Low carb foods are all the go at the moment. Whether you’re following a “keto” diet, a low carb program or just want to reduce your carbs, bread is the one food that most people find hard to live without. That’s why we’re taking a look at this "85% Lower Carb" bread.

Can’t give up your morning slice of toast?

You’re not alone. A slice of toast with a spread of peanut butter, cheese or yeast spread and a cup of tea or coffee form the basis of many Australian breakfasts. For those wanting to reduce their carbohydrate intake, it poses a problem. Most breads have around 17 g of carbohydrate per slice and even Helga’s Lower Carb bread which Catherine reviewed here has 9.7 g per slice. That’s where this Baker’s Life loaf comes into its own. It’s an ALDI-only brand and often hard to find but it only has a tiny 2.5 g per slice.

With a tiny 2.5g  of carbs per slice  and a GI of only 24, ALDI's Baker's Life 85% Lower Carb bread is great for those looking to reduce their carb intake. 

How do they do it?

This loaf is packed with heaps of seeds, and soy and lupin protein (we reviewed lupin flakes here) and fibre from wheat bran and apple fibre. And the slices are smaller than your average loaf. So each slices weighs only 46 g which is similar to a dense chewy grain bread but not as light as a thin smooth bread.

Ingredients

Nutrition Information Panel

Pros

• It has 55 per cent more fibre than most bread and
• 50 per cent less sugar
• Low GI  of 24, way less than most breads at 40 to 70
• It has more protein than many breads which makes you feel full for longer. In fact, two slices contain 47 per cent of the Percentage Daily Intake
• 5 Health Star Rating
• It is filling and makes you chew which is good for your digestion
• Costs $4.99 a loaf which is comparable with other grainy breads
• It contains no GMO ingredients as per Aldi’s Policy which states “No Genetically Modified Ingredients. Quite simply, if a product needs to be labelled as genetically modified, it will not be sold in our stores.” 

Cons

• It’s tricky to toast. Many low carb breads are and some don’t go brown at all. This one does, but the margin for error between nice and brown- and-burnt (not so nice) is small
• It’s only available in one supermarket chain and it’s very popular - so it’s not always in stock
• It contains soy which many people are wary of

• 42 per cent of the ingredients come from overseas so increased air miles. 

The bottom line

I enjoy eating this bread both as bread and as toast and so does my husband. We find it filling and usually only have one slice as toast for breakfast. The presence of so much soy worries me slightly but as I only have one or two slices per day I’m prepared to accept that for the other positive pay-offs.

   Thanks to Munaiba Khan, a retired Naturopath with an interest in nutrition for this snapshot.