We Tried 6 Aldi Breads And The Best One Tasted Just Like Homemade
Aldi is known among frugal shoppers for its range of affordable groceries. You won't find many of its brands at competing grocery stores, so they can be unfamiliar to some consumers. For a good introduction to the chain's bread offerings, Daily Meal ranked six Aldi breads from worst to best. Despite the impressive competition, our top selection was in a class of its own.
Aldi's Specially Selected Italian Bread Loaf lives up to its name, with a nearly ideal taste and texture. Opening the bag reveals a fresh smell, like it was recently packaged in the bakery. Although it is a nut-free bread, mild hints of nuttiness permeate the loaf, whether untoasted or toasted. (The oven does add a delightfully crisp texture.)
Our bread reviewer finds that Specially Selected Italian Bread Loaf is the closest shoppers can get to authentic Italian bread without visiting someone's nonna. It stands so far above other store-bought varieties that their entire family agrees it was more satisfying than the breads they typically eat.
Behind the baking of Aldi's award-winning bread
Aldi's Specially Selected Italian Bread Loaf is so good that it won a 2024 award for Product of the Year, thanks to what the announcement noted as "authentic small batch artisan methods, including extended natural fermentation and 100% traceable seeds from grain to loaf."
Natural fermentation is unusual for grocery store Italian breads, which often use commercial yeast for quicker production. The non-GMO bread is also free of artificial ingredients, and the packaging boasts that it's made with just three main ingredients: flour, water, and salt.
Specially Selected is a private label at Aldi, meaning it's the only store that carries this bread. Aldi developed the product line to offer shoppers certain higher quality products at lower price points. The line also includes an excellent Specially Selected Sourdough. Of course, longtime customers know that Wednesday is the best day to buy Aldi bread; That's usually when Aldi restocks bakery goods and other fresh items as well as limited-time-only Aldi Finds.