Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity. Certainly I’ve had moments since then when I’ve decided that a bite of warm, crusty bread would be worth the gastrointestinal pains I’d be causing myself, but those times have been fewer and further between, much to my carb-loving dismay. I miss having sandwiches for lunch, baked goods for dessert, and don’t even get me started on how empty my life feels without pizza.
But all that changed with my discovery of the Sensitive Baker. Located in Culver City, the Sensitive Baker has been serving gluten- and dairy-free baked goods for over a year with a menu that reads like the grocery list I’ve done without for years: classic-style bagels, hamburger buns, chocolate zucchini muffins, cupcakes with non-dairy buttercream or cocoa-cream frosting — everything that was previously off-limits to allergic types such as myself has suddenly become edible courtesy of Baker’s owner, Sandee Hier.
“I was never really a baker, per se, but my husband and kids developed a gluten intolerance,” Hier recalls. On top of that, her husband’s father has celiac disease and lactose intolerance, making it nearly impossible to find products for him to eat considering a lot of gluten-free products replace protein with milk. “I learned how to bake out of necessity so I could make things for them to eat, and then I would make things for friends who were gluten intolerant.” Hier’s friends and family suggested she start a business around it, et voila! The Sensitive Baker was born.
But what’s kept it going is the quality of the product. Because gluten-free bread quickly stales, everything in the bakery is super fresh — and better yet, it tastes that way. The pizza — which comes in a handy personal size — is both crisp and chewy like good pizza should be. But when blended with the combination of tomato sauce and the non-dairy “cheese” made from cashews, it’s absolute heaven. “The cheese isn’t like mozzarella,” Hier notes, “but it’s so good in its own right that people who don’t have that comparative expectation really find it amazing.” They also make a mean mac ‘n cheese.
There’s also no shortage of tasty desserts to choose from, but tops on your list should be their incredibly delectable brownie. Not only is it rich and fudgy, but it’s sweetened with cane juice, making it a suitable treat for those with sugar intolerances as well. In fact, many of the desserts are sweetened with unrefined sugars ranging from brown sugar to agave nectar.
Hier’s next goal is to take the Sensitive Baker’s products into wider distribution, making it easier for gluten- and dairy-sensitive folk to include baked goods into their diets. And it sounds like it’s sorely needed. “People are so grateful that sometimes they cry because they haven’t eaten bread in years,” Hier says. “I’ve also had moms with autistic kids that can’t have gluten or casein, so they buy our cookies. It’s incredible, overwhelming and beautiful, and it validates what I do.”
Not only that, it’s changing people’s lives — one breadstick at a time.
The Sensitive Baker, 10836 1/2 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA. 310.815.1800; thesensitivebaker.com