A gluten-free bakery boom
Four new bakeries are on the way.
Good news for those coping with gluten allergies and celiac disease.
Not one but two bakeries are springing up this month in South Jersey, and another is opening soon in Chalfont, Bucks County. Next year, yet another will open in Rittenhouse Square.
Sweet Freedom Bakery opens Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 577 Haddon Ave. in Collingswood. Jennifer Heath Kremer's product line is also free of free of gluten, corn, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts (with the exception of coconut) and refined sugar.
Red Bank, N.J.'s Posh Pop Bakeshop is aiming for a Nov. 20 soft opening and a Nov. 22 grand opening for its shop at 109 Kings Highway East in Haddonfield. Matt Pytel, with business partner Krizha Bautista, says they recently closed their shop in Red Bank but are looking for a new location there. Their Haddonfield shop will be certified gluten-free.
Chalfont will get baked goodies this fall from The Happy Mixer at its new bakery in New Britain Village (4275 County Line Rd.).
Pure Sweets is looking at a spring opening at 1706 Locust St.
All of this is delightful to Michael Savett, who runs the Gluten Free Philly blog.
He says the gluten free marketplace has reached a critical mass. "People who are eating gluten free for medical reasons (about 1 percent of the population) are more comfortable buying baked goods from places where there is no risk of cross-contamination from airborne wheat flour or other ingredients containing gluten," he said.
"So many baked goods now taste much like their traditional counterparts that these bakeries can also appeal to non-gluten-free customers. The bakeries also are likely to look to distribution through restaurants that want to offer gluten free desserts but don't have the capacity to bake them in-house."