[Actually, we're doing more of a streusel topping this year.]

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ORDER YOUR APPLE OR BLUEBERRY PIE FOR JULY 4TH
$19.95

These are good. The blueberry filling is lightly sweetened with agave, the apple with apricot jam, and the streusel topping is sweetened with maple sugar. The crust is made out of organic shortening from sustainably-harvested palm oil; eggs from local, free-range chickens; and flour from California-grown whole-grain brown rice.

But they’re so good! You would never guess they were “health-food!”

Order now to pick up the week before the 4th.

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HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Thursday July 3rd - Closed at 4:00.
(Also no shipping will go out Thursday.)

CLOSED Friday July 4th THROUGH Sunday July 6th.

RE-OPEN Monday July 7th, 10am-6pm.

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NOTE: “HAPPY HOUR” 50% OFF
Lately we’ve been pulling muffins and rolls out of the freezer every morning to have ready for people at lunch. We now consider what’s left at the end of the day - that’s after 5:00, Mon-Thurs - “Day Old” @ HALF PRICE! Stop in on your way home and see what we have!

Again! [groan! I know!]
Here is the schedule:

We’re closed Tuesday June 3 &
Wednesday June 4 for RENOVATIONS (yipee!)

Grand-Re-Opening Thursday June 5
Come celebrate with us on A&E!
(See above.)
Friday June 6 &
Sunday June 8
(regular weekend hours)
(special: non-dairy cheesecake for Shavuot, 8″ $30, 4″ $8 - order now!)

Closed again Monday June 9 & Tuesday June 10 for Shavuot
(yet another Jewish holiday), and still closed Wednesday June 11,
for more RENOVATIONS.

Back open Thursday June 12 forever.

(Or at least until July 4th!)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE!

An online customer sent us this:
Thank you I just received the new order. I have to say your baked goods are very tasty. You may want to speak to someone at UPS, because the cupcakes were worse than before. My son attached a couple of photos. It is like the box was shaken. I do appreciate you sending me a new order and I will gladly recommend your store at my next support group meeting. There is no need to send any more cupcakes. I can see the first time being an accident, but a second time. You did a wonderful job packing the second order that is why I believe someone at UPS is not doing a good job handling the boxes. I hope to visit your store in the near future. Again thank you and thank you for giving us Celiacs a place to get tasty treats.

Sincerely, Francesca V, Temecula, CA

Thank you, Francesca, for bringing this to our attention! Obviously this is not acceptable. If this has happened to you please write to us at gf-bakers@thesensitivebaker.com or call the store at (310)815-1800. Thank you!

A new friend asked me why on earth I would start a gluten-free bakery. You can skip my answer - it’s pretty long - but I’d thought I’d add it to the archives.

Read the rest of this entry »

As usual; Friday, 10-2

As usual; Saturday, CLOSED

As usual; Sunday, 10-2

Here’s what’s different:

CLOSING EARLY,

MONDAY, MAY 26, 10-2 !!!

(Also no online orders will be shipped Monday.)

Thank you and happy holidays!!

Meet Clifford, the big red chef. (He’s all hunched here but he’s gotta be 6 feet tall. In my world, that’s a big dude!)

Eugenie has gone and left a hole in our hearts, but life must go on, soups and tuna salad have to be made, and Cliff is filling that void. He’s a friend of Dylan’s from The Art Institute of California culinary school, and this is a rare photo of the two together: actually, Dylan and Cliff “share” the cooking position and when one is here the other is usually not.

Kind of like Clark Kent and Superman, only in my book, both these young men are Superman! Welcome to the team, Cliff, good to have you on the bus. Thanks for bringing your tunes!

P.S. We have to get another photo of Cliff after work, when he takes off his hat and lets loose his dreds! Muy impressive!

***

And, ta da, here he is!

(How long do you think it takes to GROW hair like that? Cliff reminds me of Samson, only blonder.) (Much sweeter, too.)

We DEFINITELY need to update this entry with the new schedule - in an effort to better serve you (lunch), Dylan & Cliff now work together most mornings. It’s a win-win for everyone!

This started off as a letter to a friend, but it you’re reading this, you probably have an opinion on the subject, and I want to hear it! The question is, what is more important, quality or affordability? Because gf-baking reminds me of that old saw, “You can get it good. You can get it cheap. You can get it fast. Pick any two.” Only instead of “fast,” just say “reliably.”
Read the rest of this entry »

All STOCK items are on sale!
(That’s everything on our order form.)
Custom cakes not on sale!

Tuesday April 15th: Take 20% off!

Wednesday April 16th: Take 25% off!

Thursday April 17th: Take 30% off!
(While supplies last.)

Reminder we are CLOSED Passover!
Friday April 18th
THROUGH
Tuesday April 29th
&
REOPEN Wednesday, April 30th.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Yikes! We have too many products already — I’m thinking of cutting out a couple of muffins even — but we HAVE to make room for a few last things. Please tell us what’s important to you!

1. YEAST-FREE, SUGAR-FREE BREAD - we get a lot of requests for this one, but I think it’s impossible! We can make yeast-free CRUMBS, and yeast-free SPONGY PUDDING, and a few different varieties of yeast-free ROCKS, but gluten-free, yeast-free BREAD seems to be eluding us. What we CAN make, however, is a nice yeast-free flour tortilla. Anyone want a burrito?

2. GF-OAT BREAD MIX, TO SHIP. Ever since word got out that we’re making a kosher gf-oat bread, we’re getting flooded with requests from Orthodox Jewry across the continent. But it’s crazy to fly baked bread to Miami, or Toronto, or even Denver. And let’s be real: Y’all don’t care if it’s baked, you only care that it’s oats! Make it yourself - just add 2 cups water and 2 teaspoons of oil.

$7 for approx 22oz. bag, makes a single 2lb. loaf or 4 mini loaves.
(Includes 4 Novacart mini-loaf pans, while supplies last.)
Ships GROUND, but refrigerate it when you get it.

(Oats have high protein content - treat oat flour like ground nuts.)

3. SUGAR-FREE — ??? Cookie? Tartlets maybe? (Or is that too grown-up?) Does anyone worry about natural sugar in fruit? Should we sweeten with agave, or xylitol, or something new???

Sugar-free gets requested second only to yeast-free. (In fact, that’s usually how the question goes; “Do you have any yeast-free or sugar-free items?”) But we only have room for ONE more thing. What should it be?

Choices, choices, too many choices!! Please click on “comments” to help us decide!

(P.S. I don’t know why, but when you click “comments” you get to another page that starts just like this one! It’s a little confusing & I’ll try to fix it, but I wanted you to know so you’ll SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ACTUAL COMMENTS.)

I still can’t believe it - it’s like the end of an era. Eugenie was our very first employee, and has had major influence on the shape of this bakery. Even before product development, there was branding, and from day one Eugenie has represented The Sensitive Baker with grace and class.

As for product development, which is really what she signed on for, what a star! The Morning Glory muffin, the Quinoa-Cranberry Cookie, the cheese that everybody goes “nuts” for on the pizza — these were all Eugenie’s creations, and remain some of our most popular products.

Eugenie has played every role in this bakery, literally from chief cook to bottle washer. She’s represented us at events, on the radio, and on TV. But it’s been almost a year and a half, and gone are the days of whipping up new taste sensations every day. Welcome instead to the world of churning out chocolate chip cookies, as many and as often as possible. Over and over and over again.

She says she loves doing it, but it’s like tying up a bird. Eugenie was born to fly.

Whatever Eugenie turns her hand to becomes infused with Quality. Here’s an example: We were experimenting with tuna salad, and every day Eugenie would make this delicious but kind of gourmet dish with, like, artichoke hearts and olives and garbanzo beans. But my father-in-law is a pretty big influence around here, too, and believe me he is not a fan of garbanzo beans in his tuna sandwich! I had to ask Eugenie: make the PLAINEST tuna salad possible. Imagine something you’d get from a cafeteria.

Eugenie wasn’t so thrilled with this directive. (Would you ask Beethoven to tone it down? He should do a little Muzak, maybe?) “I’ve never wanted to think of us as being like a cafeteria, making mass-produced garbage,” I think she said, and I never did either, but we need to appeal to everyone; from gourmets, to little kids, to the newly-diagnosed with still-sensitive stomaches.

So Eugenie came up with a dressing (no “bits” of ANYTHING) made from olive-oil mayonnaise, and fresh lemon juice, and other secret stuff. It makes the plainest looking tuna salad you ever saw, but if you eat a scoop of it on freshly toasted focaccia you’re going to swear it’s the best tuna sandwich you EVER tasted! Even my father-in-law thinks so!

Ah, Eugenie, we are going to miss you so much(!) but we wish you all the best! I know we’ll see you on Food Network one day — maybe making allergen-free birthday cakes for grateful children!

(Did I mention that the vegan chocolate cake / cupcake was her baby too?)