If you are a bakery that racked up an $800 phone bill from customers begging you not to shut down after your farmer’s market stint, you know you are onto a good thing.
Ashley Wittig & Kevin MacAllister are the masterminds behind
Bunner’s, a gluten free and vegan bakery in Toronto that has depended on word of mouth and taste buds that enjoy the sweeter things in life.
There are some bakeries that need to declare they are gluten free and vegan, almost as if they need to be forgiven. Let’s be honest, some “healthy” baked goods taste healthy, but aren’t going to rid you of your insatiable need for frosting. Bunner’s is gluten free and vegan almost as an after thought.
It is as if they are saying, “Here are some delicious cinnamon buns and frosted doughnuts. Oh, by the way, these follow your ethical and dietary standards. And even if you don’t normally eat buttercream, they are delicious, so get over it.”
Ashley took some time to wipe her
gluten-free flour coated hands and answer some questions about the important things in life. Like dessert.
When you are surrounded by such deliciousness as Creamies (cookie sandwiches) and Cinnamon Buns, how do you restrain yourself from eating everything in sight?
Well, I love baking treats, but I see them as just that: treats! We do a bit of nibbling on a daily basis to make sure everything’s just right, so maybe that keeps us from devouring everything, but truly I only eat a whole treat maybe once every week or so. Luckily the majority of the staff at Bunner’s is really health focused so we’re always swapping juice or smoothie recipes, and being nosey about what everyone is bringing for lunch.
I guess the answer is, just old-fashioned willpower!
Which dessert are you the most proud of making gluten free? How did you do it?
This is a good question…I’m proud of everything we make at Bunner’s, but the treat that gave me the most grief was for sure the Brownie. It sounds simple, but it wasn’t, I probably tested recipes for 2 years or more before we landed on the one we have. I’m happy to say that it’s now one of
our most popular goodies!
If I could only make a
banana bread that’s up to my standards, my life as a baker would be complete…
What is your stance on xanthan gum?
Without it, our bakery couldn’t exist!
Why do you think there has been such a surge of interest in gluten free living?
I don’t think it’s as much a surge of interest, as it is a surge of awareness. The first time I heard about gluten was 15 years ago when I was working the McDonalds drive-thru and a mom wanted to know if the bun contained gluten because her son had an allergy to it (almost a laughable scenario on all counts now). There was no information back then, and it breaks my heart that so many people suffered for so long, wreaking havoc on their digestive and immune systems.
Gluten allergies are pervasive in many shapes and sizes. They can be extremely intense to mildly uncomfortable, but it’s always 100% unfair and annoying when people refuse to take it seriously, or are waiting for the “trend” to die out. Wheat has been systematically bred to be more stretchy, more stable, to the point where our bodies have trouble even recognizing it as food anymore. This is why
your grandparents didn’t have an allergy to gluten, but your kids are more likely to.
Seriously. Why are your cinnamon buns so amazing?
Because our bakers are secretly angels sent from vegan & gluten free heaven.
Well, that makes us feel better. Can’t compete with that!
Learn more by heading to their website and get your hot little hands on their very own deliciousness of a cookbook here.
