Shopping Tips: Kosher Bread

It ain't easy: I enjoy shopping for Kosher food. Finding an OU or a Triangle-K on a packaged product in supermarket is akin for me to finding a diamond in a forest. Kosher foods are not especially hard to find, though it can be daunting to locate some items. Bread, for one. Even if you are easing into kashrut, buying kosher bread is important because the kosher stamp guarantees that the bread contains no dairy ingredients, which are commonly added to breads in the U.S. The exception, of course, is bread that is certified kosher-dairy, a rarity that we have seen in one brand of Jewish rye and in Sun-Maid Raisin Bread. I may have an easier time than most, living as I do in an area served by King Sooper's, whose store-brand breads are often kosher. Especially welcome are their hot dog and hamburger buns, which are hard to find in kosher versions and in demand because the one kosher meat available almost everywhere is the hot dog. In addition, we stumbled across Baker's Inn breads, which are certified kosher, widely available, and higher end than you would expect to find in the Wonder Bread store where we first found them. If you can't find regular loaves of kosher bread, look for specialty breads that have kosher certification. I have run across bagels, pita, and tortillas that are certified kosher. (And I just realized I'm not sure whether these all constitute bread for ritual purposes, especially the tortillas. Something to ask the rabbi.) And of course, you can use matzot if you can't find anything else. Egg matzot for Shabbat. Schueller House