Gluten-Free Dempsey Bakery Opens With a Bang

While I was having a busy time last week, I figured something must be going on with the previously-previewed gluten-free Dempsey Bakery. My blog stats for that page ballooned with people searching for the latest info.

Turns out, they opened to the public on Thursday and darn near got the place wiped out. By the time I got there today (Saturday) with my husband and son, many of the cookies were in good number, but just about everything else was sold out. I managed to get half of the remaining loaf of their white bread, as well as three cookies for our afternoon snack: sugar for the boy, snickerdoodle for the hubs, and chocolate chip for me.

The bakery still had samples available for many of their products, and I helped myself to every.single.one. All in the name of research for you, dear reader. Let me just say that you can’t go wrong.

Most notable was the Everyone’s Bread, made for those with food sensitivities beyond wheat. Although this bread contained no gluten, dairy, soy, egg, corn, rice, refined sugar or tapioca, I found myself liking it even more than the white bread. It had a rich, whole-grain style taste and was much sweeter than the regular white. Both were delicious and much lighter than other commercially available gluten-free breads.

The cookies were amazing, lacking nothing for my gluten-tolerant hubs and son. The sugar was pleasantly crisp and buttery; the other flavors had a great chewy texture. The pumpkin muffins and the snickerdoodle cookies had just the right amount of spice, maybe a little more than usual.

Yes, I realize I’m sounding like a fangirl. I’m excited. This stuff is really awesome.

Having been gluten-free for a little over a month now, I realize just how important this is. The biggest downfall for those of us with this restriction tends to lie somewhere between a yummy loaf of bread and a bag of cookies. Or a cupcake. Either way, this place has you covered.

The prices may seem high at first glance, but when compared to other gluten-free foods, they’re not too bad. A full loaf of their white bread (about 20 pieces) is $16, and you can get a half-loaf for half that price. Each (large) cookie was one dollar. Given that we’re all supposed to be cutting back on treats anyway, this is a reasonable expense in my book.

Owner Paula Dempsey gave us a tour of the facility, including their dry storage. This was notable because of the large bags of specialty flours she has shipped in, which are hard to find in quantity otherwise. I asked if there was anything there she didn’t want published, and she said no; in fact, she’s considering holding some classes to help others bake gluten-free items for themselves.

Paula said that the bakery will hold a grand opening celebration next month, and they hope to have lunch service available by that time, including soups and sandwiches.

We’ll be back, for sure. Meanwhile, you can follow Dempsey Bakery’s progress on Facebook.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.