A Gluten-Free Oasis

 

 Today I’d like to share with you an incredible little spot. Some people like to keep secrets like this to themselves, but I want this bakery to stay open forever, so I’d like to drive lots of business in their direction! I’ve dealt with restrictive diets and food intolerances for as long as I can remember. One of the most well-known and yet still difficult ones of these is being gluten-free. We’ve come a long way in recognition of this allergy with many restaurants marking their menus with safe options and occasionally offering gluten-free alternatives like pasta or sandwich bread. Still, if you’re going out to eat, your options will be limited. The cruelest thing you can say to someone who is gluten-free is, “At least you can have a salad!” We’ve heard that so many times it’s become a trope. I almost cried the last time my husband said that to me.

 Said husband has completely redeemed himself though by finding this little gem for me! He was out serving the homeless community when he stopped into a coffee shop that offered a gluten-free cake. When he was purchasing a slice for me, the store’s employee told him about this local bakery that is celiac safe. That’s practically unheard of because in order to reach that level, you’d have to have a dedicated gluten-free facility to eliminate cross contamination. I was skeptical, but when I looked up their website it did, indeed, share that their entire bakery is gluten-free! We made plans to visit it when my son and his girlfriend, who has Celiac Disease, came to stay the weekend before Christmas. 

 One thing leading to another and we didn't get to the bakery until well into the afternoon. They were out of almost everything, but they had some kolaches and a few loaves of bread left, in addition to some delicious looking pumpkin cheesecake. As we were wrapping up our order, one of the staff asked if I'd be interested in some carrot cake and offered to cut me a slice of one they were presumably saving for the next day. Of course I said, "yes!" and I'm so glad I did!

 We stayed there to eat our kolaches for lunch. The bakery is located in an old fire station, now renamed the Ruston Carraige House, and they've redone the inside with wood and barrels and it's just lovely. 

 I couldn't believe how delicious the Kolaches were! We got the vegetarian frittata and the sun-dried tomato and pesto ones. Our two guys who were not gluten-free enjoyed them thoroughly as well! My son's girlfriend and I almost couldn't believe they were gluten-free because the bread was so... well, normal. The desserts had to wait for later since we were so full already, but when we did try them, they were even more amazing. The carrot cake was moist and had a perfect crumb. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy, it had the perfect mix of pumpkin, spice, and cream cheese. Gluten-free or not, these were some of the best baked goods we'd ever had!

 Seeing my disappointment at having missed out on their other goodies since we'd come late in the day, my husband did an incredible thing and came back the next morning. He camped out in front of the bakery for an hour before they opened, and it's a good thing he did as there were 20 people behind him in line when he entered. 

 Our family has a tradition of cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning and it's been hard the last few years being gluten-free. A couple of years ago, I ordered these Katz cinnamon buns* hoping they'd fill the gap:

 Turns out rugelach is more of a crunchy, small cookie than a cinnamon roll. Who knew? After that, my husband picked me up some of the tasty gluten-free cinnamon rolls at Anthem Coffee for Christmas breakfast, and those were good! But sadly, they stopped carrying the gluten-free baked goods mid-way last year and we hadn't found anything to replace it. When I saw that the Wren's Nest had cinnamon rolls, that was at the top of my request list for his special trip.

 I'm telling you, this picture doesn't begin to do these justice. This was the most soft, bready, delicious cinnamon roll that I can ever remember having! It had TONS of cream cheese frosting on top. This made my Christmas breakfast so very special. He also bought me an apple hand pie and a slice of pumpkin cake and olive oil citrus cake.

 The pastry on the hand pie just melted in my mouth. Again, the pumpkin cake was super moist, and the olive oil cake was more bread-like and if I were to have it again, I think I'd add butter or cream cheese to it.

Here's the Thing: It's not often you come upon gluten-free baked goods, especially really good ones. To find an entire bakery filled with them is like winning the lottery! These are so good, you'd never know they were gluten free. This will be my date destination of choice going forward!

*Hey there! I'm an Amazon Associate, which means I earn a commission when you click one of these links and buy something. This does not change your cost at all.