Weekend Edition Hot Off the Press #4: Crave Bakery

Ever since the issues of gluten intolerance and celiac disease showed up on our radar, we have been searching high and low for good gluten free food to review.  We have the pastas and snacks covered, but we haven’t been able to find very many options for good gluten free baked goods.  In our search, one name kept coming up…Crave Bakery in San Francisco.  Crave specializes in gluten free baked goods such as brownies, cookies, cakes, and tarts.  A quick search on Yelp brought up rave reviews of their baked goods.  Intrigued by this, we knew we had to get a hold of them. 

A few days ago, I got the opportunity to interview Cameo Edwards, founder of Crave bakery.  In 2002, after struggling to figure out the root cause of her illnesses, Cameo came to the realization that she was sensitive to gluten.  “Craving” for the baked goods she loved so much, she put her family tradition of baking to good use fulfilling her cravings for baked goods in delicious gluten free form.  It all started with her famous gluten free, casein free brownies, and Crave Bakery was born.

The company has grown a lot since 2003.  They now have about 15 different baked items on their menu and sell in specialty grocery stores in 12 states.  They sell delicious cakes, cookies, cupcakes, tarts, and of course their famous brownies all of which are made with high quality and organic ingredients from small, local producers and family-owned operations.  They even have a special edition Pumpkin tart that is only available September through December for the holidays.  And if you’re looking to host a special event, Crave even offers custom cakes for your guests to enjoy.  Even if you have special needs due to allergies, it’s no problem for Crave, because they will be able to whip something up for you.

Crave puts a lot of care into their products.  From ingredients to manufacturing processes, they have everything figured out.  All of their ingredients are all of the highest quality and they make sure of it by researching all of their sources to ensure that they are confident about their operation practices.  Take for example

the eggs they use, which come from free-range, happy and active chickens in Petaluma.  In their manufacturing facilities, which are located in San Francisco and Sacramento, they have adapted segregated production which means that all of their products are made on gluten free specific machines that are run in their own section of the manufacturing facility.  And if you thought that wasn’t enough, they use third parties to ensure that their products contain no more than 5-ppm gluten.  That’s actually stricter than some gluten free certification agencies.  For those of you who have other allergies, you will also appreciate that they start their manufacturing everyday with the least allergenic products and end their production day with products that contain nuts.  

Cameo Edwards has done a spectacular job with Crave Bakery and we hope to see more from her and Crave Bakery.  If you’re interested in trying some of her products, you can find a list of all of their retail locations on their website or you can order directly online at cravebakery.com.  Visit us this coming week when we review some of the delicious baked goods from Crave Bakery. 

Gluten Free Stuffing: Four Sisters and a Brother Gluten Free Herbed Stuffing - Product Review #18

Gluten Free Stuffing: Four Sisters and a Brother Herbed Stuffing

PRODUCT NAME:                       Gluten Free Herbed Stuffing

BRAND:                                      Four Sisters and a Brother

COST:                                        $6.99

SIZE:                                          10oz

COST PER OZ:                            $0.70/oz

CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE:           NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:           N/A

ORGANIC:                                   NO

CERTIFICATION AGENCY:           N/A

VEGAN:                                       YES

WHEAT FREE FACILITY:              UNKNOWN

LOCATION OF FACILITY:             Dallas, TX

*These statements are based on the information printed on the product packaging. We cannot verify the accuracy of this information. For verification of the statements above, please contact the manufacturer.

REVIEW:

With Thanksgiving just two days away, what would be more fitting than reviewing food associated with Thanksgiving?  So when we came across this gluten free stuffing, we were excited.  Stuffing is usually made with bread, which in turn would make it off limits to people with gluten intolerances or celiac.  So what’s there for them to eat?  Four Sisters and a Brother have the gluten free answer with their Gluten Free Herbed Stuffing.  It is made using rice flour and garbanzo bean flour and it is seasoned with different herb seasonings. 

Open up the package and you see dried ingredients that slightly resemble the look of granola clusters.  Breathe in the smell of the flavoring and you will find a very familiar scent that will bring you back to the good ole days when you were a starving college student.  You guessed it…it smells like the flavoring powder for instant ramen.  This scared me a little because I thought about why I stopped eating those things and I remembered it was because of all the sodium in those things.  But rest assured because I checked this package and found only 3.5mg of sodium per serving.  Multiplying that by the 10 servings in the package, you get a very reasonable 35mg of sodium for the entire package.   

Taste: This stuffing has a lot of flavor, maybe a little too much flavor.  We found it to be a tad salty but we ate it alone and if it was accompanying another dish, it would probably be perfect.  Texture wise, it was good, but a little gummy.  This is probably because of the ingredients.  Typically stuffing is made with cubes of bread or bread crumbs, but this stuffing is made with clusters made of garbanzo beans flour and rice flour making it a chewier than traditional stuffing.  In the end, it’s not your typical stuffing, but it’s definitely a good alternative. 

Labeling:  The labeling is very simple.  On the front it boasts a long list of healthy reason why you should use this stuffing. Gluten Free, no trans fat, no dairy or yeast, no GMO or MSG, no hydrogenated oils, no artificial colors or flavoring…it’s all there.  Out back is of course the family story of how this product got its start in grandma’s kitchen.  It probably isn’t exactly how grandma made it, but it’s probably close.

Packaging: Non recyclable plastic packaging. 

Inspired by grandma’s cooking, Four Sisters and a Brother did a good job offering an alternative for those of us who can no longer have gluten in their diets.  Bottom line, a little on the salty side and the texture isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it’s a darn close to the real thing.   

Reader’s Reviews: Please share with us your review of this company’s other products + where you purchased the product + how long you have been using this product. Please no review from the family + friends of the company producing the product...

RATING:

Texture:                 3             

Taste:                     3

Value:                    3

OVERALL:              3