I’m an Avid Baker and I Tried WildGrain – How Did It Go?

If you’re new here, it’s important to know that I’m passionate about cooking from scratch and always advocate shopping locally. I wanted to try a WildGrain box to see if was really worth the cost. I’m breaking down the entire experience in this WildGrain box review!

First of all, I want to be clear that I received this box free of charge as an affiliate of WildGrain. They offered to ship me a box to see what I thought and I decided it was worth trying!

WildGrain isn’t just regular grocery store bread

If you’re wondering what’s so special about getting a box of bread to your door, it’s important to clarify that the WildGrain subscription box isn’t just any old bread.

WildGrain prides itself on offering artisanal products, including a variety of different loaves of sourdough bread that undergo a fermentation process to reduce the gluten. Every item is made with 100% organic flour.

This is real sourdough, and I say that as a sourdough baker.

WildGrain sells the sort of bread I can normally only find at a local bakery or the farmers market. That’s because they actually source their products directly from the best small-batch bakers and pasta makers in the country.

If you’re a really strong and experienced baker, you might be able to make products like these at home, but most average bakers would struggle to make perfect croissants or artisanal bread loaves like those from WildGrain.

I love to bake from scratch and am a strong sourdough baker, but often do not have the time or energy to prepare the types of loaves WildGrain sells. These take days of fermenting and proofing before baking, and buying the same type of product at the farmer’s market is really expensive!

The best part about WildGrain that makes it so incredibly easy to use

My favorite thing about WildGrain is that every item is shipped to you unbaked and you bake them directly from your freezer.

Before I received my first WildGrain box, I didn’t quite understand that. I assumed I’d have to find the time to thaw the bread and then bake it.

WildGrain is actually the first bake-from-frozen club out there, and this trait makes it incredibly easy to bake these products.

You literally crank up the oven and place a frozen loaf of bread directly on the middle rack. In about 25 minutes, you’ll have a perfectly baked loaf of slow-fermented bread without any mess or fuss.

WildGrain makes it easy to get real, artisanal bread baked in your own kitchen!

For example, my Mixed WildGrain Box included:

1. Sourdough bread
2. Sesame sourdough bread
3. Ciabatta
4. Apple Pie Bites
5. Tonarelli pasta
6. Fettuccine pasta
7. Free croissants

How are the WildGrain breads?

We tried the sesame sourdough bread loaf and the apple bites right away.

I didn’t think there was any chance the bread could be truly good baked from frozen, but it really was!

The crust was crunchy, and the bread inside was light, fluffy, and chewy, just like a good sourdough should be.

We baked the ciabatta and sourdough loaf before a party to serve with olives, hummus, dolmas, and fresh grapes and everyone asked if we baked them ourselves.

I mean, technically we did, right?!

They were delicious and had a lovely texture. We flew through the sourdough loaves, and I wish I had more of their bread in my freezer!

I will say that the bread definitely had a little char on the outside, like bread baked in a wood-fired oven. I really enjoyed that taste, and it paired well with every treat we tried it with.

How are WildGrain pastas?

We loved making fresh pasta during quarantine and have great memories of teaching my little niece how to crank the pasta machine.

But, like everyone, it’s hard to find the time to make real homemade pasta.

I had low expectations for the pasta, if I’m honest.

I didn’t see how this frozen hand-cut pasta would compare with my own homemade pasta or fresh pasta from the store.

We tried the Tonarelli right away in a simple bolognese recipe. I loved the texture and flavor so much!

My husband and I agreed that even though it was hard to tell by sight that it was different, you could tell right away by the texture and mouth-feel. Absolutely delicious!

In another box, I got a second pack of Tonnarelli pasta and used it to make this delicious one pot lemon ricotta pasta! The fresh pasta cooked so quickly and tasted amazing.

Did you like the pastries?

We don’t eat a lot of pastries, but we love apple pie and wanted to try the apple pie bites immediately.

On my blog, I have recipes for flaky pastry dough and a caramel apple galette, so we’re familiar with baking flaky, apple-y goodness from scratch.

I thought that the apple pie bites were good, but not amazing the way the other items were. The pastry was fine, but I thought the apple filling tasted sort of standard…

But this is coming from a lady who’s picky about the types of apples she bakes with, so take that into consideration.

For most people, they’d probably be great, but I thought the filling could use a little something extra.

The croissants were light and flaky, though. No complaints there!

Is the WildGrain bread box worth it?

After trying basically everything at this time, I’ve been able to stew on what I think of WildGrain for a while. Are the WildGrain boxes worth it?

Pros

• Excellent quality (this is real sourdough)
• Delicious bread that normally takes days to make
• Bake-from-frozen model is extremely easy
• Each item has a short ingredient list
• Have artisan bread on the table in 25 minutes
• Support a variety of small bakeries with one purchase
• Rotating seasonal menu
• Different treats every month
• Build your own box to get only the foods you want
• Easy to adjust delivery frequency
• Special offers for new customers
• Free shipping

Cons

• Pricing is closer to farmer’s market or bakery prices
• Not plastic-free (each item is packaged in plastic and my box was wrapped, too)
• Items ship from Massachusetts and may have a long journey to you

Personally, I typically recommend that people cook and bake from scratch to be able to stick to a tight food budget and minimize their waste.

With that said, WildGrain sells very high-quality foods, similar to those you’d make from scratch or source at an artisan bakery. Although you can make items like these yourself, many people do not have the time to do so.

Normally I recommend supporting local producers, but not everyone has producers or bakeries near them that offer slow-fermented breads and handmade pastas.

WildGrain makes it very easy for you to have fresh sourdough bread, real pasta, and handmade pastries literally any time you want them.

We received our box in the middle of a completely chaotic time when I was preparing for a huge vintage show and it was such a relief to have meal starters with high-quality ingredients waiting for me in my freezer.

We could have fresh loaves of bread at any moment and know that this homemade bread was made properly with good quality ingredients.

If you have a busy schedule or family, WildGrain is extremely convenient and will take one part of your to-do list off your plate.

🥐 Get free croissants for life with your first order!

Will I order WildGrain again?

I would love to order WildGrain again because I’ve enjoyed trying their assortment of sourdough bread and trying their products.

Their products are a stretch for our budget at the time and we are working on reducing the amount of bread we eat.

Fortunately, WildGrain products are truly the best quality of bread out there since lactofermentation process reduces the majority of gluten. I felt good eating this bread when other breads make me feel tired and sluggish.

I’d love to stock up for the holiday season when you always find yourself needing a last-minute treat or fresh bread for different events and parties.

Read more WildGrain reviews

Want to see what other people had to say? Check out these WildGrain box reviews from other folks!

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