Seven Gluten-Free Bakeries We’re Sweet On

This Rocket City bakery launched in 2013 when the Redstone Arsenal job that brought founder Ashely Ramirez to Huntsville was put on hold. Living with celiac disease in a time when gluten-free resources were scarce, the PhD drew on her chemistry know-how to teach herself gluten-free baking and, as she considered next steps, noted the need for gluten-free treats in the area. “So I opened a bakery,” she says. Experimenting is in her nature, so with the support of Mason Dixon’s new owner and CEO Rachel Bryars, Ramirez recently spent months developing methods to make its baked goods—from gorgeous wedding cakes to breads and scones—without a drop of artificial coloring. “Only Ashley with her passion and background could have pulled this off,” Bryars says. Red velvet cake’s crimson comes from beets. Brilliant blue buttercream begins with spirulina. But the best-selling buttermilk biscuit—its flaky texture a true gluten-free baking flex—needs no hue enhancement. “We sell almost 1,000 a week, and that’s only because that’s all we can make,” Ramirez says.

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When Ana Crolla couldn’t find decent-tasting gluten-free bread to nourish her visiting nephews with celiac disease, she decided to make her own, founding Dora’s in 2019 and naming the spot after her husband’s grandmother, who had celiac at a time when hardly anyone knew what the disease was. Decades ago, Dora sourced tapioca flour from Brazil and developed multiple gluten-free recipes, some of which Crolla uses today to create her South Florida specialties, including Key lime pie and Argentinean- and Venezuelan-style empanadas and croquetas. “We are the only place in Miami where you can get croquetas gluten-free,” she says. Other traditionally flour-filled foods also get the Dora treatment, and some can be shipped nationwide, including quiches, sticky guava rolls, breads, and Crolla’s top choice, lemon pound cake.

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After starting as a pop-up, Hell Yeah Gluten Free continues to satisfy Atlantans’ sugar fixes with rainbow-sprinkled Funfetti donuts, icing-topped sugar cookies, and cream-cheese-frosted cinnamon rolls, but customers also rave about the bakery’s savory goods, including the veggie-packed curry turnover and biscuit breakfast sandwiches stuffed with bacon, egg, and American cheese. Hell Yeah’s two locations also serve up nostalgia via fruit-filled “poptarts” whose seasonal flavors showcase fresh, local produce. “Unlike the ones in a box, ours are crafted with love and without preservatives,” says manager Jessica Barron. “They’re the cooler, hotter, and way more delicious cousin of the store-bought Pop-Tart.”

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What’s in a name? “Everything,” says the Accidental Baker owner Matt Cabana. “This was a true accident. I never thought I’d be here.” And by “here” he means trying to keep up with the demand his online-order-based microbakery generates. A once-monthly pop-up allows folks to buy items without advance orders, but only the early birds get the bagels. “We open those at 9:00 a.m., and the line starts forming at 7:30,” he says. While he relishes crushing others’ cravings, his gluten-free wife inspired the venture. “Before we met, I’d never eaten a gluten-free baked good,” he says. One bite, and he felt he could do better, leaning on lessons learned in the kitchens of his Italian great-grandmother, grandmother, and mom to develop recipes nodding to his heritage—like tiramisu cookies, focaccia, and cornetti, an Italian croissant-like delight. While bagels and sourdough are bestsellers, his classic chocolate chip cookie often earns his favorite compliment. “When customers tell me, ‘I’m the only gluten-free person in my family and I have to hide these,’ that’s awesome,” Cabana says.

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“We want to be everybody’s uncles, and we want to spoil everybody with good food,” says John Edward McGee, who founded Guncles with his husband, Demetrius James. The idea for the bakery began proofing after McGee was diagnosed with a rare wheat allergy that causes anaphylaxis and a desire to be closer to family brought the couple back to Mobile from San Francisco. “We realized there was hardly any gluten-free anything here, and we saw a void to fill,” McGee says. He’d studied with a gluten-free baker in San Francisco, and his home-baked treats raked in rave reviews from friends, so in 2018 they opened their own shop. Today Mobilians stop by Guncles for chocolate chip cookies studded with scratch-made toffee, a moist fig-spice cake inspired by McGee’s mom’s recipe, bread pudding in an ode to James’s grandmother’s specialty, and oatmeal cream pies. Guncles also distributes its products to stores in Birmingham, Auburn, New Orleans, and Florida’s 30-A beaches (and ships nationwide, too).

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According to company president Richard Reutter, Caroline’s Cakes’ decision to offer gluten-free versions of its beloved desserts was simply an extension of the company’s customer-centric philosophy. “Throughout our history, we’ve listened to our customers and done our best to respond to their needs, so as we got more and more requests for gluten-free products, we looked into how that could be done,” he says. “I mean, everybody should get to eat cake.” His wife being gluten-free didn’t hurt; her feedback aided the effort. The company started with its number-one product, the seven-layer caramel cake—tens of thousands of the original are sold annually—and today offers gluten-free Southern chocolate cake, coconut cloud cake, and cute little icing-enrobed cake bites, too. Reutter stresses there is some cross-contamination risk: “We do not have a dedicated facility, but we’re as careful as we can be, baking the gluten-free cakes early in the day to keep flour out of the air,” he says.

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Every treat coming out of Heather Troyer’s kitchen at Heavenly Hands continues a tradition of hospitality begun by her grandmother Eleanor, who adjusted her treasured recipes to meet the needs of family members with celiac disease. “She wanted to ensure no one felt left out at the table, so she’s the heart and soul behind this,” she says. Troyer uses a custom flour blend to bring Eleanor’s recipes (as well as some of her own) to life in chocolate-filled croissants, brownies, blueberry muffins, and more. Feeding the need of the bakery’s Louisiana location, Troyer creates gluten-free king cakes for Mardi Gras, too, which garner glowing feedback. “I get great responses from customers, like one who said, ‘It is hands-down the absolute best king cake I’ve had, gluten-free or not,’” she says.