Stellar Gluten-Free Bakery - Sarasota's gluten-free gem!

Stellar Gluten-Free Bakery in Sarasota is churning out amazing gluten-free breads and goodies which live up to their name - to say the least!  Previously, the bakery was on the beach just over the bridge and was called Island Gluten-Free Bakery.  Below is some background for this amazing place in the Sunshine State.

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OUR STORY

We have been baking gluten free since 2006-three years prior to the boom of 2009. Our bakery began inside a small ice cream parlor which was owned by my sister Kim and her partner Vickie. Mrs. Stella Peters came into the bakery and requested we make something for her. The BIG catch was that she couldn't have gluten! After researching flours, gums, and starches we came up with our own proprietary flour mixes, which we are still using today.

Until the boom of 2009 we were the only gluten free bakery in Florida and one of three in the USA. Likewise we were the first to add whole grains to gluten free baking mixes and breads. Not only did we recognize the need for more nutrition in products that were made with white rice flour and tapioca starch, we also found it to add exceptional flavor and amazing texture. Although we have more competition than when we began we are still the best. Please read our testimonials from folks all around the world! 

We bake fresh, from scratch, daily. Approximately 80 percent of our products are also dairy free and the majority can be made vegan. We highly recommend placing an order especially if you are driving from far away as we do run out of product at times.

Enjoy!!

Karen, Kim, Vickie
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My favorite breads from this amazing place include cinnamon raisin, French baguette and dinner rolls.  My favorite treats include key lime pie, carrot cake, apple pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, waffles and chocolate dream pie (not actual name - ask for the heavenly chocolate whip cream pie!) .  My husband is partial to the cinnamon rolls, but I'm not into traditional rolled cinnamon buns - if you are, you will enjoy them too.  I prefer the decadent cinnamon coffee cake from this place! 

   

Review: Shore on St. Armand's Circle

During a visit to Clearwater, FL, we took a day trip to pick up lots of stuff from the best gluten-free bakery in Florida - Stellar Gluten-Free Bakery!  You can read about it here if you missed it ;)

A quick Google search led me to a place on St. Armand's Circle - Shore - which interestingly sells clothes downstairs and gourmet fare upstairs.  The main draw of this place for me, besides the lovely open air bistro, was the gluten-free crab cake.  They serve one as an appetizer and it was so amazing (no filler!) that I would order two with a side and salad as my meal, if we go back.

Like many places in the U.S., Shore has many gluten-free options and the staff seemed well informed on the issue.  In fact, the server we had told us I could not have an appetizer we were considering due to the chips being fried in a shared fryer.  Score for the gluten-free service at Shore!  We enjoy a delicious salad and the crab cake app and waited on our entrees.  Mine came out with fingerling potatoes that looked almost black...they weren't burnt...but it looked as if they'd been fried.  But how could that be?  I've never heard of glutenous fingerling potatoes in my dozen gluten-free years.

Instead of diving into my meal, I obviously had to wait to catch a server to inquire about the potatoes and sure enough - they were FRIED - yes, in a regular gluten laden fryer!  My plate goes back to kitchen and I insist my husband eat his meal while it was hot.  The server did offer to keep it warm for him, but he was HUNGRY so that wouldn't help.  By the time my meal reappeared with risotto in place of fried potatoes, my husband was almost finished with his meal.

All the food was amazing and the lemon risotto was some of the best I've had in years!  Even so, not being able to eat together kind of ruined the experienced a bit.  The manager brought over a seriously delicious gluten-free chocolate dessert, which we expected would happen if they had any sense.  Because it's hard to find a gluten-free crab cake worth eating (one full of gf crackers and not much crab is of no interest to me), we would try Shore again.  But, next time, I'll be asking a LOT more questions before placing my order.  And...I'll be asking EVERY single restaurant that serves fingerling potatoes if they are fried...oh yes, I will!

TIP:  If you love shopping, but can't break the bank for a trinket, walk away from the main circle of St. Armand's....there are deals to be had!!