Canyon Bakehouse Review and Giveaway!

Recently, I was the lucky recipient of some complimentary gluten-free bread products from Canyon Bakehouse, a dedicated gluten-free facility in Loveland, Colorado. All I can say is… YUM!

Funny story; the day the Canyon Bakehouse products arrived, I placed them on the counter and waited patiently until Mike and the boys got home from work/school before I tore into them. The very second Sam saw the loaves of bread, he said, “MOM! Why is there “gluten” here?” Taken aback, I asked what he was talking about (because we have a dedicated GF house). He pointed to the Canyon Bakehouse packaging and I got it, they DO look like packages of “real wheat bread,” LOL!  If you have been reading my blog for long, then you know how packaging and appearance are a VERY BIG DEAL to Sam right now, so score 1 for Canyon Bakehouse!

A little information on Canyon Bakehouse:

At Canyon Bakehouse, we believe making healthy choices shouldn’t mean compromising on the quality of the foods we love. More and more people are deciding to go “gluten free.” For people with celiac disease, avoiding gluten is a medical necessity. For others, it is simply a choice for their health and well-being. Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free breads have been specifically created to bring back the joy of real bread to those following a gluten-free diet. We think you’ll find Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bread has all the texture and taste of normal bread!

I received a letter with my package of samples that goes into further detail about how Canyon Bakehouse came to be, and here are a few highlights:

Canyon Bakehouse is owned by husband and wife, Josh and Christi Skow and Master Baker, Ed Miknevicius.

Christi was diagnosed with celiac disease 3 years ago through a routine physical. She had been anemic, tired and had skin issues for years for unknown reasons. After being diagnosed, she had a difficult time transitioning to a 100% gluten-free diet. There were few choices for gluten-free bread on the market and what was available was very expensive and did not taste good.

Christi’s husband, Josh and Master Baker, Ed came up with the idea for their products in 2009 as they were sitting in a small Colorado Cafe near the Flat Top Wilderness area discussing the lack of good tasting and healthy gluten-free breads. At that point, Ed set out to create gluten-free bakery products that tasted good, were healthy and had the same texture as regular bread. The mission of Canyon Bakehouse was born, to “create delicious and nutritious gluten-free products the whole family can enjoy.”

All three of the sliced breads are great, but there was something in particular about the San Juan 7-Grain bread that really stood out to me… it looks and smells like whole wheat bread! I couldn’t help but just sit there with my nose in the bag, taking in an aroma that I had long forgot. It was a beautiful moment indeed. The bread also has that deep caramel color reminiscent of wheat bread and I was excited to try something that I had been wanting to try but never had a dark enough GF bread to do it with… Sandwich Puzzles!

Sam has really enjoyed these, just use a cookie cutter (that is supposed to be a baseball and bat in the above photo), to cut the same shape out of contrasting colored bread and switch! I made up a bunch one afternoon and filled with PB & J, bagged them up in a freezer bag and packing Sam's lunchbox was easy peasy! Score 2 for Canyon Bakehouse!

Can't you just smell it?? 😉

1 slice of the San Juan 7-Grain bread has only 90 calories, 1 gram of fat, 2 grams of Fiber and just 2 grams of Sugar!! So a sandwich with 2 slices of bread has 4 grams of fiber... score 3!

Click here for more detailed information on the San Juan 7-Grain bread.

Mountain White Bread

Click here for more detailed info on the Mountain White bread.

I recently cracked on my store-bought tomato boycott.... the good thing though, they are really not all that great, so I can definitely wait until the local tomatoes are in season! 🙂

Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

Click here for more detailed info on the Cinnamon Raisin bread.

The Cinnamon Raisin Bread was another favorite around here. You do not need to toast any of the Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free breads but I like Cinnamon Raisin Toast for breakfast on occasion. I did notice that the Canyon Bakehouse breads toast up differently from the crispy toast I am accustomed to, it toasts up well on the outside, but stays soft on the inside. An interesting contrast of textures, but yummy nonetheless!

Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia

The Focaccia was incredibly moist with a pronounced Rosemary flavor and I absolutely love Rosemary! The Focaccia bread is thicker than what I am used to, so a little goes a long way! I do wish I had put mine in the freezer right away though (it’s a lot of bread for 2.5 people), because the moist Focaccia did succumb to decay rather quickly (which technically speaking is a GOOD thing, because it means NO CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES!), just keep that in mind and learn from my mistake. 😉

Click here for more detailed info on the Rosemary & Thyme Focaccia bread.

Now for my personal favorite of all the products we sampled (and this was surprising to me), the Cranberry Crunch Muffins!

I cannot recall having ever seen a more beautiful muffin in my life! It was almost too pretty to eat (but boy did I eat them)! The Cranberry Crunch Muffins were honestly the product I was least excited to try because I do not like baked goods with nuts, seeds, etc., it’s a texture thing carried over from childhood.

The Cranberry Crunch Muffins have Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Whole Grain Millet and Poppy Seeds in them, see why I was worried? Well, those worries were completely unfounded because I loved, loved, LOVED the muffins!! The crunch was a delightful surprise and not “too much,” if you know what I mean. Either my taste buds are really evolving as I have been trying new foods or the folks at Canyon Bakehouse have found the perfect ratio of crunch to fluffy muffin… not too much, not too little! Another score for Canyon Bakehouse!

Click here for more detailed info on the Cranberry Crunch Muffins.

Sigh… I miss these.

Would you like to try a sampling of the Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free baked goods?? Well, here is your chance to do so for free! The kind folks at Canyon Bakehouse have offered up the exact same package that they sent to me; to giveaway to one of my lucky readers!

The winner will receive one of each: Mountain White, San Juan 7-Grain, and Cinnamon Raisin sliced bread, a package of the Focaccia and a package of the Cranberry Crunch Muffins!

To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment in the reply box about:

“In which stores do you prefer to buy your gluten-free products?”

I personally shop all over the place, Online, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Sunflower Market, R. Down Nutrition Center, my local Co-Op and Smith’s. Wow… that is a lot of driving! 🙂 I dream of a day when there is a Healthy Gluten-Free Super Center! 😉

How about you? Do you stick with one place or shop at several stores?

For Bonus entries:

• For 1 bonus entry: Sign up to Follow @gfbakehouse on Twitter.

• For 2 bonus entries: Tweet about this giveaway and include a link back to this post. Be sure to also include @adventuresgfmom in your tweet so I know that you have done this.

• For 1 bonus entry: Become a “Fan” of Canyon Gluten Free Bakehouse on Facebook.

I will use a Random Number Generator to pick the winner on Friday, April 23, 2010.

Good Luck! 😀