Venerdi product reviews

I Thought that trying to find a Gluten free bread that isn't heavy and horrible with no taste, would be impossible.... Venerdi has proven me wrong! Having a child with multiple allergies has meant that we have to find delicious tasting foods that don't contain all the harmful ingredient that make her sick.

I was really impressed with the range of Gluten free Breads which are also dairy free as well!

Our family's favourite would have to be the Cinnamon and Sultana, with everyone enjoying it, and even guests not noticing that it is gluten free! It wasn't too dry or too heavy, Also the cinnamon flavour wasn't overpowering, and not too many sultanas!

The full flavour six seeds was our favourite as a breakfast toast bread. Delicious with or without topping! And all of the breads filling without leaving you feeling bloated!

The loaves were a perfect size, not going stale in the cupboard before we can finish it.

The price is worth it. Too Many Gluten free breads claim to be delicious but fall far from the mark as far as I am concerned.

Cinnamon & Sultana
This bread has a good amount of sultanas which, even when toasted, don't make the bread soggy. This is a fairly dense bread which means that butter or marg will soak in but won't make the slices soft. I tried a slice of this with marmite and another with jam. The flavour stgill came through and in the case of the jam I found the combo of cinnamon and strawberry to be quite pleasant. This was one of my favourite breads and I would be glad to have more of it.

Boiled Wholegrain
This is a really healthy-looking bread with a large selection of grains obvious throughout each slice. The grains stayed soft, even when well-toasted. Boiling the bread meant that it retained a nice bite to it, considering it sopped up a generous amount of butter. I was surprised at how small some of the grains were and how they all seemed to compliment each other. because of the subtle taste, I decided to limit the test-toppings to just butter and marg. Despite the interesting flavour, I am not sure I would go for this bread again, as it wasn't as filling or satisfying as I was expecting.

Spelt & Rye
For a brown bread, this was my least favourite. The texture, even and soft, meant that it didn'tr retain much of of the butter I put on it, and it became softer and kind of unpleasant as the butter soaked through. The seeds that ran through it were quite difficult to chew and something in the bread left me with an unusual back-taste. Quite disappointing overall and not at all my first choice of bread.

7 Seed Sourdough
This bread has a good weight to it and the mix of seeds are evident in each slice. The taste is such that it can compete with toppings such as jam, and is also good with just butter, which doesn't tend to soak through. Toasting was my preferred way to have this bread, as it brought through a 'nuttiness' not present when eaten 'au natural'. A 2-slice serving was enough to keep me satisfied for most of the day. By far my most fave of the breads I tried, and have been budgeting for more of it, as it is a little expensive to have regularly.

Though I found most of a breads a bit too heavy and dense for my tastes, the Spelt and Rye Toaster was really nice. Is toasted well but stayed solid enough that even dumping hot spaghetti and poached eggs on top didn't cause it to sag when I forked up a bite, the way the more standard breads tend to do, dumping your mouthful back on the plate or in your lap.
But the most delightful dish I got to try was the Cranberry and Coconut Fudge. Utterly delightful, sweet but not too naughty. What more could you ask for!
The only bread I had real trouble eating was the Brown Rice bread. The taste of the rice bran oil (i think) just put me off it. So saying, a visiting friend tried it and loved it, saying it had a really nice aftertaste, which only goes to show that different people have different preferences.
All in all the range is pretty good if you can find it, and certainly very healthy!

healthy is always expensive. thats the rule of thumb. no exceptions here. buit this lot is well worth it if you want utterly healthy food that tastes pretty good. i really liked all the breads I got to try but absolutely LOVED the coconut and cranberry fudge. so chewy and sweet with a really pleasant tropical kind of flavour you just cant beat. if i am lucky enough to be able to find this in a supermarket i think i will have to work really hard not to buy the lot. honestly i could eat this stuff for all three meals and not get sick of it. well maybe i would but i am keen to try and find out.

I found that the size of all the loaves was too small, I would prefer a bigger sized slice. Also because it is so small, it needs to be in the toaster longer, or just pop the toaster down twice.

Boiled Whole Grain: This bread has a really nice texture to it. It was nice and springy, even once toasted. I had it with Marg and Marmite and it was delicious, also just delicious with just marg.

Spelt and Rye Toaster: This bread was great. I love the way the crust goes so crispy, it adds an extra flavour kick. This bread wasn't as gluey feeling untoasted as the Boiled Whole Grain was.

Cinnamon and Sweet Sultana: As I'm not a fan of sultana's this taste test was given to my hubby. As he isn't a man of many words his reply to me was "It's really nice. The cinnamon isn't overpowering. There are lots of sultana's per slice, but the slice isn't big enough!"

Seven Seed Sour Dough: I tried this fresh with just marg as the topping and it was YUM. It has a unique texture and flavour that I really believe it doesn't need any toppings at all. I also love the aftertaste it leaves in your mouth. It leaves you wanting more!

Original Brown Rice: This is a very dense bread and very plain tasting. I first tried it fresh, and did not enjoy the first mouthful at all. So I toasted the next slice and heeeelllooo the flaxseed flavour had intensified, and I actually really enjoyed it! Also once toasted, it wasn't so dense to eat. I also prefer just marg as a topping on this bread. No other toppings necessary.

Full of Flavour 6 Seed: This is another dense bread but the name says it all. It is definately full of flavour. Again I liked it better toasted, as the flavour is enhanced more, but I wouldn't hesitate to eat it fresh either!

To sum it all up, the slices are on the small side, but I'm guessing it's because it's a product only liked by "really healthy eaters", so at this stage isn't a huge market for the company yet.
Also most of the breads are quite dense, so again, not for particular tastebuds. I on the other hand have been impressed, and will be puchasing at least 2 of the breads in the next shopping trip :)

Well done Venerdi.

I admit it, I am lazy and cheap. I like to get a loaf of bread that does the deed without the frills and fancy fluff that goes with some loaves. I mean really, $5 for a single loaf of bread is just plain out of the ballpark with bells on! So I tend to buy the cheap stuff, but without going right to the bottom of the budget barrel and getting the fluffy white crap bread.

So it was with some great interest I cracked open the sample parcel of Venerdi's breads... 6 breads, a single slice of each. Well, that's lunch taken care of I suppose... and what a varied, tasty and productive lunch it was!

All the breads were tried untoasted, toasted with butter, and with an assortment of spreads. I won't go into the whole gluten-free, gluten-reduced and spelt breads... Venerdi's website does that better than I could. But I will talk about how the breads looked, felt and tasted to me...

Seven-seed Sourdough:
Straight out of the pack, it was moist and firm with a nice light 'nutty' taste. This slightly nutty tang carried over and was enhanced by toasting, and the bread was dense enough to hold the butter well without bleed-thru. It went well with most of the spreads tried, but especially so with peanut butter.

Spelt and Rye Toaster:
Firm, and a slightly crispy crust, but light on flavour and actually a little bland and oily. When toasted the crispyness comes through well, and the bland flavour allows the butter flavour to shine through. Held the butter well, but a little porous so butter dribbled through. Quite pleasant if you like to taste your toppings, of any strength.

Full Flavour Six Seed:
Untoasted it was firm and very moist. Not a s trong flavour, but detectable hints of 'seed' and 'nutty' sneaking in around the edges. Once toasted, it soaked up the butter well, but was too porous and let most if it flow through. Best left to cool slightly before being buttered. It has a pleasantly mild flavour, which is killed utterly by any strong flavoured spreads or toppings.

Original Brown Rice:
A slightly moist but very dense bread. Untoasted, the flavour left me unimpressed, as it had a slkightly oily taste and gritty texture. Once toasted, it held butter well and was 'solid' enough to prevent any seeping through. The flaxseed flavour became noticable after the toasting, and that really put me off. Best eaten with strong flavoured toppings such as marmite or cheese and relish.

Boiled Wholegrain:
Strangely, despite an utter lack of fruit, I got a definite tang of fruit from this bread both before and after toasting. It's a fairly medium-firm bread and holds the butter well, but does let a bit dribble through if you leave it to sit too long. Great with all of the toppings trialled, this was perhaps my favourite of all the 'standard' breads trialled.

Cinnamon and Sweet Sultana:
Right from out of the pack this bread was great. A strong heady aroma had me drooling... so I simply had to leave it until last. It was a very moist bread, with enough firmness to hold itself together but not so much as to feel 'heavy'. Once toasted, it retained it's fruity flavour, and gained a nice crispyness around islands of moist fruit. It held the butter well with minor leakage. Moderately good with fruit toppings. Surprisingly good with marmite, but spectacular with peanut butter. A great 'breakfast' loaf with all the benefits of gluten-free, all the flavour of regular fruit loaves, and none of the drawbacks.