Born and Bread Bakery- Gluten Free in Chesterfield, MI
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Born and Bread Bakery is a home based cottage law business serving the greater Macomb and St. Clair County area. “Born” out of a necessity to change her own diet, owner Briana Alan makes gluten free baked foods to meet the needs of her community.
Who Owns Born and Bread Bakery?
Briana Alan owns Born and Bread Bakery, which is a cottage law business. When she first learned of her issues with gluten, finding organic/non-gmo products without gums or preservatives was such a challenge for her. So she had no choice but to start making her own gluten free breads, tortillas, and sweets at home.
What inspired you to become a baker?
My backstory: I love to bake! Bread has always been my thing. I started my bakery in 2021 after being left jobless and lost after covid. Passionate about following an organic diet, and focusing on non-gmo ingredients, I was on a mission to share my family recipes (Italian bread and tortillas primarily) with my community. I had a great following for a few years at the New Baltimore Farmers Market with my gluten filled items.
Tell Me About Your Gluten Free Journey
I suffer from really bad eczema and realized when I would bake it would get worse. No matter what I did to cover my skin and prevent it from coming into contact with the flour, I would always break out terribly.
The same thing would happen when I ate gluten. I would sometimes even get hives! After my son was born, my skin got even worse. Therefore, I saw a dermatologist who suggested I stop eating gluten. My eczema almost disappeared completely within a week!
(*Note from Margaret- People should seek out testing for Celiac Disease prior to removing gluten from their diet. Dermatitis Herpetiformis is a rash that can look like eczema, but is actually a dermatological reaction to gluten consumption.)
Briana’s Determination to Master Gluten Free Baking
Over the last few years I was completely disappointed with store bought options for Gluten Free bread. So I started experimenting in the kitchen again. After lots of trial and error, and developing and testing recipes, I decided to re-launch my bakery as a dedicated gluten free business. I wanted to keep true to my roots and offer gluten free baked goods made with organic and non-gmo ingredients as well.
I’ve done tons of research about cross-contact and ensuring I am offering a safe product for my customers. I’ve always let each customer know my back story and that my oven has processed gluten in the past. All of my ingredients are certified gluten free, always 100% non-gmo, and organic when I can source the ingredients.
How Born and Bread Home Bakery Addresses Cross Contact
There is no longer any wheat or gluten present in my home. I’ve replaced my stand mixer, bread linens, any plastic or wooden bowls, spoons, and even wash rags used for cleaning. I only kept mixing bowls or utensils that are stainless steel or glass and could be completely sanitized.
The only item left for me to replace is my oven. Even though I haven’t cooked any gluten items in my oven in years I still run a self clean cycle before each bake day. I also choose not to use the convection feature while baking for the bakery out of abundance of caution because I know it’s the fan that carries the risk of cross contact of micro particles of flour.
Do You Accommodate Those with Other Food Allergies?
The only allergen my product line is completely free of is gluten. I use almond flour in quite a few of my baked goods, including a peanut butter cookie.
Soy comes close, but my turtle cookies have butterscotch chips which have a small amount of soy lecithin in them. All of my gluten free baked goods are also gum free, preservative free, and dye free.
In regards to dairy, all my breads are dairy free. However my cookies have dairy. In regards to eggs, my artisan loaf is dairy free and egg free, but my sandwich loaf has eggs. However, I am very careful about cross contact. For example, my egg free loaf has its own loaf pans. I also bake my cookies that contain dairy on a different days than the breads.
What steps do you take to ensure that your products are truly gluten-free? only use certified products? call companies?, etc ?
All of my ingredients are certified gluten free. I always source non-gmo ingredients and get organic when I can. I try to find the highest quality ingredients free of added preservatives, enrichments, and dyes. I don’t use any gums in my baking, which sets me apart from other gluten free bakers. My customer base seems to appreciate this about me. The response I’ve gotten has been greater than I ever imagined.
For all of my baked goods I blend my own gluten free flours. I like to experiment to see what gives me the best results. For example, most of my cookies are almond flour, aside from sugar cookies which use my own all purpose gf blend. My Sandwich loaf/marble rye is primarily millet flour, which i also use to make my cinnamon rolls.
- Do you use oats or oat milk in your baked goods?
- The only time I use oats is with my oatmeal cookies, I use One Degree Oats which are certified gluten free. My non dairy milk I use is Kiki milk, which does contain oats, but it is also certified gluten free.
- Do you use certified gluten free wheat starch in any of your baked goods?
- I choose to stay away from wheat starch. (Read this article to learn more about gluten free wheat starch in gluten free baked goods.)
If you sell at markets, do packaged goods have labeled ingredients and your business name?
I do frequent farmers markets – usually Port Huron Farmers Market or Packard Proving Grounds Market in Shelby Township. I also do pop ups at Fair Haven General Store south of Ira Township in St. Clair County.
Through the winter season I aim to do 1-2 pop ups per month with porch pickups from my home. I do have fully compliant labels with ingredients, business name and address.
Can you share a story of a customer who’s been greatly impacted by your business?
I have a particular customer that lives over an hour away that meets up with me and places large orders for my gluten free/dairy free/ eggs free bread and tortillas.
Her 4 year old daughter recently was diagnosed with a bunch of food allergies and she was having a really hard time getting her to like any gluten/dairy/egg free options at the store. She says she loves that her whole family loves my products so she doesn’t have to buy multiple different breads for the whole family.
What would you like consumers to know about your products and your business?
I recently welcomed my second into the world, so I will slowly get back to the markers this spring and summer. Right now I plan to sell at markets every other week. Every time a customer tells me how grateful they are for my breads and treats it reminds me why I do what I do.
Born and Bread Bakery LLC
Chesterfield MI ; Cottage Law Bakery. No Storefront
Phone / Email / Preferred contact method: Text or Message on Facebook or Instagram
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Born and Bread Bakery is one of many gluten free bakers across the state of Michigan. Click this link to see a comprehensive list of all the gluten-free bakeries in Michigan, complete with interactive map! Looking for more local eats? Check out my list of gluten free baked good options at Michigan Farmers Markets.