Gluten Free Travel Blog

Gluten Free Bakery and Cafe: How I Wish There Was a Place Like This Near Us!

If you haven't already, be sure to check out this month's Featured Review on GlutenFreeTravelSite. We showcase a relatively new and incredible 100% gluten free bakery cafe outside of Boston -- in Millis, Massachusetts to be exact. My mouth was watering reading the review when we first received it, and the pictures add to the torture. How I wish we had a place like this near where we live! 

Twist Bakery Cafe is not only gluten-free -- but their creaations are free of many other common allergens as well. But the owner, Kathryn Ernst, doesn't broadcast that...she wants Twist to appeal to everyone, not just people with special dietary restrictions. And from the sounds of it from this reviewer, the items are so tasty, you won't care what's in them -- or not in them! 

Twist has a huge selection of fresh-baked gluten-free treats -- as well as savory items and entrees for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Patrons have even been spotted leaving the cafe with huge "to-go" bags. 

Apparently, it's WELL worth the trip from Boston to this suburb -- just to visit Twist. Have you been? Do you live somewhere else with a similar bakery or cafe? Please share it with us by submitting a comment below! Let's help all these incredible entrepreneurs get the word out about their gluten-free offerings! 

Gluten Free Bakery in Columbus, Ohio is Raising Money for Expansion -- How YOU Can Help

Most of us think long and hard about the donations we make to worthy charitable causes, weighing various organizations against each other to determine who might benefit most from a donation. In leaner economic times like these, the decisions are even harder. Add that to the fact that many organizations are being forced to do more with less as donations don't come in quite as rapidly as they have during other, more prosperous, times. 

If you like to make donations to causes you believe in, then what better cause than a gluten-free bakery looking to purchase equipment to meet the growing demand for their GF products? Part of this expansion includes being abe to offer online ordering. The bakery is eban bakery, and even if you don't live near their location in Columbus, Ohio, perhaps you, too, will be able to experience their wonderful gluten-free breads and baked treats -- if they raise the money needed. 

eban bakery makes their gluten-free breads and baked goods using all natural and organic ingredients, which is something I've always look for when buying food -- gluten-free or not. 

Their goal is to raise $25,000 by April 26, but any amount pledged -- even as little as $1 -- gets them closer to their goal. (Make a pledge of $15 or more, and they'll send you some free GF cookies from their bakery!) So if you have a few extra dollars to spare, consider contributing via Kickstarter, a highly-trusted website changing lives by embracing small business ventures. Owners Eric Michael Braddock and Adrienne Novak, both professional chefs with a combined 40 years' experience between them, would be eternally grateful for any contribution and are offering some nice rewards for each donation level that they will ship their contributors. Rewards include some of their GF cookies, breads, and baked treats -- so spread the word to all your friends!

You can view a video that clarifies their intentions on their Kickstarter page. Gluten Free Travel Blog and GlutenFreeTravelSite have no affiliaton with eban bakery -- we just wanted to help them spread the word. With small contributions from many of us in the GF community, I'm hoping they can reach their goal. And I look forward to being able to order their wonderful GF products online at some point in the future! 

I'm Nuts About These Gluten-Free Cookies from Dolcetti!

I have to confess...I love anything made with nuts. Nut-crusted fish. nuts sprinkled in salads, nuts in quinoa, chocolate covered nuts...you name it.  And I love eating handfuls of nuts: cashews, pistachios, almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts. Fortunately, no one in our household has any (known) nut allergies! 

I'm particularly intrigued by using nut flours -- like almond flour -- in baked goods. Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix, which is our family's favorite gluten-free pancake mix, includes almond meal, which is probably one of the reasons we find it so delicious. Typically almond meal lends moistness and a subtle wonderful flavor to gluten-free baked goods -- and I like knowing I'm getting fiber and protein, too. So when I recently read about a new bakery called Dolcetti that offed a range of flourless gluten-free cookies inspired by an old Italian recipe using nut flour, I just had to try them. 

Dolcetti's artisan nut cookies are, in short, amazing. They're sold at a handful of places in the San Francisco Bay area, but fortunately for the rest of us, you can purchase them online (3-bag minimum order). 

These are small, two-bite cookies that don't make you feel guilty when you eat a few. And let me tell you, I lost count when I first tried them. I simply could not stop. My intention was to have just one of each variety, which quickly became two of each...and so on!

Our family tried their Almond, Pistachio, Hazelnut Chocolate, and Peanut Chocolate varieties. They were all incredibly moist, full of a range of interesting flavors, with just the right amount of sweetness. The only one we haven't tried yet is Macadamia Coconut (sounds great!) All varieties are made exclusively from nut flour that the company mills itself using fresh roasted California nuts. This is done without heating, and the processing doesn't require any added oils or fats. Beyond being gluten-free, they are also dairy-free and have no cholesterol, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients, no soy, and no trans fats. They are just pure ground nuts mixed with a few other all natural ingredients.

These are small cookies that are a really nice treat to keep on hand for when you just want a little something sweet, without too much guilt. At $7-$8 per bag, they aren't cheap...but again, they are so unique (true "artisan crafted" treats) and certainly healthier than your typical cookie. Plus, I just like the idea of supporting small businesses that serve the gluten-free community. So spread the word to your GF friends. Or better yet, send some Dolcetti cookies to someone special (GF or not!). A box of assorted flavors would make a wonderful gift for anyone. (They also have an amazing GF chocolate hazelnut pound-type cake/loaf that will be available to order by the end of the month.)

The company does a very nice job with presentation. The cookies come wrapped in cellophane bags with a label indicating the flavor. Each bag of cookies is 5 oz, which typically means 10-13 cookies. They're shipped via USPS to arrive within 24-48 hours after the baking process. And the cookies stay fresh for several weeks if resealed in a Ziploc-type bag at room temperature (or up to 6 months if frozen). 

Okay, all this writing about Dolcetti cookies has got me craving them...time to go pop one...or two...or three! 

Butterfly Bakery Offers Wonderful Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free Treats

I'd never heard of the Butterfly Bakery until recently, when they offered to send me some of their gluten-free goodies to try. 

Butterfly Bakery is a special bakery founded by Brenda Isaac in 1998 in Clifton, New Jersey. Her dream was to create sugar-free baked goods that her diabetic mother could enjoy. The company has since evolved to serve people on gluten-free diets as well. Brenda offers both a Sugar Free line of products and a Gluten Free line of products (and is working on a line that is BOTH gluten and sugar free!). 

The items we tried were the Gluten Free Wild Blueberry Mini Muffins, and the Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies. Both were quite delicious. The mini muffins tasted identical (in our opinion) to any "regular" blueberry mini muffins you might remember. And the oatmeal cookies were SO good...I can't quite put my finger on what I liked so much about them, but they had a really nice and unique texture and taste. A bit different from typical oatmeal raisin cookies, but perhaps even better. Brenda uses whole greain Teff flour in her gluten-free recipes, so you are not only getting a product that's great tasting and gluten-free, but healthy as well. Whole grain Teff flour is naturally sweet, light, and moist -- and full of potassium and fiber. It even has 14% more protein than wheat flour. 

I was reassured to find out that Butterfly Bakery designates a separate area of their faciltiy as "Gluten Free" to avoid the potential for cross contamination. 

If you happen to have any friends or family members that need "no sugar added" or "sugar free" products due to diabetes (or just a desire to reduce sugar in their diets), you may want to tell them about Butterfly Bakery. If their Sugar-Free and No-Added-Sugar lines are as good as their Gluten Free line, they're in for a treat. Unlike many other sugar-free baked goods that contain artificial sweeteners, Butterfly Bakery's Sugar-Free products contain milk-based lactitol as a sugar substitute. Apparently, it imparts a rich and creamy taste with no digestive side effects (it's even considered a "prebiotic" and has fewer calories per gram than sugar or other sugar substitutes). For their No Sugar Added line, they rely on fresh fruit nectars. Items in these lines include angel food cake, muffins, creme cakes, cookies, mini cupcakes, and "brownie nuggets."

Butterfly Bakery has certainly tapped a large market with the lauch of these lines...currently over 25.6 million people aged 20+ have diabetes in this country. If "doing good" while enjoying great products is your thing, you might want to try their adorable Sugar Free vanilla and chocolate Mini Cupcakes with pink icing. Butterfly Bakery donates the profits from this product to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for its efforts to find a cure for breast cancer. 

The Butterfly Bakery's products are currently available at specialty stores and select supermarkets like Dierburgs, Lunds, and Albertsons -- as well as on Amazon.com.You can also order directly from Butterfly Bakery. Items I'd like to try in the future include the Gluten Free Lemon Citrus Sliced Creme Cake, Espresso Sliced Creme Cake, and White Chocolate Coconut Cookies (yum!). 

Have YOU seen Butterfly Bakery's products in your local stores? If so, I'd love to know what you've tried...and how you've liked them. Hit the Comments button below and let us know what you think!

Gluten Free Expo in Washington, DC -- First Annual Show a Great Success

I had the opportunity to attend Washington, DC's Gluten-Free Expo last Friday at the Embassy Suites Convention Center hotel. It was a great success -- and an opportunity for me to meet new GF friends and re-connect with some old. Over 600 people attended this first-annual event, and proceeds went to the Celiac Disease Program at Children's National Medical Center.

Although I didn't have the opportunity to leave my own booth for very long, I did a quick lap through the hall of 60-or-so vendors, most of whom were sampling delicious sweet and savory gluten-free treats. Amie Valpone, of The Healthy Apple blog, was handing out samples of Rudi's delicious line of gluten-free breads. Glutino was also on-hand with samples of their new sandwich bread, which looks, smells, and tastes so much like "real" bread, you can definitely be fooled. 

Bloggers Diane of The Whole Gang and Bernice from Wheatless and Meatless were there, as were some of my favorite local baker Marion of Marion's Smart Delights bake shop and Maureen of One Dish Cuisine (FANTASTIC gluten-free crabcakes!).

In the booth beside me was Tonya's Gluten Free Kitchen, sampling their amazing gluten-free soft pretzels and pretzel bites (worthy of ballparks!). Other favorite food companies included Pamela's Products (whose Pancake and Baking mix our family ADORES) and Kettle Cuisine, with a line of high-quality gluten-free soups that are delicious, quick, and healthy. 

Wildfire Restaurant was sampling some new gluten-free items: cheese biscuits and chocolate pecan cookies, and Bella Monica was there with their delicious Artisan-syle gluten-free pizzas. Perhaps my favorite sampling experience, however, was Triple Oak Bakery, of Sperryville, VA. I'd been in touch with the owner, Brooke, recently but hadn't met her in person. Formerly a pastry chef at Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Flint Hill, Virginia, Brooke has nailed it when it comes to gluten-free baking. Really...probably the best GF baked goods I've had, and I've sampled A LOT. Her Smith Island Cake was addictive and like nothing else I've ever eaten. Her gluten-free cream puffs were to-die-for. She operates out of her retail bakery and also has some local distribution of her products and is trying to expand that distribution to shops and restaurants in the DC metro area. We would all benefit from that development! In the meantime, keep this bakery in mind for parties and special occasions.

And speaking of special occasions, I met a Stephanie Courtney, a lady specializing in Allergen Free Events in the DC and Baltimore areas. What a great service to keep in mind for help with big parties or events where some of the guests have special dietary needs!

Despite already being quite satiated from all the amazing gluten-free samples, I headed to the hotel's restaurant, Finn and Porter, for the "Globally Gluten Free" cocktail reception, featuring an amazing spread of Italian, Mexican, and other internationally-inspired gluten-free food. The presentation and taste of the food -- and the range of gluten-free options -- was incredible. Especially magnificent was the gluten-free cupcake display. Kudos goes to Executive Chef Aaron Flores, who is literally a legend within the gluten-free community.

My apologies for not including pictures with this post...my biggest regret was being so engrossed in conversations and tasting the food that I forgot to take photos!

Wonderful Gluten Free Bakery in Boston area

The products I've tried from Glutenus Minimus gluten-free bakery in Belmont, Massachusetts are fantastic -- whether you buy them pre-made, or buy one of their many pre-packaged mixes to make yourself. Their extensive line of products include cookies and squares, muffins, cupcakes/cakes, coffee cakes, loaves, and breads. 

They sell their baked goods and their mixes at their bakery in Belmont, and they also have their products available at area restaurants, bakeries, and markets. You can also order their mixes on their website. Special occasion cakes and cupcakes are available via special order, too.

We have tried their blueberry muffins, which were fantastic...very moist and tasted like "the real thing." The mini vanilla pound cake we purchased was also very flavorful with a good pound-cake texture. These products were indistinguishable from gluten-containing baked goods.

We purchased three gluten-free mixes to make at home: the Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake Mix (a top seller), the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and the Vanilla Cake Mix. 

The coffee cake was outstanding. I'd never made a gluten-free coffee cake before, and most of the pre-made ones we'd tasted weren't all that special. I definitely know why this is one of their best sellers. And it was SO easy to make (just add butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and what I like to call the "secret"  ingredient: sour cream (to make it moist). The coffee cake did not last long in our house! 

Next up was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, which I decided to try less than a week later...on Valentine's Day. My husband has always LOVED the huge cookie "pies" you can get at Mrs. Field's for special occasions. We hadn't had one in years, and I felt it was "cruel and unusual punishment" to bring one in house since our 8-year-old son (the family member with Celiac) wouldn't be able to have it. So I 
decided to make one on my own...using this mix from Glutenus Minimus.

I followed the directions on the box, adding butter, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate chips. Then I spread a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and formed a large heart with the dough. I was hoping the dough would hold its shape and not "spread" too much as it was cooked, turning my well-crafted heart into a big blob! I had to cook the cookie much longer than the directions for regular-sized cookies on the box, but it turned out great -- held its shape and all. Then I decorated it with some icing and a Valentine's message...Viola! Mrs. (Gluten-Free) Fields!

I have yet to make the Vanilla Cake Mix...I think our sweet tooths have been satisfied for a while!

If you live near Belmont, definitely check out Glutenus Minimus (just not on Sunday or Monday when they're closed!). Or, if you live outside the Boston area, try ordering some of their products online. They're easy and wonderfully tasty!

Gluuteny: A Wonderful Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Bakery in Pittsburgh

Our family traveled to Pittsburgh this past weekend. After seeing a brief review of Gluuteny gluten-free bakery on our sister website, GlutenFreeTravelSite, we decided we would have to make a stop there on our way in to town. So glad we did! It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday, and the woman working in the store at the time (Elizabeth) apologized for the lighter selection of baked goods, given the time of day. 

But we were still very pleased with the range of choices: brownies, iced sugar cookies, mini chocolate vanilla marbled bundt cakes, vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, huge Whoopie pies, gingerbread men, huge chocolate chip cookies, mini cinnamon swirl coffee cakes, pound cakes, pumpkin loaves, and lemon loaves. YUM!! What delicious-looking treats.

We seriously had to use discipline not to buy everything in the store. We finally settled on a few cupcakes, some muffins, the coffee cake, and a Whoopie pie. The great thing is that they sell the dry mixes for most of the items baked in the store, so we also bought a mix for the marbled bundt cake. (You can order these mixes, plus their cookies and croutons, to be shipped but not the other baked goods, which wouldn't be stable enough for shipping). 

Now I regret not buying more when we were there...but the problem was that we didn't have any place to freeze what we bought since we weren't going home until the next evening. Since they don't use preservatives in their baked goods (a good thing!), they might get a little dry after a day or two. But 
everything we had was AWESOME. I didn't get a taste of my kids' muffins or Whoopie Pie, but they seemed to enjoy them just fine! The coffee cake ranks among the best I've had, gluten-free or not, and the chocolate cake used for the cupcakes was delicious...perfect taste AND texture...you wouldn't even know it was gluten-free. The icing was a little sweet, but still very good.

I was chatting with my kids and husband, comparing the icing to a buttercream icing I like to make from scratch, and then remembered that Gluuteny's products are not only gluten-free but dairy free as well (the owner's daughter was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in 2005). Well, after thinking about the lack of wheat AND dairy in these treats, I became even MORE impressed! Incredible what some very talented bakers can do without wheat or dairy these days! I cannot wait to make the marbled bundt cake, and I'm looking forward to ordering more of their dry mixes to have at home. 

AND I'm seriously looking forward to our next trip to Pittsburgh so we can stop at Gluuteny. Neither the owner of the store or  the manager was there the day we stopped in, so I'd just like to say, "Keep up the great work!" I highly recommend anyone in Pittsburgh (gluten-free or not!) and those visiting Pittsburgh make Gluuteny Bakery a regular stop for amazing gluten-free, dairy free treats! And if you're dying to try their goodies but aren't anywhere near Pittsburgh, you can order via their website or on Amazon.com. For their local clientele, they also can make special occasion multi-tiered cakes and decorated cupcake or cookie platters.