Bakery Options from Premiere Moisson?

I generally avoid most commercial bakeries, mostly because I can't get anything there and people look at me funny when I whimper while looking at the cookies. Yet a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine let me know that Premiere Moisson seemed to be offering a line of products that are gluten free. Interesting.... Now, there is no way that this would be an acceptable alternative for serious sensitivities let alone Celiac sufferers, as you would not be able to avoid cross contamination on any level. Being that it is also coming from a commercial bakery of that large a scale, I also wrote them off figuring that everything would be made with dairy. On Thursday I went to the Atwater market and, remembering what my friend had told me, popped into the Premiere Moisson just to see what there was to be seen.

They did in fact have several gluten free products on offer; two types of bread and two 'pastry' type sweets. The lady that I spoke with was incredibly helpful, and actually went off and printed the ingredients lists of what they had so we could check the dairy content. I was right, for the most part. The two sweets, an apple-chocolate and pistachio cake and an almond and praline cream financier, had butter listed as either the second or third ingedient, and once she told me that the coconut topped bread had white chocolate in it, we moved right along. The last offering they had, though, a maple walnut bread, that one I could actually eat. I figured why not, and after the nice lady changed her gloves, I bought a loaf.

If you are expecting this to be like a typical bread, you will be disappointed. In taste and texture it was closer to a banana loaf or other quick bread. The Premiere Moisson web site lists their gluten free breads as being moist and as far as the maple walnut bread goes they are not kidding! I would definitely recommend that you toast this. The other thing that I found particular about this bread is that it is barely sweet and only has a hint of maple while the only place you'll find any walnuts is on the top. Which means that on first glance, the bread actually looks a little over cooked. It isn't, but it is a little off putting.

It could be interesting to see what other options they come up with (this particular bread is one of their seasonal selections) as well as if any future options might also be dairy free though I'm not holding my breath. I'm also not going to pin my hopes on Premiere Moisson's turning into a Go-To for gluten free breads, though to their credit, they are aware that they can't guarantee products free from contaminants or traces of allergens. Not a bad experiment, but I don't think I'll rush back to get any more. We'll just have to wait and see. And in the mean time, I get to keep looking for treats and breads and cafes. I love my life!