Churches Look For Alternatives To Glutinous Communion Breads

You’d think bread might have found sanctuary in churches from the gluten-free craze, but alas no. One Christian pastor was astonished to find that many in his congregation were abstaining from communion because of worries about gluten content of the communion breads and wafers. It’s not a big deal for most churches that can use various wheat substitutes, but it presents a tricky problem for Catholics: canon law requires communion bread to be made of wheat flour and water only. The enterprising Benedictine Sisters of Clyde, Mo., have had a solution for ten years, however: low-gluten – .01 percent or less – altar breads. Their customer base has grown over the decade from 200 to more than 6,000.