A while ago I was shopping for protein bars, and saw something new. I'd seen television ads for Dave's Killer Bread before, and had even seen some of its loaves on the shelf. But I didn't know they also made bars. The label had some rather startling information about the Dave of the brand's name, saying he had an extensive criminal background. This was different enough, so I got a couple of them. I tried the oat-rageous honey almond organic snack bar, and the peanut butter chocolate chunk amped-up organic protein bar.
I often complain that the companies whose food and drinks I'm trying have little to no information about the business's histories, and founders. Sometimes it's not even included on the official company website, and I have to track it down elsewhere online. Well, Dave Dahl, who founded Dave's Killer Bread, is admirably forthright that he's an ex-con. (Although some of the finer criminal details were found elsewhere, to be sure.) So here's the history. In 1955 Jim and his wife Wanene Dahl bought the Midway Bakery, in Oregon. In 1984 Jim renamed it NatureBake. Evidently he was ahead of his time in some ways, such as experimenting with sprouted wheat bread, and using organic ingredients long before it was popular. In the interim, one of the Dahl's sons, Dave, had a troubled childhood, and troubled young adulthood. (I guess the rest of this paragraph should all be "allegedly," since I read it from sources other than the Dave's Killer Bread official website.) Born in 1963, Dave started using drugs as a teen, and became addicted. He was jailed in 1987 for burglarizing a home. A few years later, during a stint in Massachusetts, he again was convicted and incarcerated, this time for armed robbery. While in prison, he received treatment for his drug addiction, and behaved well enough that he got an early release in about 2004. Dave, along with his nephew Shobi, went back to work for the family bakery in Oregon. In 2005 he developed a new kind of organic bread, which he started selling at the Portland Farmer's Market. Since it was so appreciated, he started his own company, calling it Dave's Killer Bread. The business prospered. So much so that when Dave sold the brand to Flower Foods in 2015, he got $275,000,000. By 2016 the bread was being sold in Mexico and Canada. Alas, Dave's brushes with the law were not over. In 2013 a friend called the police because Dave was having a mental health crisis. When they arrived he tried to flee, and rammed two cop cars, and then fought with the arresting officers. In 2014 he was found guilty except for insanity of two counts of assault, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. Because he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he avoided jail because he agreed to be put under the supervision of the Psychiatric Security Review Board, and to avoid driving and going into bars. (Presumably if he avoids treatment or meds or whatever he would void the agreement and return to jail.) I also read that at some point in his life, perhaps the 1980's or 90's, he was convicted of drug distribution. But, fortunately, since this incident he appears to have cleaned himself up entirely. And I don't mean to be cruel--people sometimes change, and Dave certainly seems to have done so. And I used the title I did for sensationalistic purposes, since no source held that Dave really killed anyone. It's "Dave's Killer Bread," after all, not "Killer Dave's Bread." (And presumably the bread itself hasn't murdered anyone, either.)
So, that's more interesting and exciting than most founder's bios, isn't it? Not shockingly, given his personal history, Dave is more than willing to hire ex-cons at his company, in their Second Chance program. You can read the histories of many of these employees on the official website. Other products made by Dave's Killer Bread include, not shockingly, several kinds of bread, such as "21 whole grains and seeds," "white bread done right," and "100% whole wheat". Many of these are also sold in a thin slice version. Furthermore, the brand also markets various kinds of bagels, English muffins, burger buns, sandwich rolls, and snack bites. Alternate flavors of the protein/snack bars include cocoa brownie blitz, trail mix crumble, amped-up chocolate coconut, and amped-up blueberry almond butter. All of the Dave's products lack GMOs, and all but some of the snack bites are vegan-appropriate. But all have gluten.
Dave's Killer Bread oatrageous honey almond organic snack bar: It was square, about 2.25 inches by 2.25 inches (or about 5.5 cm. by 5.5 cm), and was a light brown color. The outer appearance was rough and there was a slight oat-y odor. It had a dense, chewy texture. It did taste oat-y. But it wasn't very sweet. I couldn't really detect the almonds, or the honey. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't that good. It was bland, and too tame.
Dave's Killer Bread peanut butter chocolate chunk amped-up organic protein bar: This one was the same size and shape as the other one. It also had a rough appearance, this time with visible chocolate chunks. The smell was like peanut butter, slightly. Once again, the texture was dense and chewy. And also once again, the flavor was lacking--it didn't have a very strong taste. I usually enjoy peanut butter and chocolate combos, but this one was bland. So also disappointing.
Overall I was quite underwhelmed by these bars, and wouldn't recommend them. But, to be fair, I didn't try Dave's specialty, which of course is bread. I'll try to scare up a loaf, and report back on it.
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