You don’t need a lab coat. Just flip the bag over and look for the “Contains: Milk” line. It’s usually in bold, like a confession. If you see words like “whey,” “casein,” “lactose,” or “milk solids,” that bread had a dairy encounter.
Here’s a funny anecdote: I once spent ten minutes in a grocery store aisle, comparing two identical-looking loaves. One was “artisan” and one was “store brand.” The artisan loaf had butter and milk powder. The store brand was just flour and water. The fancy one was a liar!
And don’t trust the “French bread” label automatically. Traditional French bread is legally not allowed to contain milk or fat in many places. But American “French bread”? It could be swimming in dairy. It’s like expecting a French person to be rude—sometimes they’re the nicest people in the room.
