Local gluten-free menu taking country by storm

Gluten-free bakery

Local gluten-free menu taking country by storm

Lucas and Laura Duguid are turning an abiding concern for a daughter’s health into an early success in their business, Sophia’s Bakery and Cafe in downtown Brantford.

And an unusual, to-die-for recipe for delicious gluten-free bread that is drawing attention across Canada.

They had a soft opening of their eatery with restored furnishings at Colborne and King streets a few weeks ago, with limited advertising on Facebook, followed by a grand opening last Tuesday.

But a bread mould and finished product that does not need to be frozen has caught on more quickly than they could imagine.

“We could not possibly know how quickly people would be interested in our gluten free offerings, and we were woefully unprepared,” Lucas Duguid recounted.

“We had phone calls from across the country for gluten-free bread. A gentleman in Abbotsford was ready to offer us a contract to supply in that area of British Columbia. I said ‘Sir, I’m struggling to service downtown Brantford.’

“On Day five, a man in Ottawa called after seeing our progress on Facebook, and he wanted to be the first to get a franchise from us up there.”

The overwhelmed Duguids regard the profusion of interest as practically the stuff of fantasy, considering they had begun for the opening, spending 28 hours baking their special gluten-free bread only to be sold out in the first three hours.

They have to scramble to maintain a commitment of 150 loaves of gluten-free bread per week.

“We joke that we’re up before the Mennonites,” say Lucas.

The path to success began six years ago, when the couple became concerned that their daughter Sophia couldn’t sleep more than an hour at a time and cried often since they brought her home from the hospital after her birth.

Early diagnoses suggested it was a simple case of colic, and professionals reassured the parents that she would grow out of it. But she wasn’t getting any better and losing weight at six weeks old, so their family doctor and a pediatrician had her admitted to hospital for a week of tests.

Sophia was diagnosed with celiac disease – a gastro-intestinal disorder marked by a severe allergy to gluten and soy, bloating and nausea.

Her mother also has celiac disease. Medical research has found that 90% of mothers with the condition pass it on.

The Duguids decided to look at the malady as a challenge. They began experimenting with recipes to prepare and bake tasty food without gluten.

Laura started playing around with other grains – particularly ancient ones that do not include gluten. She gradually arrived at a recipe for a bread that does not need to be frozen.

“As far as we know, we have the only gluten-free product that does not have to be frozen. It can be kept fresh for five days on the table top,” she says.

But ask for specifics and she demurs.

Three years ago she came up with a delicious carrot cake and offered it to relatives running Al Dente to taste.

They were so enthused they quickly agreed to an arrangement that she could bake both for them and in her own interest in their kitchen.

The Duguids built a repertoire of desserts and meals that must pass the two most important tests: does it taste as good as the real thing? And as six-year-old Sophia says, “is not ouchy belly for me?”

A listing of their gluten-free products is available at their website www.sophiasbakery.ca.

Meanwhile, the business entreaties keep coming. There have been offers of manufacturing space to allow greater production. Calls to open a similar cafe and bakery in Waterloo and Cambridge.

But the Duguids are sticking to their recipe of slow-bake success.

“Certainly we intend to expand at some point, but we’re still feeling our way right now,” says Lucas.

“Opening up here in Brantford means a lot to me. I was born and raised here. I don’t want us to be part of a movement exporting local talent going down the 403.”

One fact he keeps his eye on is that 80% of their customers are not celiac.

“They’re willing to pay $8 for a loaf just because they like it.”

They have also concentrated their attention on their downtown eatery. They paid to restore the French-white, patterned plaster mould ceiling to the way it appeared before a fire in the building in 1905.

The first time they enter, patrons marvel at the design and its contribution to the ambiance of a cafe.

“We joke that the ceiling has become a trip hazard,” Lucas smiles. “People keep bumping into each other while they’re walking a staring up at it. It’s a really remarkable space and we’re so proud to have done it.”

Gluten free Recipes with Bill & Sheila

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