Thai Bread

[saintdomingo]

Anyone got any knowledge or opinions on whole wheat bread in Thailand. I am assuming it is whole wheat and not just colouring. Both the mass produced brands in 7 are OK for sandwiches but Cubic wheat meal at 69 baht for 9 or 10 slices is very very nice just with plenty of butter on. (I have to walk to maxvalu for this) There is a lot of choice now in 7, I've recently tried pumpkin bread and quinoa both good.

[Keeps]

I bought Royal brand (green colour bag) whole-wheat bread in lotus the other day. 5 very thick slices. Think it was 40 baht. It's ok for toast and not too sweet. They also had a 12 seed variety which I'll try next time.

[Cameroni]

The key is to check the sugar content. It should be low.

[saintdomingo]

12 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

The key is to check the sugar content. It should be low.

A few years ago I checked a Tesco wholewheat loaf in Lotus and that had 4% sugar. Don't know if that was good or bad.

[Celsius]

19 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

The key is to check the sugar content. It should be low.

 

That Royal brand is stuffed with it

[Cameroni]

10 minutes ago, saintdomingo said:

A few years ago I checked a Tesco wholewheat loaf in Lotus and that had 4% sugar. Don't know if that was good or bad.

 

Sadly it's medium, most have that amount or higher. But there are very good brands that have 1% even. In the UK anyway.

[proton]

It's all rubbish in 7/11 only half decent stuff is in Tops, best at Villa market

[Jerzy Swirski]

I cannot stand the over sweet bread that is sold in Thailand.

Get yourself a bread maker and have your bread exactly as you like it.

Once you have worked out the settings that are good for you,

the actual bread making is very simple. Even I can do it.

[Cameroni]

Or find a proper bakery, I get my bread from a French baker who makes bread better than in France.

[daveAustin]

23 minutes ago, proton said:

It's all rubbish in 7/11 only half decent stuff is in Tops, best at Villa market

Don’t know why you got a thumbs down because 7 breads are indeed crapola. That stuff never goes off. Bread is not one of Thailand’s strong points. 

[Cameroni]

2 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Don’t know why you got a thumbs down because 7 breads are indeed crapola. That stuff never goes off. Bread is not one of Thailand’s strong points. 

 

Or any Asian country's strong point. Japan and China make decent attempts, but there is only one bread superpower, and that is Germany.

[tomazbodner]

I usually get Maison Jean Philippe breads from Villa market. That's real bread, not whatever that stuff in Tops and 7-11 is...

 

Actually... This might be a good read for you, bread lover: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250704-sourdough-vs-white-sliced-which-breads-should-we-be-eating

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Also, the chain of farang-founded Holey bakeries in Bangkok have a range of gourmet sourdough breads, including a non-sweet wholewheat version that's quite good.

 

They sell their wholewheat sourdough loaves in their shops and via Grab delivery, with the latter running about 100b per loaf. It's one of our regular purchases for home consumption and tastes great!

 

 

https://www.holeybakery.cafe/

 

Their Phed Mak Mak sourdough at the bottom of the list above also is quite delicious, with its combination of sharp cheddar and jalapenos blended in.

 

[josephbloggs]

36 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Also, the chain of farang-founded Holey bakeries in Bangkok have a range of gourmet sourdough breads, including a non-sweet wholewheat version that's quite good.

 

They sell their wholewheat sourdough loaves in their shops and via Grab delivery, with the latter running about 100b per loaf. It's one of our regular purchases for home consumption and tastes great!

 

 

https://www.holeybakery.cafe/

 

Their Phed Mak Mak sourdough at the bottom of the list above also is quite delicious, with its combination of sharp cheddar and jalapenos blended in.

 

Holey is pretty good, yeah.

For me by far the best bread I've had in Thailand is Bartels. Not the cheapest but absolutely unbelievable sourdough. Their sandwiches are incredible, packed full. Their Sriracha chicken sandwich is possibly the best sandwich I've ever had.  https://www.bartelsthailand.com/#OUR-BREAD

And Conkey's Bakery off Ekkamai is also superb. He also supplies many hotels and restaurants.  https://g.co/kgs/YxMgxVz

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

For me by far the best bread I've had in Thailand is Bartels. Not the cheapest but absolutely unbelievable sourdough.  https://www.bartelsthailand.com/#OUR-BREAD

 

Yep, Bartel's regular sourdough is terrific, both sold in whole loaves and used as slices on their equally good sandwiches.

 

Unfortunately, while they also make a wholewheat version of their sourdough, it's pretty hard to come by, AFAIK, unless you order it or get to one of their shops relatively early in the day.

 

It's also considerably more expensive than Holey's version at about 250 baht per loaf, which also is actually a mix of rye and whole wheat flours.

 

Last time I talked to them on the subject, Bartels doesn't make their wholewheat sourdough readily available as an alternate bread choice for their sandwiches, even upon request...

 

And, while they do make and sell full loaves of their wholewheat/rye sourdough, those are only in pretty small numbers each day, meaning they're often gone relatively quickly.

 

[josephbloggs]

7 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Yep, Bartel's regular sourdough is terrific, both sold in whole loaves and used as slices on their equally good sandwiches.

 

Unfortunately, while they also make a wholewheat version of their sourdough, it's pretty hard to come by, AFAIK.

 

Last time I talked to them on the subject, Bartels doesn't make their wholewheat sourdough readily available as an alternate bread choice for their sandwiches, even upon request...

 

And, while they do make and sell full loaves of their wholewheat sourdough, those are only in pretty small numbers each day, meaning they're often gone relatively early in the day.

 

Ah yes, good point. I got a bit excited and overlooked that the OP was specifically asking about wholewheat.

Still, at least I know what I'm ordering for my lunch tomorrow....

[KhunLA]

Too simple to make your own, and don't even need any special tools or machines.

[it is what it is]

 

if only thailand had been colonised by france, the coffee... the bakeries... the city planning...

[saintdomingo]

Thanks for all the interesting responses. Not been in Bartels for a while so it's due another call. Holeys and Conkeys are new to me so I'll look them up and try them next week. Not ate much UK white bread for many decades, it tasted like a mixture of cardboard and sawdust once you've tried the alternative.

[tomazbodner]

8 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Holey is pretty good, yeah.

I know now you're going to call me nuts but ... long, long time ago (that means before COVID) I used to take Air Asia to Penang in the morning, go to Yin's Sourdough bakery for breakfast, had her pack up my freshly baked sourdough bread, went to whatever that mall is at Komtar, picked up the bag, and returned to airport for evening flight back to Bangkok.

 

It was Yin who told me of her colleague, schoolmate at San Francisco who opened Holey bakery at Sukhumvit that I should try out. I did, but compared to Yin, which I haven't visited in 5+ years now, Holey wasn't on the same level, and it was considerably more expensive.

 

Haven't been to either of them in ages now, but the Holey's building design with ... well, holes... is certainly interesting. Thank you for reminding me of Holey. Time to check it out again, as a lot can change in pandemic. I'm happy it's still around.

[ricklev]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Also, the chain of farang-founded Holey bakeries in Bangkok have a range of gourmet sourdough breads, including a non-sweet wholewheat version that's quite good.

 

They sell their wholewheat sourdough loaves in their shops and via Grab delivery, with the latter running about 100b per loaf. It's one of our regular purchases for home consumption and tastes great!

 

 

https://www.holeybakery.cafe/

 

Their Phed Mak Mak sourdough at the bottom of the list above also is quite delicious, with its combination of sharp cheddar and jalapenos blended in.

 

Lineman delivery has had a special of 70 baht for the whole wheat loaf for a few weeks now.  Cheap delivery for me also, although it depends where you live.  

[KhunBENQ]

10 hours ago, Cameroni said:

Or find a proper bakery, I get my bread from a French baker who makes bread better than in France.

Sure that would be best.

The OP doesn't mention his location.

[ricklev]

9 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

I usually get Maison Jean Philippe breads from Villa market. That's real bread, not whatever that stuff in Tops and 7-11 is...

 

Actually... This might be a good read for you, bread lover: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250704-sourdough-vs-white-sliced-which-breads-should-we-be-eating

 

 

The long use by shelf life listed on some of the Maison Jean Philippe breads made me wonder if preservatives and dough conditioners are part of their mix. They have turned into a pretty commercial bakery and are available at all the supermarkets.  I would be happy to be told I am wrong...

[MarkBR]

Larder bakery in Phrom Phong has very nice bread - sourdough & rye

[lamyai3]

10 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

I usually get Maison Jean Philippe breads from Villa market. That's real bread, not whatever that stuff in Tops and 7-11 is...

 

I like their cereal sourdough. Villa's in house brand The Gastro does some inexpensive wholegrain & bavarian type options too. 

[VR333]

For something available in Greater Bangkok supermarkets, Cubic is the brand I buy. About five varieties, but I mainly buy the 19 Grains loaf.

 

When I first saw them years ago in Aeon, there were lots on display, but they can't have been very popular, as it was always 50% off with a few days until the use-by date.

Nowadays, my local MaxValu only stocks a few varieties and stock levels are low.

[tomazbodner]

27 minutes ago, ricklev said:

The long use by shelf life listed on some of the Maison Jean Philippe breads made me wonder if preservatives and dough conditioners are part of their mix. They have turned into a pretty commercial bakery and are available at all the supermarkets.  I would be happy to be told I am wrong...

I would not know. The sliced bread from them is available in many places so maybe that's the case for these, but for sourdough, my closest Villa markets only have it in deep frozen 2 packs. It defrosts well at low power microwave - the whole baguette would be about 8 min at 100W. To get it fresh I'd need to go to Sukhumvit 23, and to make trip worth I'd buy more than I need and end up freezing the rest anyway, so this is convenient enough.

[bubblegum]

Our Big C has it's  own bakery, very good bread. Surin Town

[hotandsticky]

28 minutes ago, bubblegum said:

Our Big C has it's  own bakery, very good bread. Surin Town

 

 

Too much sugar?

[Presnock]

12 hours ago, saintdomingo said:

Anyone got any knowledge or opinions on whole wheat bread in Thailand. I am assuming it is whole wheat and not just colouring. Both the mass produced brands in 7 are OK for sandwiches but Cubic wheat meal at 69 baht for 9 or 10 slices is very very nice just with plenty of butter on. (I have to walk to maxvalu for this) There is a lot of choice now in 7, I've recently tried pumpkin bread and quinoa both good.

RimPing has a bakery, at which they make various sourdough breads as well as whole grain breads.  Those that I have sampled to date are all great IMHO.   Having grown up on the breads of the US,  and having learned about the fake foods we have been experincing for years, I am pleasantly surprised to find these bakeries in Thailand both in Bangkok and Chiang Mai that actually are baking supposedly healthy breads of various types.  I have been so surprised that I haven't even checked to see what I am paying for those breads.  As a reminder, they will slice the loaves at whatever thickness you want, then if you are not going to eat the entire loaf in a short period of time, you can freezed sour dough bread which will retain all for 3 months as you continue to thaw slices that you plan to use that particular day.  Best of luck to all.

and Good health too.