Dempsey Bakery: Gluten Free and Loving it

I've gone through various phases of being gluten free, and I try to avoid gluten-containing products. It's too bad they taste so good.  The most I've ever gone completely gluten free is 4 months.  I was craving pizza so badly that I almost ate a whole Domino's pizza myself.   I have friends with celiac disease.  For them, eating a pizza often leads to more than the discomfort it gives me.   Enter Dempsey bakery, the perfect answer for anyone who avoids gluten.

Dempsey just opened a few weeks ago.  All of their products are gluten free, nut free and soy free.  They are mostly corn free and preservative free too.  Dempsey even has a few things for vegans.  The staff is very friendly and well educated on ingredients.  If you have a question, they can probably answer it.

Check out the rest of my photos and initial review of Dempsey Bakery.

The store allows you to sample almost everything, and I did.   There were about half a dozen sample plates out.  The bakery is a bit pricier than conventional bakeries, but gluten free flours and ingredients are expensive.  The samples made it easier to fork over $1.50 for a cookie or $16 for a loaf of bread.  At least I knew they were good.

One of the hard parts of being gluten free is trying to make a sandwich or pizza with the available products.  I've tried every bread in Whole Foods, and even bought tons of glutenless flour to make my own.  I haven't had anything like  Dempsey's Everyone's Bread, their signature bread.  Most gluten free breads taste slimy to me, but Everyone's Bread tastes more like actual bread.  It's a bit pricey at $8 for half a loaf (a loaf is a bit larger than a loaf of Wonder Bread), but worth it if you're gluten free.  They also make rolls, pizza crust and hamburger buns.  The pizza crust is divine.  It tastes almost like the real thing.

Texture is a big deal for me (which is why I hate gluten free breads) and I had no problem with the texture of the pizza crust.  The bread tastes a bit like gluten free bread, but it's better than most gluten free breads.

They also have a variety of quick breads.  I've only tried the pumpkin bread. It was quite good.

On to the sweets.  Everything sweet in the bakery is great.   The chocolate chip cookie variety I tasted was vegan. They also have cupcakes, cake balls and sponge cake.   They can make custom, decorated cakes. I bought two small sponge cakes ($8 each) and gave one to friends.  They would have never been able to tell it was gluten free.  It was delicious and moist.  The texture was perfect.  Another friend of mine brought brownies to a potluck.  They tasted as good as any brownies I've ever had.

Any of their sweet treats I sampled rival conventional products in taste and texture.

The downside to the bakery is supply and demand: supply is low and demand is high.  The owner told me they were probably going to be sourcing pizza dough to ZaZa eventually, and they were in the process of buying new pans and things to keep up with demand.  I have one friend who has celiac disease and she has given up for now.  If you don't get there early, they may be sold out.   They do take orders and hold for their customers, so call ahead.

This is going to be a great place for people who are avoiding gluten or intolerant to gluten. They are located at 323 S Cross Street. Suite B, Little Rock, AR. 501-375-2257. Visit their Facebook to see what's cooking today.