Pittsburgh’s gluten-free community suffered a double loss this August when both Gluten-Free By D&D in Volant and Gluuteny Bakery in Squirrel Hill called it quits. Lauren Marts hopes to deliciously fill that void with Baked True North, the gluten-free bakery she opened this summer in a former floral shop in the North Hills.
Marts, the small shop’s owner and head baker, began her gluten-free journey in 2012, when both she and her husband were told to cut gluten from their diets. Bakeries offering wheat-free options in the city were fairly limited at the time but, as Squirrel Hill residents, they had easy access to — and were blown away by — Gluuteny’s ready-to-eat breads, muffins and cupcakes.
The Pittsburgh native had always loved to bake, so when she had to relearn how to make her favorite family recipes using nut flours to fit a new gluten-free lifestyle, Gluuteny was the model. Her first product was a classic chocolate chip cookie. Friends and family loved the recipe so much that Marts started selling it and other pastries she had perfected at farmers markets and coffee shops around the city, including five Commonplace Coffee locations.
A growing demand eventually meant expanding what was originally a home-based business into a brick-and-mortar shop on Route 19 in Ross. It’s been a hit since its soft opening on June 24.
“It’s really exploded,” says Marts, who now lives in Bellevue, with a laugh, with new customers coming in to explore every day. “Sometimes you think of [gluten-free] as a young people's thing, but we have an older population that lives here behind us, and a lot of them come down.”
There’s a lot to entice even the pickiest, non-GF eater: Along with classic bakery items such as brownies and chocolate chip cookies, customers can choose from a variety of gourmet cupcakes, seasonal items including apple fritters, and one of Marts’ personal favorites, peaches-and-cream muffins.
Other popular bakery standbys include lemon bars and cinnamon rolls. All of the 100 or so items can be enjoyed either to-go or on site, with a cup of coffee or tea, while perusing the selection of vintage accessories and apparel also available for purchase.
The vintage wares pair perfectly with the building, a freestanding structure featuring large, rounded windows that offer a classic 1960s vibe. Baked True North’s colorful rainbow swirl adds to the shop’s lively, old-fashioned charm.
With two gluten-free bakeries closing in rapid succession, some may wonder if the gluten-free trend is coming to an end — and if the market is even big enough to support independent gluten-free bakeries. Marts is confident it’s here to stay.
“The issues people have with gluten [are] on the rise,” she says.
Kathy Battis, owner and baker of Pastries A-La-Carte, agrees gluten free has gone from a specialty health food to a mainstream staple. The only issue she’s had with her gluten-free offerings, she says, has been keeping enough of them on the shelves. Many pizza shops — Sir Pizza and Mineo’s Pizza among them — now offer gluten-free pizza crusts for a small upcharge.
Battis opened the Pleasant Hills bakery in 2004 after demand for her traditional homemade baked goods outgrew her home kitchen-based business. She added gluten-free products six years ago at the urging of her family and, since then, “It goes so fast it doesn’t matter what I put out there.”
The bakery offers a day-to-day rotation of gluten-free products, located on a dedicated shelf. Most of Battis’ recipes have been adapted from family recipes passed down over the years, with her Greek mother-in-law providing an impressive assortment. Cakes, cookies and cookie trays play starring roles, but, if patrons are lucky, they may also find specialty items such as gluten-free pumpkin pie at the ready.
Gluten-free cookies and cakes cost more than traditional sweets, those who make them note, because smaller companies must charge more to cover the cost of ingredients; a 1-pound bag of gluten-free flour from King Arthur flour, for instance, costs about the same as a 5-pound bag of traditional wheat flour. Which helps to explain why some gluten-free establishments, including Garfield-based Gluten Free Goat, have given up their brick-and-mortar stores in favor of online and wholesale businesses.
In addition, at bakeries such as Pastries A-La-Carte, gluten-free baking happens at the end of the day, after everything has been wiped down, or on a designated gluten-free-only baking day to avoid the cross-contamination that is almost guaranteed with flour particles floating in the air, says Battis.
Despite those challenges and increased costs, Amy Soergel, who opened Naturally Soergel’s a year after being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2008, feels certain that gluten-free options will only continue to grow in popularity, as more Americans adopt specialty diets to improve their health. And the natural and organic store next to the orchards in Franklin Park is happy to be of service, with more than 1,500 gluten- and allergy-free items available for the picking — everything from dried goods, pasta and frozen meals to pastries sourced from local bakeries — Baked True North among them.
“It has and will become a more mainstream thing,” she says.
Gluten-free bakeries
It can be challenging to buy breads, pastries and other sweet treats for someone with a food allergy. To make it easier, here’s a list of some gluten- and allergy-friendly bakeries in and around Pittsburgh.
100% gluten-free
Baked True North
Cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, scones, doughnuts, cookies.
1137 Perry Highway, Ross; bakedtruenorth.com
Consider the Lily’s
Holiday and custom-decorated cookies. Order ahead only.
3316 Ellwood Road, New Castle; considerthelilys.com
Gluten Free Goat
Online orders only.
Pick up at 4901 Penn Ave., Garfield; glutenfreegoat.com
Illumina Cafe
Cake, cupcakes, brownies, cheesecake, biscotti, bagels. Online orders only.
Multiple locations; illuminacafe.com
Truly Wize Bakery
Cakes, rolls, bread, pizza; Online and at farmer’s markets.
Wild Rise Bakery
Bread, cakes, brownies, cookies, pastry rolls, hand pies. Available in cafes around the city as well as Lawrenceville and Bloomfield farmers markets.
Gluten-free options available
BB and Bur
317 S. Trenton Ave., Wilkinsburg; bbandbur.com
Gaby et Jules
5837 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill; gabyetjules.com
GiGi’s Cupcakes
761 Providence Blvd., McCandless; gigiscupcakesusa.com
Macaron Bar
6101 Penn Ave., East Liberty; macaron-bar.com/pittsburgh
Naturally Sorgel’s
2573 Brandt School Road, Franklin Park; soergels.com
Pastries A-La-Carte
81 Clairton Blvd., Pleasant Hills; pastriesalacarte.com
Signature Desserts
3360 Library Road, Castle Shannon; signaturedesserts.com
Helena Nichols (helena.nichols@gmail.com) is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer.
First Published: September 28, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: September 28, 2022, 10:10 a.m.
