Where to Buy Panini Bread: A Beginners’ Guide

The easiest way to notice Italian-style Panini sandwiches is by the aesthetic grill marks usually seared into the bread. These classic sandwiches are usually pressed between 2 hot grill plates that sear the bread while at the same time smooshing the ingredients inside into a ‘sort of union’ of melted-down deliciousness. Better yet, while there are lots of different ways to put a delicious Panini sandwich together, you will always find some combo of veggies, cheese, and meat placed between slices of bread. Delicious!

Is your mouth watering yet? I bet it is.

With that craving in mind, note that to achieve a Panini sandwich pro status (regardless of whether you own a Panini press or don’t), the first thing you’ll need to invest in is the best Panini bread. That’s what inspired me to create this detailed guide.

Since finding the best place to buy Panini bread is easier said than done, we’ll look at several ways you can go around this and only ensure you get top-notch stuff. The only thing you need to have in mind while picking a Panini bread is that ‘you should get the one that can take the heat (quite literally)’. Some bread types like ciabatta, baguettes, and focaccia are typically heartier than sourdough bread and will hold up better when grilled.

Without wasting any more of your time, let’s jump to the main section of the post and begin with the first place you can have Panini bread.

Over the last couple of years (six years, to be precise), I’ve been preparing my own bread from the comfort of my home. The fact I’ve done this for so long has helped me fall in love with the process, and at the end of the day, I always appreciate having fresh bread in my kitchen.

The first thing I love about making my own bread is the convenience. The recipe for preparing Panini bread is always accessible and basic, such that even some of the most yeast-shy among us will not have a hard time preparing a beautiful loaf every single time.

The second advantage is the healthfulness and tastiness of the bread you have made yourself. The best bread you will ever taste is the bread you’ve made yourself. This is, of course, unless you can afford to invest in authentic artisan-made loaves of bread every week. If you can, lucky you.

Anyway, in terms of freshness, flavor, and overall quality, bread made at home cannot be beaten. Top this off with the simple fact that you can easily tinker with different kinds of flours, incorporate extra ingredients like dried fruit or nuts, and basically cater to your taste and yours alone.

That said, just like everything, making your own bread does have its disadvantages, and the biggest one is the challenge of planning ahead. For instance, if you want a sandwich for lunch on Wednesday, you need to have baked the bread by Tuesday night, and this further implies that you needed to start it on Monday.

It’s pretty hard to think that ahead at all times. At times, you’ll flat out forget to prepare the dough, and that’s where the other options in this guide will come in handy.

If you opt to get your Panini bread from one of your local suppliers, you’re more likely to get that lovely artisan bread. In addition to that, taking this route shows that you’re the kind that supports local businesses and will also offer you a story you can share with your fellow cooking enthusiasts when asked where you get your bread from.

Now onto the downsides.

The most significant disadvantage is that this is a way more expensive solution. Although your local bakery might be scoring high on proximity, you have to keep in mind that it’s a small business, and things might go wrong soon. What if a shortage of power strikes or the batch of bread in the store goes sour? What will you do? If you’re used to the local bakery and have never learned how to prepare your own bread, then you will have no backup.

In addition to that, you will be missing out on the lovely smell of fresh-baked bread that fills your home when you visit a bakery to get bread whenever you need to prepare a Panini sandwich.

The good news is that even at the biggest baking firms, a considerable portion of the bread-making processes is still handled by actual humans. This includes improving or testing the bread and developing the recipes.

This ensures that all bread slices come out with the right crumb, crust, and texture. All those working in a big supplier’s bakery are also likely to be highly skilled bakers who get up early each morning to ensure you get your product in time.

This means that with this choice, you’ll not only get a broader selection of products and a higher quality of bread, but you’re also likely to benefit in other ways. These benefits include the security of high food safety standards, delivery, and the lowest risk of not getting at least one kind of bread you can use to make Panini sandwiches.

If you’re not familiar with Amazon Fresh, it’s a grocery delivery service you can take advantage of if you’re an Amazon Prime and Amazon Prime Student member in select cities. Note, though; just because you’re currently an Amazon Prime member doesn’t mean you automatically have access to the service. You’ll need to request or receive an invitation.

Anyway, once you’ve joined Amazon Fresh, you will have access to all kinds of fresh produce, including but not limited to all sorts of Panini bread. When you checkout after picking your preferred Panini bread, Amazon will ask you to choose a date and two-hour delivery window.

Amazon will then package the items you desire at an Amazon fulfillment center and send the product directly to your door. As you can see, Amazon Fresh is an excellent option if you treasure fresh products, or you are always in a hurry.

Note that you can also use the regular Amazon service to get your Panini bread. You just need to make sure that the estimated delivery time won’t be too long.

With lots of options to pick from, as shown above, you get to prioritize when you get to make your own Panini bread from the ground up and when you leave the task to the hands of professionals and invest in ready-made bread.

If you do not own a Panini maker, this guide on the best high-quality Panini sandwich makers should help you get started.