One of Everything, Please

Last week I met up with my good friend Amy at the Flying Apron Bakery. We got together to chat and catch up, and Flying Apron is a good midpoint between our houses. But really, the thing that brought us together on that rainy Saturday afternoon was the thought of treats . . . baked yummy treats. We knew that Flying Apron would be making delicious autumn goodies, and for both Amy and I, the magic of walking into a bakery and knowing that we can eat anything in it is something neither of us ever gets over.

Flying Apron Bakery in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle

Amy has celiac disease, which means that her body reacts to the protein in wheat, barley, and rye (gluten) with inflammation and damage to the small intestine. This damage leads to malabsorption of nutrients, which can lead to a whole host of problems from anemia to skin problems to abdominal issues. The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet.

I have a gluten intolerance (also called a sensitivity or an allergy). I don’t react to gluten in the way that you traditionally think of as an allergic reaction—hives, swelling and trouble breathing—I just end up with a really bad stomachache for a couple of days. My reaction to gluten is strong enough that I find it entirely worth it to avoid gluten altogether.

Everything at the Flying Apron Bakery is gluten free, vegan, and made without soy or processed sweeteners. Having a restrictive diet, whether you’ve made the choice to cut out certain foods or because your body has made that choice for you, can be tough. It means that you have to read every label, interrogate every server, and field multiple calls from friends before going to their places for dinner. But it also means that you think about your food differently, you appreciate your food more, and you get a certain strength from making choices that you know will directly affect the way you feel.

I felt really lucky as I sat there with Amy and ate my cupcake. I felt lucky to have a friend to talk with endlessly about food . . . and we do talk endlessly about food. I felt lucky to be in a cozy bakery on a cold and wet day. And I felt lucky to work for the publisher that has teamed up with Jennifer Katzinger, founder of the Flying Apron Bakery, to create the beautiful Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking Book.

The book is filled with recipes for the delicious cookies, cakes, muffins, scones, breads, and pies that the Flying Apron Bakery makes for its customers. In addition, the first chapter is an informative introduction to cooking with the whole grains, natural sweeteners, and cold-pressed oils that are at the heart of the bakery’s food philosophy.

Here is the recipe for the maple bar that Amy had and that I stole several bites of—yum!

Maple “Butter” Bars

2 3/4 cups brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut oil or palm oil
1 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the brown rice flour and salt in a medium-size bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture a little at a time until well mixed, about 3 minutes.

Spread the batter evenly into a parchment-lined 9- by 12-inch baking pan. Bake until edges harden slightly, about 15 minutes. While the dough is still hot, score it into 12 pieces with a knife. After it has cooled, slice it the rest of the way through and remove the bars from the pan.

Yield: 12 cookies