioca starch, dried egg whites, rice bran, molasses, cellulose powder, yeast, inverted sugar, sugar, modified cellulose, sugar beet fibre, salt, xanthan gum, calcium sulfate, enzymes.

Allergy information: Contains eggs.  May contain soy and sesame.

Unfortunately, Glutino's Genius is not organic, but it is vegetarian, and is also dairy-free.

Texture
The first thing one notices about Genius is that the slices are large for store-bought gluten-free bread, meaning larger sandwiches are possible.  The second thing one notices is that the Genius bread is, indeed, very light and fluffy, with a holy texture that gives it the appearance of wheat-based bread.

However, Genius is much more brittle than wheat-based bread, which is to be expected with the absence of gluten.  Still, it doesn't just crumble when you look at it, like some other gluten-free bread brands - though by the end of my loaf the slices were starting to break in half.  I suspect the reason that most store-bought gluten-free breads are so fragile is partly due to the absence of gluten holding the bread together, and partly due to the fact that they are usually sold frozen.

One thing that Genius excels at is toasting!  It makes a light, crispy toast that is well-suited for breakfast toast or a garlic bread side for soup or pasta.  I imagine that this feature might also make it well-suited for making bread crumbs.  I made a Simple-Yet-Delicious Portobello Sandwich with some toasted Genius and it held up OK, though not great.  The bread gets mangled and falls apart when making a nut butter and jelly sandwich with any kind of nut butter that has to be refrigerated and gets hard, or when spreading it with margarine or butter that hasn't been pre-softened.

Flavor
Like most of the other gluten-free breads I've tried by Glutino, I thought the multigrain Genius was a bit bland.  I suspect this may be due to the fact that there simply aren't any grains or flours in the bread.  It does not taste like wheat-based multigrain bread at all, which may be a bit of a disappointment if you are new to gluten-free eating.  However, its mild flavor means that it won't overpower the other flavors of the sandwiches you make with it.  If you prefer white bread, you may enjoy the mild flavor of the multigrain Genius.  Glutino also makes a white bread version of Genius.

Glutino's Genius multigrain on
a dinner plate showing size

The Verdict
If you see Glutino's Genius in your grocery store or natural food store, it's worth a try to see if it's your cup of tea (or slice of bread, as the case may be).  As for myself, for now I'll be sticking with other brands that I've come to enjoy.  But the good thing is that Genius is new, and as it gets tested in the market and Glutino gets feedback from customers, the company will surely continue improving it.  I will wait a while and pick up another loaf of Genius sometime to see if it can eventually win me over.

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