Dave’s Killer Bread

It’s always a remarkable achievement when anyone manages to pull themselves away from a life of drugs and crime. But it’s even more of a feat when a person manages to do so after multiple prison terms, the longest for 15 years. Dave Dahl’s life was a mess (to put it mildly), but he somehow turned himself around and now, as part of a family venture, bakes bread—Dave’s Killer Bread, to be precise.

The company’s motto, “Just say no to bread on drugs!” is purposely ironic, of course, but the bakers are quite serious about not using any artificial flavors or preservatives or corn syrups in their products. What they do use are lots of organic whole grains (these breads are certified organic), sweeteners like organic molasses or organic cane juice, yeast, salt, water, organic expeller-pressed canola oil, and not a heck of a lot else. The breads are vegan-friendly, too; they contain no animal products.

Good Seed Flourless Sprouted Wheat Bread, Killer Nuts & Grains Bread & Killer Blues Bread.

Dave’s Killer 21 Whole Grains Bread, Good Seed Bread & Rockin Rye.

Freshly baked killer bread.

But don’t get the idea that Dave’s Killer Bread is just about popular, health-based catch phrases. There’s some seriously good flavor and lots of texture going on here, too. I love the Cracked Wheat, a true whole wheat bread with just the right amount of chewiness from those wheat kernels. If you like more different kinds of grains, try the 21 Whole Grains Bread (yes, twentyone!), with everything from quinoa to black sesame seeds to pumpkin seeds in a whole wheat base. There’s Spelt Bread, Sprouted Wheat Bread, even a Rockin’ Rye with caraway seeds.

Dave Dahl.

Dave’s Killer Bread has a retail shop (The Healthy Bread Store) in Milwaukie, Oregon, and these breads can be found on retail shelves in six western states as of this writing. However, if you live elsewhere in the US, you can have this bread shipped to you. Dave’s also uses bread bags made from a material known as “oxo-biodegradable” plastic. This means that, in favorable conditions (the ideal being aerobic landfills), the plastic will degrade into biomass without producing any hazardous by-products in about 18 months. It’s not a perfect solution, but definitely better than conventional plastic bags. Read about that, browse the various breads, and see Dave’s fantastic story on the website.