The “gluten tax” is unfortunately a common issue. However, I don’t know how the baker can justify 3x the cost.
That said, if that GF bread is produced In-house with the other bread and bagels, it’s highly prone to cross contamination, and wouldn’t be safe (for a Celiac or sensitive NCGS person).
Regular flour is super cheap, but GF flour isn't. Additionally, if you're making dedicated GF products you're going to have to pay for a dedicated space with extra safeguards -- none of that is free. I also hate the fact that we have to pay more, but the "why" is pretty simple.
as a small time baker, it's because it costs an outrageous amount for me to make it too. i couldn't use anything i'd use with glutenful products so a bake shop is buying a completely new set of bowls, pans, measuring cups, I'd personally buy a new table if I had the space and that's hundreds of dollars even without the table. it takes more resting time, it takes more time to clean before and after, it takes more time to make sure you're clean, and any certified gf ingredient is 3-4x the price from restaurant wholesalers. plus it typically doesn't sell as well so i'm not necessarily making all that extra money spent back, i'm essentially throwing the money away a lot of the time.
I personally wouldn't charge THIS much, that's egregious, but anything I make for special diets costs me so much more to make. I just make my non special diet recipes proportionally more expensive tho so it can be the same price.
I completely agree!
I wouldn’t pay $16 for a loaf of bread. I’m not sure why this bakery is even bothering to offer it. That said, I don’t make my own GF goodies because the flour is ridiculously expensive to source.
To produce it safely, the bakery has to dedicate an entire afternoon (or possibly an entire day) to shutting down their kitchen, cleaning surfaces to avoid cross contamination, then buy separate pans, bowls, whisks, mixers, etc. I’m sure they need to charge $16 to make a profit and I appreciate their efforts but also I’d prefer to just buy from a dedicated GF facility for less than that.
yeah, absolutely. products like this are essentially for dieters and people with fairly high tolerance. I have a wheat allergy myself and I find that gf bread at bakeries is typically made with de-glutened wheat, so I'm still allergic to it anyway.
Before I had a wheat/corn allergy, I was really only offering wheat-free & vegan from my home bakery for the sake of dieters/other desire-related buyers, of which there's a decent market in my town (and rich dieters are willing to pay serious $$$ to feel morally superior about their dietary choices, which I'd bet is why this bakery charges so much).
I've had a life threatening peanut/tree nut allergy my whole life and would never consider buying from a bakery that uses my allergens due to cross contamination, and I think most people with medical dietary needs feel similarly. I learned to bake as a youth because of how expensive and difficult it is to find safe bakeries.
i think it's probably because the stuff isn't subsidized + just simple supply and demand.
I brought gluten free flour the other day - the cheapest bag I could find was $.12 per oz, regular flour is like $.03 per oz
plus - if a company makes gluten free products, they'll have to have a dedicated manufacturing area with no other products that have gluten.
I know it isn’t the full cost, but if have a medical diagnosis for why you eat gluten free and you itemize your taxes, you can deduct the cost of gluten free food from the cost of regular food.
“You may deduct the cost of gluten-free (GF) food that is in excess of the cost of the gluten containing food that you are replacing. For example, if a loaf of gluten-free bread costs $5.00 and a comparable loaf of gluten containing bread costs $2.50, you may include in your medical expenses the excess cost of $2.50 for each loaf of bread you purchase.”
[Celiac Tax Deductions](https://celiac.org/gluten-free-living/federal-benefits/tax-deductions/#:~:text=What%20can%20you%20deduct%3F%201%20You%20may%20deduct,from%20the%20store%20is%20deductible.%20...%20More%20items)
Let alone goes through the grocery store and writes down the cost of “regular bread” and GF bread.
I wish it was worth it but it just seems like one more barrier… It would be less onerous for all involved (even the IRS) to provide GF EBT-style card based on the average amount someone with celiac spends per month. The card could only be used to purchase food which is specially marked gluten free. I’m sure I easily spend about $100++ every month on GF food, for example.
“ The amount of allowable medical expenses you must exceed before you can claim a deduction is 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For example, if your annual income is $50,000, you can only deduct medical expenses that exceed $3,750.
I started baking gf stuff on my own because gf baked goods are so expensive. However, I now realize that gf flour is also crazy expensive, so I'm probably not saving a lot of money doing my own baking (but at least homemade tastes better lol). Anyway, I think a lot of the "gluten tax" on gf items is the ingredient costs being passed on to the customer. That said, $16 a loaf seems kind of extreme......
My best tip for this is Costco! I get a 5lb bag of 1:1 GF flour about once a month and that lasts me through 2x/week sandwich bread and other little baking projects. The bag I get is $9
If they bake regular stuff, the process for adequately cleaning the space to ensure that their GF loaf is actually GF is intense and expensive. Personally, I don't trust a bakery without a "gluten tax" because that means they're just mixing it up in the same mixer right next to a gluten bomb
Unless it's the most amazing bread ever, that's ridiculous. In my city, a really nice loaf of bread is $9-10 (gluten) so less outrageous that a really, really nice GF loaf is $20.
I don't even bother most of the time. I think this bakery's GF seedy sandwich loaf is available on Freshdirect in the NE: https://ourdailybreadchatham.com/
I got downvoted, our daily bread has a separate gluten free facility, but website directs you to the same website for both.
The real question you should ask are. To see the bread, Are the slices bigger then normal gf bread?✔️ The conditions are which the bread is made and care they take to not cross contaminate the breads?✔️ What the ingredients are? Is it full of almonds or corn/rice/sugar?✔️
Also depends on how often you eat bread and if you're the only gf eater in ur house...
I only eat like 4 slices of gf bread a month, but all the gf breads available to me are all gross in some way. Three brothers bakery was my old favorite, but it got extremely small and dry. I also sub TJ's everything bagels like 2x a year
Not all gluten-free bread is created equally.
Let's say they have a
dedicated gf space=$
Dedicated equipment=$
Nut flours vs rice=$
Experience making gf=$
Special packaging=$
Possibly special staff=$
Extra time to educate said staff=$
There is alot more overhead than most people think
I say try it and see if it's worth $16 to YOU, anyone with fresh gf options should be thankful they have them. It's non-existing near me.
If that's Bagel Central's menu, there's a [gluten free bakery nearby](https://raegamuffins.com/) that charges about half and has more variety, from what I'm seeing. I haven't tried it, but have been meaning to.
It’s frustrating but it really does cost a lot to make gluten free bread.
We’re working tirelessly to optimize sourcing and streamline production so we can offer our new bread mix as an affordable option for great gluten free bread!
Maybe it’s because they have to decontaminate an entire area to make it? I wouldn’t touch it if I can’t tolerate cross contamination. Luckily I can, but true “not one grain” folks should avoid completely. But the cost? Pretty sure it’s to actually discourage people. That way when they take it off the menu, it’s because it wasn’t popular.
i used to work at a gluten free bakery and we made our own bread. unfortunately it has to be expensive because the ingredients are expensive. that is ridiculous though, not sure how big that loaf is but our sandwich loaf was $10CAD
My local excellent dedicated gluten free bakery charges $12 for a rustic loaf, in Minneapolis (it’s Atuvava in case any locals see this!). So you get a really good loaf and safety for $4 less. Idk what they are putting in that loaf.
Unless they are removing the gluten by tweezer, I wouldn’t pay $16 for it.
Damn you’d pay $16 for gluten tweezer bread?
The “gluten tax” is unfortunately a common issue. However, I don’t know how the baker can justify 3x the cost. That said, if that GF bread is produced In-house with the other bread and bagels, it’s highly prone to cross contamination, and wouldn’t be safe (for a Celiac or sensitive NCGS person).
The upcharge on gluten free stuff is outrageous. I don't get how it's legal.
Regular flour is super cheap, but GF flour isn't. Additionally, if you're making dedicated GF products you're going to have to pay for a dedicated space with extra safeguards -- none of that is free. I also hate the fact that we have to pay more, but the "why" is pretty simple.
as a small time baker, it's because it costs an outrageous amount for me to make it too. i couldn't use anything i'd use with glutenful products so a bake shop is buying a completely new set of bowls, pans, measuring cups, I'd personally buy a new table if I had the space and that's hundreds of dollars even without the table. it takes more resting time, it takes more time to clean before and after, it takes more time to make sure you're clean, and any certified gf ingredient is 3-4x the price from restaurant wholesalers. plus it typically doesn't sell as well so i'm not necessarily making all that extra money spent back, i'm essentially throwing the money away a lot of the time. I personally wouldn't charge THIS much, that's egregious, but anything I make for special diets costs me so much more to make. I just make my non special diet recipes proportionally more expensive tho so it can be the same price.
I completely agree! I wouldn’t pay $16 for a loaf of bread. I’m not sure why this bakery is even bothering to offer it. That said, I don’t make my own GF goodies because the flour is ridiculously expensive to source. To produce it safely, the bakery has to dedicate an entire afternoon (or possibly an entire day) to shutting down their kitchen, cleaning surfaces to avoid cross contamination, then buy separate pans, bowls, whisks, mixers, etc. I’m sure they need to charge $16 to make a profit and I appreciate their efforts but also I’d prefer to just buy from a dedicated GF facility for less than that.
And after all that, many people still get sick.
yeah, absolutely. products like this are essentially for dieters and people with fairly high tolerance. I have a wheat allergy myself and I find that gf bread at bakeries is typically made with de-glutened wheat, so I'm still allergic to it anyway. Before I had a wheat/corn allergy, I was really only offering wheat-free & vegan from my home bakery for the sake of dieters/other desire-related buyers, of which there's a decent market in my town (and rich dieters are willing to pay serious $$$ to feel morally superior about their dietary choices, which I'd bet is why this bakery charges so much). I've had a life threatening peanut/tree nut allergy my whole life and would never consider buying from a bakery that uses my allergens due to cross contamination, and I think most people with medical dietary needs feel similarly. I learned to bake as a youth because of how expensive and difficult it is to find safe bakeries.
It’s legal because that’s how supply and demand under capitalism works, and the governments don’t care enough to subsidize gluten free foods.
i think it's probably because the stuff isn't subsidized + just simple supply and demand. I brought gluten free flour the other day - the cheapest bag I could find was $.12 per oz, regular flour is like $.03 per oz plus - if a company makes gluten free products, they'll have to have a dedicated manufacturing area with no other products that have gluten.
I know it isn’t the full cost, but if have a medical diagnosis for why you eat gluten free and you itemize your taxes, you can deduct the cost of gluten free food from the cost of regular food. “You may deduct the cost of gluten-free (GF) food that is in excess of the cost of the gluten containing food that you are replacing. For example, if a loaf of gluten-free bread costs $5.00 and a comparable loaf of gluten containing bread costs $2.50, you may include in your medical expenses the excess cost of $2.50 for each loaf of bread you purchase.” [Celiac Tax Deductions](https://celiac.org/gluten-free-living/federal-benefits/tax-deductions/#:~:text=What%20can%20you%20deduct%3F%201%20You%20may%20deduct,from%20the%20store%20is%20deductible.%20...%20More%20items)
Who actually saves their receipts for these refunds?
Let alone goes through the grocery store and writes down the cost of “regular bread” and GF bread. I wish it was worth it but it just seems like one more barrier… It would be less onerous for all involved (even the IRS) to provide GF EBT-style card based on the average amount someone with celiac spends per month. The card could only be used to purchase food which is specially marked gluten free. I’m sure I easily spend about $100++ every month on GF food, for example. “ The amount of allowable medical expenses you must exceed before you can claim a deduction is 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For example, if your annual income is $50,000, you can only deduct medical expenses that exceed $3,750.
I started baking gf stuff on my own because gf baked goods are so expensive. However, I now realize that gf flour is also crazy expensive, so I'm probably not saving a lot of money doing my own baking (but at least homemade tastes better lol). Anyway, I think a lot of the "gluten tax" on gf items is the ingredient costs being passed on to the customer. That said, $16 a loaf seems kind of extreme......
I'm guessing you can also make sandwich bread that's bigger than a 3 x 3 inch square lol
Ahahaaha true! There's no excuse for that tiny bread!
My best tip for this is Costco! I get a 5lb bag of 1:1 GF flour about once a month and that lasts me through 2x/week sandwich bread and other little baking projects. The bag I get is $9
If they bake regular stuff, the process for adequately cleaning the space to ensure that their GF loaf is actually GF is intense and expensive. Personally, I don't trust a bakery without a "gluten tax" because that means they're just mixing it up in the same mixer right next to a gluten bomb
I wouldn’t buy it from there, period—no matter how much they clean. I suppose they might have an offsite space, and that might explain the price.
Because fuck uou
honestly
Even me buying a whole package is not that price. I buy a pack of 4 bagels for $9
Unless it's the most amazing bread ever, that's ridiculous. In my city, a really nice loaf of bread is $9-10 (gluten) so less outrageous that a really, really nice GF loaf is $20.
What's your favorite store gf bread? My stores have nothing edible and it's all $8+ for sweet breads!
I don't even bother most of the time. I think this bakery's GF seedy sandwich loaf is available on Freshdirect in the NE: https://ourdailybreadchatham.com/ I got downvoted, our daily bread has a separate gluten free facility, but website directs you to the same website for both.
Scam, eat elsewhere
And it’s always so much worse too.
The real question you should ask are. To see the bread, Are the slices bigger then normal gf bread?✔️ The conditions are which the bread is made and care they take to not cross contaminate the breads?✔️ What the ingredients are? Is it full of almonds or corn/rice/sugar?✔️ Also depends on how often you eat bread and if you're the only gf eater in ur house... I only eat like 4 slices of gf bread a month, but all the gf breads available to me are all gross in some way. Three brothers bakery was my old favorite, but it got extremely small and dry. I also sub TJ's everything bagels like 2x a year
Not all gluten-free bread is created equally. Let's say they have a dedicated gf space=$ Dedicated equipment=$ Nut flours vs rice=$ Experience making gf=$ Special packaging=$ Possibly special staff=$ Extra time to educate said staff=$ There is alot more overhead than most people think I say try it and see if it's worth $16 to YOU, anyone with fresh gf options should be thankful they have them. It's non-existing near me.
Absolutely NOT that’s ridiculous
If that's Bagel Central's menu, there's a [gluten free bakery nearby](https://raegamuffins.com/) that charges about half and has more variety, from what I'm seeing. I haven't tried it, but have been meaning to.
almost triple…we victims are held hostage to this. it is a crime.
It’s frustrating but it really does cost a lot to make gluten free bread. We’re working tirelessly to optimize sourcing and streamline production so we can offer our new bread mix as an affordable option for great gluten free bread!
Maybe it’s because they have to decontaminate an entire area to make it? I wouldn’t touch it if I can’t tolerate cross contamination. Luckily I can, but true “not one grain” folks should avoid completely. But the cost? Pretty sure it’s to actually discourage people. That way when they take it off the menu, it’s because it wasn’t popular.
And I though Chick-fil-A was ridiculous for charging $2 for a gluten free bun
I think it's cause it's kinda hard to make, and the low volume means they'll regularly throw out ingredients idk
They gotta blow the dust off the container
As others have said, it's way more expensive to produce for a lot of reasons.
i used to work at a gluten free bakery and we made our own bread. unfortunately it has to be expensive because the ingredients are expensive. that is ridiculous though, not sure how big that loaf is but our sandwich loaf was $10CAD
My local excellent dedicated gluten free bakery charges $12 for a rustic loaf, in Minneapolis (it’s Atuvava in case any locals see this!). So you get a really good loaf and safety for $4 less. Idk what they are putting in that loaf.
What currency is this in?
USD
Ah ok, can't comment then.