I found a gem in Los Angeles! In Culver City to be exact. For nearly a year now, a lovely, modest, diversified and utterly delicious bakery has been opened to the gluten free, dairy free public. It's called The Sensitive Baker and all the goods are for we sensitive eaters who have to or want to go gluten and dairy free. Last week I wandered in after setting up an appointment with the owner Sandee Hier.
I was greeted by a very professional and friendly staff that immediately asked me what I wanted. I looked in the case to see gorgeous cupcakes, brownies, huge cookies, and muffins. My mouth watered at how I hoped the chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting would taste. I ordered it with a big grin on my face. Finally, a cupcake that I did not have to make myself!
The frosting was a light brown color - indicating less cocoa than I would probably like. It was super thick and swirled around the top of the dark chocolate cake. I smelled it first, inhaling the sweet chocolaty treat. I bit into it and - no joke - thought, "This woman is sitting on a gold mine." I was truly blown away by the flavor, richness, moistness and fluffiness of the entire treat! Yum!!
The Sensitive Baker was founded after Sandee Hier learned to cook without gluten and dairy in response to her husband having cancer. He heard that a GF/DF diet could be helpful to cancer patients and figured he had nothing to lose. It was such a success for him that he no longer has cancer and the whole family is gluten and dairy-free and, of course, the bakery is now open and thriving.
In addition to all the mentioned sweet treats (which were all unbelievably delicious), The Sensitive Baker makes hamburger buns, breadsticks, pizza, focaccia, brioche and crusty rolls. All of her bakery items are free of gluten, dairy, casein, peanuts, and are kosher.
The best news of all is that you can order from The Sensitive Baker and have items shipped to you. They ship the mostly within California, as shipping is quite expensive and a bit tricky with these highly perishable items. Most items are frozen and wrapped air-tight to preserve freshness as much as possible but there are no preservatives - and there never will be thankfully - so just be aware of that. But I can tell you that the quality and taste of these treats, as well as not having to make them yourself, is well worth the cost!
As I look back on all the great items I tried, it's difficult to come up with a favorite thing. They were all great in their own right. Something to note is that their breadsticks should really be consumed right away after toasting, as they tend to get a little chewy after cooling. Despite that, their flavor is not lost. They manage to make light, airy, delicious bread using tapioca starch, potato starch, brown rice flour, yeast and sometimes almond meal to boost the protein. Additionally, they are conscious of the ingredients they use with no hydrogenated oils, organic evaporated cane juice for sugar and organic shortenings.
If you want to visit them or want to order from them, I highly recommend their bakery goods. You can find them on the web at: http://www.TheSensitiveBaker.com where you can order from their online store, or visit in person at 10836 ½ Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232.
For assistance in easily and painlessly eliminating gluten and dairy from your diet, my new cookbook Done With Dairy, Giving Up Gluten: 14 Days to a Delicious and Healthy You offers 14 days of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, a grocery list, grocery tips, and valuable information for going gluten and dairy-free. I've made it simple for you to make this change so you don't have to spend hours and days trying to figure out what to eat.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you use it unedited and in its entirety, including the following author information: Dairy and Gluten-Free Chef and Lifestyle Coach, Doctor Meg Haworth, Ph.D., created Delicious And Healthy to support those suffering from food allergy or intolerance. Sign up to receive her FREE biweekly newsletter, Delicious And Healthy Living, and FREE Special Reports, Glutton for Gluten and Drowning in Dairy, at www.DeliciousAndHealthy.com. You can also access her online cooking videos and check out her cookbook and allergy elimination guide, Done With Dairy -- Giving up Gluten: 14 Days to a Delicious And Healthy You.
