Whether you are a full-blown celiac, or you’re just avoiding wheat for health reasons, there are more and more choices all the time becoming available to you.
Baking without wheat is tricky. It’s the gluten in wheat that helps give baked goods elasticity, and bread its chewy quality. You can’t just substitute wheat flour, for example, for rice flour. You’ll likely end up with a dry, chalky pastry. Gluten-free baking involves a lot of experimentation with flour mixes which usually include some combination of rice flour, brown rice flour, buckwheat, corn flour, sourgum, quinoa flour, arrowroot, cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca and many, many more. So, many people who choose to go gluten-free are turning to bakeries for their bread or sweet treats.
It’s important to note that there is a difference between a certified gluten-free bakery, and a bakery that makes gluten-free goods. A certified gluten-free bakery will have less or no possibility of cross-contamination with wheat flours. For those with serious celiac disease, a tiny amount of gluten can cause a reaction.
Certified Gluten-Free
Cloud 9 Specialty Bakery
1025 Royal Ave, New Westminster
Pizza shells, bread, pastries, cookies, marshmallows, and they even sell their own gf cup-for-cup baking mix (also available at Costco)
cloud9specialtybakery.com
Panne Rizo
1939 Cornwall Ave, Vancouver
Breads, cookies, pies, cakes and flour mixes
pannerizo.com
Two Daughters Bakeshop
121 East 1st Street, North Vancouver
Cookies, quick breads and yeasted breads
twodaughtersbakeshop.com
Lemonade Gluten Free Bakery
3385 Cambie St, Vancouver
Breads, cakes, tarts, pastries and cookies
lemonadebakery.ca
The Gluten Free Epicurean
633 E 15th Ave, Vancouver
Cakes, cookies, crackers, baking mixes, pastries and bars
glutenfreeepicurian.ca
Gluten-Free Options
Edible Flours (Gluten free and Vegan options)
2280 West Broadway, Vancouver
Cakes, breads, cupcakes, cookies, pastries, chocolates
edibleflours.ca
The Last Crumb
3080 Main St, Vancouver
Not a gluten-free bakery, but do feature quite a few gluten-free items
lastcrumb.ca
East Village Bakery
2166 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
Pies, pastries and bread
eastvillagebakery.com
Commercial bakeries:
(may not have an outlet, but you can purchase their products at grocery stores, like Choices, Whole Foods and Urban Fare etc.)
Wendell’s True Foods
Cookies, tarts, squares
wendellstruefoods.com
Glutenull
Breads, cookies, muffins, granola
glutenull.com
Specialty items:
Need a gluten-free cake for a special occasion? Check out Memento Cakes. If you have a donut addiction, Cartem’s offers at least 2 gluten-free varieties on a daily basis. Patisserie Labeau offers rice-flour waffles. For those of you who are jonesing for pie, head down to Aphroditie’s in Kits. And finally, let’s not forget macarons. These french treats are naturally gluten-free, made with almond flour, and available all over the city.