Some time ago I lamented the lack of decent gluten free wraps on the market. Whilst I enjoy the traditional corny vibes of the traditional Mexican style wraps from Mex Grocer and Cool Chile Co. for my tacos, neither quite fit the bill for my packed lunch.

It seems I was not the only one, as less than one short year later, not one, but two new products have appeared on the high street! I’m sure you’ve heard all sorts of glowing reviews about the square wraps from first-to-market Newburn Bakehouse, and the multigrain ones from plucky BFree (which I won in a competition). But if you’re going to part with your hard earned pennies, what you really want to know is which is the best wrap on the market, right? It’s time for one of our trademark scientific (ahem) tests using all of the important criteria!

Wrapability – will it, well, wrap?!
The square wraps caused my poor little brain some confusion – yes they were incredibly flexible (even surviving a weekend stuffed in my handbag – great packed lunch material), but which way should one wrap the wrap?! Along the long bit? Sideways? After some experimentation we are proud to present the optimal way to wrap a square wrap to avoid filling leakage – diagonally.

The patented GFreeB methodology for Newburn Bakehouse wraps (chilli chicken and coleslaw)

The NB wraps are eminently wrappable then, with no breakages. Pleasingly, due to the thickness they are also incredibly versatile – can be folded and toasted, or used as a pizza base.

The BFree wraps, were also nicely floppy. We were a little worried by the instructions that they are best heated as they need to survive my lunch box, but in practice they also wrapped well without heating, although there were slightly less robust than the NB wraps, and had a slight tear by lunchtime. Still good stuff though, they aren’t thick enough for pizza, but are just the right shape and size for quesadillas and would be perfect warmed up for fajitas.
Winner: It’s a close call, but Newburn Bakehouse wins due to extra versatility points.

Nomability – which is yummiest?
BFree wraps are very pleasant, and have a very slight savoury grainy, potatoey flavour. They pack in all kinds of different grains, so I wouldn’t expect anything less. They have a nice soft ‘chew’ to them; despite their thinness; which allows you to focus more on the fillings.

The Newburn Bakehouse wraps don’t taste of a great deal, but they are really satisfying and hearty, and don’t have that artificial or starchy after taste common of many gluten free products. This is a good thing – you don’t want the bread’s flavour to detract from what you put in it too much! This means they are a great base for both savoury and sweet fillings.
Winner: I really can’t put a hair between them – both good in different ways!

Lighter BFree wraps for lunch filled with turkey, cranberry & salad

Healthability – how many can I eat before I go pop?
For the health-concious (like me) there is a clear winner for this round – the much thinner, smaller BFree wraps are a weeny 99 calories each, whereas the thicker Newburn Bakehouse wraps are a whopping 216 calories. The BFree wraps also have the bonus of being free from dairy for those that don’t do moo. The bonus of the lower calorie count for the BFree wraps is that they are a more viable option for fajitas or enchiladas as they won’t fill you up too much.

However we realise that some people will view the calorie content in the opposite way – if they want a heartier lunch for example; they might just eat two of the BFree wraps anyway, so may as well go for a more satisfying Newburn Bakehouse wrap.
Because of this, we declare this round a draw.

Availability – can I buy them easily?
Newburn Bakehouse wraps are currently available in 500 branches of Tesco, or online via Dial a Chemist (although the delivery charges are somewhat high). The BFree wraps are stocked in 434 branches of Asda from June.

Newburn Bakehouse pips to the post based on national availability. Some people are still finding them tricky to get, but the good news is that both are freezable so when you do get them you can stock up! (Just keep them nice and flat when you freeze them, or they are difficult to get out again).
Winner: Newburn Bakehouse

Wrap-to-cash-ability – how much wrap do I get for my GF bucks?
This is a tricky one – how to fairly compare the price when you get double the amount of wraps with BFree, but the Newburn Bakehouse wraps are so much more substantial? We considered using our best GCSE maths to work out the area of the wraps and compare it to the price, but that wouldn’t account for the thickness! Instead we compared the grams you get in a packet per £ – it seemed only fair as we’ll probably eat the BFree ones two at a time!

Winner: Wow – that’s a close run-race, but BFree are a nose in front!

And the winner is…

Based on our very scientific methodology (cough), the overall winner is Newburn Bakehouse! That said, we would be very happy to be served either – we think Newburn Bakehouse make the best wraps for lunch, whereas the BFree wraps are more suitable for Mexican food, or the health-concious/dairy free buyer. It’s very exciting to have a choice, and a big round of applause to both for two great products.

Why not check out more Bread to Bread contests to find out which are the best Porridge Pots, Beers, Shortbreads and more!