My solution to goopy GF sandwich bread

Udi's and Rudi's sandwich bread tastes pretty good. I haven't made bread from scratch in my entire life (well, there were those times as a little kid when I'd assist my dad, who'd start at 9 pm and we'd be up until 2 am kneading, etc, and then the crust was so, well, crusty, that I'd dig a couple of soft bites out of the middle then go to bed a little disappointed, but that's another story), so my knowledge about how to make a decent GF bread is limited to what I've read on the subject since getting my diagnosis. From the limited baking I have done, I know that gluten provides a lot of the spongey texture and density of the baked good. As for Udi's and Rudi's breads, both are quite porous. I suppose this has something to do with the science of getting the bread to rise and be about the right size and consistency of regular bread while at the same time making it enjoyable to the pallette. And while I like the taste okay, I've decided I don't particularly like sandwiches made from them.
 
As a disclaimer, I need to note that I've never been that into bread. Lucky, I suppose, given my celiac diagnosis. I have eaten plenty of bread in my life, but even pre-diagnosis, most sandwiches I have consumed in my life were all about maximizing convenience and portability. Most sandwiches I have constructed I made in advance for later enjoyment, since I don't reach for a sandwich first when I can eat what I want when I want. For my weight management and good health strategy, I try to stick with vegetables, beans, nuts and fruits as my go-to source. Sandwiches are handy when I have to bring a meal and packing my usual salad and fruit is impractical. My experience with both of these breads is that moist spreads such as jelly, nut butters, hummus, mustard, etc ooze to the outside of the sandwich, robbing it of its convenience as an easy, unmessy portable food option. With a goopy sandwich, I don't set it down because my hands get so messy, and I find that I eat it really fast to minimize the amount of lunch that will end up falling on my pants. Bolting my food is unsatisfying and it makes me feel kind of yucky physically.

Still, having a sandwich option is important. On recent travels, I tried several gf tortillas. Both corn and rice tortillas were kind of brittle and spreads escaped from their confines almost as much as the gf breads.

And then I found the solution. Udi's Bagels! These days, I keep a bag of them in the freezer and thaw them one at a time for my sandwich needs. Once thawed, I toast it one half at a time using my toaster sleeve that Jenn got me from some on-line promotion (Thanks Jenn!)*. Then I add whatever sandwich fixins that I want or have on hand. The bagels are chewy like regular bagels, so toasting makes it more sandwich-friendly so that the contents don't squeeze out upon biting down. Voila! A real sandwich experience that doesn't feel like a compromise and which doesn't require a fistful of napkins or wet wipes.

A couple of notes of caution: 1) an Udi's plain bagel has a whopping 280 calories all by itself, so for me it's a real splurge. 2) A bag of 4 bagels costs more than $5, which is also a splurge.

* We have only one toaster. Since I'm not that into bread and our kitchen is small, when we made our kitchen modifications to accommodate my celiac status, we decided that I could make due with toasting in the oven or eating my bread untoasted. The toaster sleeve is a perfect solution for me at home, and I've packed it on vacations too, where being able to make a sandwich is even more important.