Alisa Fleming ~ Like many people, the concept of dairy-free used to be quite simplified in my head; it meant no milk, butter, ice cream, or cheese. But dairy-free living extends far beyond these basic foods. Milk ingredients are used in so many everyday processed foods, from granola bars to packaged meats to bread. Yes, even bread.

Some people wonder why I include bread recipes in Go Dairy Free. Next time you go to the grocery store, check the ingredient statements on the various brands of bread. When I went strictly dairy-free, there wasn’t a loaf in town that didn’t contain milk in some form. I had to learn to bake, and I knew that others would, too.

Dairy-containing bread still abounds, but fortunately a few companies have sprung up in recent years with bread that I can safely sink my teeth into when convenience is in order. One of my newest loves, Rudi’s Bakery, goes above and beyond; baking all of their bread products in a dedicated dairy-free facility (they are also peanut-free!) ...

On our recent move to the northwest, we found ourselves in a transition week without food, energy, or a fully functioning kitchen. That’s when I discovered Rudi’s Organic 100% Whole Wheat Bread on sale. It was fluffier than my homemade loaves (I love hearty bread!), but still quite good. Each morning we enjoyed some toast with nut butter, and happily made our way through two entire loaves. So I was eager to trial a few other Rudi’s products when their team contacted me.

I chose to taste-test two types of the English Muffins, since so many brands contain milk and I have trouble finding whole grain versions. My first choice was the Spelt English Muffins … I simply love spelt … but their new Harvest Seeded English Muffins sounded intriguing too.

We really enjoyed the spelt muffins, but as it turned out, the Harvest Seeded English Muffins were our favorite. Both varieties had an equivalent whole grain flavor with a texture that was just fluffy enough to qualify as an English muffin, but the little seeds in the Harvest Seeded won us over …

I also had the opportunity to trial Rudi’s Spelt Tortillas. They were of course heartier and a tad less flexible than regular flour tortillas, but I still managed to wrap up some Thai Peanut Wraps for lunch without making a mess.

And they sliced beautifully too …

I still love making my own spelt tortillas, but these were pretty excellent, and of course perfectly round, which my homemade versions never seem to be. In a pinch, I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase these.

Rudi’s bakery churns out a large variety of breads, buns, rolls, bagels, tortillas/wraps, and English muffins. Rudi’s traditional bakery products are all organic, but they also offer an entire gluten-free line. You can usually find their products in natural food stores, but many traditional grocers also carry this rapidly growing brand.

Be sure to check the Rudi’s Bakery website (www.rudisbakery.com) for information on all of their products and to see if they have any printable coupons!

This is a third party review by Alisa Fleming, founder of GoDairyFree.org and author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living. Alisa is also a freelance writer for several publications, with an emphasis on creating recipes for various types of special diets.