Table of Contents
For Lillian
FOREWORD
When I was first diagnosed with celiac disease, I assumed I would never enjoy a baked good again. Vaguely unwell all my life, in the spring of 2005, I suffered a siege of pain and lethargy so intense that many of my closest friends worried I was dying. Finally, a diagnosis gave me a way back to health: celiac disease.
The cure for this condition that had plagued me all my life (and yet I had never heard of it)? Cut out all gluten from my diet. No wheat, rye, barley, triticale, spelt, farro, or contaminated oats, in any form. Ever again.
No problem, at least for me. Having been so sick and sapped of energy, I lost my longing for baguettes and banana cream pie. I focused on fresh foods and finding my health again. I gave away all my baking books and threw away my wooden rolling pin. There would be no pies in my future.
Six weeks later, I wanted a cookie. Its a primal urge, this wish to be comforted with soft crumbs and sweetness. I had been reading recipes for gluten-free cookies, but they were full of flours I had not discovered yet. The only packaged gluten-free cookies available in grocery stores tasted like cardboard dipped in white sugar. Nothing seemed to satisfy my urge.
One Saturday morning, I followed the recommendations of several people online to a spot in the University District in Seattle. Underneath a popular Indian restaurant, next door to a vegan caf, a tiny corner space beckoned me. I leaned in the window and saw a commercial mixer whirling away with batter, a wooden table brushed with beige flours, and doughs waiting to be baked. Mostly, I smelled dried dates, cardamom, vanilla, maple syrup, and cinnamon. My memory knew the meaning of this: a bakery. But for the first time since I was diagnosed, I was standing, cash in hand, at a bakery where I could eat.
It was the Flying Apron Bakery.
I babbled to the woman inside about the excitement of knowing I could eat everything before me. She nodded. Later, I realized I had been talking with Jennifer Katzinger, the brains behind the operation. Lovely and humble, Jennifer has created a business essential to the gluten-free and vegan community in Seattle (and beyond). And she has listened to the people who are grateful for her baked goods, constantly striving to create more options and more memorable tastes. I admire the work she has done, not only in creating Flying Apron Bakeryin all its incarnations (the current airy bakery space in Fremont is about twenty times bigger than that tiny corner bakery was)but also in writing this book. Jennifers emphasis on whole grains, cold-pressed oils, and sweeteners other than sugar make these baked goods a boon for people who want healthy treats. So many of you reading will be grateful for these recipes.
I didnt know any of that, then. I just wanted something sweet, without fear that I would grow sick. Before me lay berry corn muffins, loaves of buckwheat bread, ginger pinwheels, and chocolate-covered macaroons. They all looked enticing, and I was stymied by the bounty. But then I saw a large apricot thumbprint cookie. That was it. I reached for it, handed her my money, and turned away smiling. I took one bite and had to stop. A cookie. A warm, delicious cookie, one I never thought I would eat again.
That cookie was such a gift.
Shauna James Ahern, author of Gluten-Free Girl
INTRODUCTION
In the spring of 2002, I opened Flying Apron Bakery with my father, Bill Dowd. In creating our bakery, a few elements were key. We wanted to create treats that were exceptionally nourishing, delicious, unique, and sophisticated. We wanted all of the baked goods to be made with organic ingredients, and it was very important to us that they be made with whole grain flours, alternative sweeteners, and pure cold-pressed oils. Finally, and perhaps most challenging, we wanted the majority of goods to be vegan (made without dairy or eggs) and soy-free (since soy is a major allergen).
We chose to go vegan because such focus on a plant-based diet would greatly reduce our carbon footprint. And we wanted to make baked goods that as many people could eat as possible, despite ailments and food allergies. Customers appreciate what we offer for various reasons: many are allergic to dairy and eggs; others prefer a vegan bakery because they are concerned for animal welfare; and some are neither allergic nor vegan but are simply very health-conscious and careful about what they consume.
When Flying Apron Bakery first opened, we were almost entirely vegan (we used to offer two cookies that used eggs and dairy; today, we are 100 percent egg-and dairy-free), offering wholesome, wheat-free, and alternatively sweetened foods. We used flours such as spelt, barley, and oat, along with brown rice flour, quinoa flour, garbanzo bean flour, corn flour, and cornmeal. That most of our baked goods were made with gluten-free grains was pure coincidence. At the time, I didnt know that gluten-free foods mattered to so many, but as our customers began asking if our foods were gluten-free, I decided to add more gluten-free offerings to our menu. I began playing with more gluten-free ingredients, experimenting and taking notes until I achieved wonderfully tasty results.
Running Flying Apron Bakery has in some ways been an emotional roller coaster. I have met so many people affected by gluten intolerance and heard so many stories about the different ways their symptoms manifested. My heart went out to the kids I met who couldnt have birthday cake or pizza at a friends party, and to the adults I met who broke down in tears because they hadnt been to a bakery in years where they would actually be able to eat anything on the shelves. Their stories, and my successful gluten-free experiments, led me to shift the bakery to be completely gluten-free. The immense gratitude that customers have since expressed has been surprising and deeply moving. I couldnt have predicted that Flying Apron Bakery would touch so many people so profoundlyand all by way of simple baked goods.
My father and I began Flying Apron together with all the creative and physical energy we had (and that was all we had!). The bakerys first home was located in Seattles University District: we started small, with a space about as big as a walk-in closet. Although he has since moved on to other ventures, my father made it possible for me to go down this road by taking the first steps with me. He facilitated a growth in me that, although difficult at times, I am most grateful for.
Over the last seven years, Flying Apron Bakery has evolved while maintaining the core of its essence. In the bakerys first humble location, we had a charming take-out window and we began our wholesale business. Many of our first customers became special friends, and I have such fond memories of the thrill of those first two years, despite the grueling hours of working day and night. One of my first customers is now my husbandon our first date he helped me deliver the very first wedding cake I ever made! Our own wedding took place many baked goods later.
