Gluten-free bakery hopes to be sweet success

by Dave DeMars

news@thenewsleaders.com

Two years ago, Jessica Brinkman wanted to have her own bakery. For Jessica, baking was a passion. For some time, she was limited to selling her wares at farmers’ markets, but now she and her husband, John, do have that bakery in downtown Sauk Rapids – and more.

As John explained it, Jessica started out small – in her kitchen at first – then in a church kitchen. But demand was high for her special kind of gluten-free cookies, cakes and pies. When Jessica started her business, she called it Sweet Nature. When John decided to join her in the business, they expanded into another area – a kitchen rental business for other businesses that might want to start up a gluten-free business. The Brinkmans named their new business “Mixing It Up Bakery and Rental Kitchen.”

“We’re a gluten-free baker and rental kitchen,” John said. “The rental kitchen is a new concept.”

The Brinkmans explained for anyone in the state of Minnesota to make and distribute product to any retail stores, the requirement is that the provider have a state-licensed commercial kitchen. That is what John and Jessica have behind the swinging doors of their bakery. And they are willing to rent the facility out to other business owners who may not have the cash or desire to outfit their own commercial kitchens. To date, they have a half dozen local businesses that use the kitchen at Mixing It Up Bakery and Rental Kitchen.

“We have someone who is making cookies, another person who is making cheese cakes,” John said. “And it is all gluten-free. We are the first one – the first gluten-free kitchen in the entire state of Minnesota, and one of the few in the United States.”

For those who don’t know, gluten is that sticky paste-like stuff that is found in wheat, oats, rye, barley and several other grain flours. It gives the flour the ability to hold a shape when mixed with a bit of water. Gluten can also cause distress to the digestive tract – sometimes severe. Most folks have little problem with gluten. About 1 percent of the American population do, according to WebMD, an Internet site.

Symptoms of gluten intolerance include diarrhea, anemia, bone pain and a skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis. Those who are affected by gluten may suffer mild discomfort, a bloated feeling or they may be severely affected and made sick enough to land them in the hospital. Those who are severely affected most likely suffer from celiac disease.

“For them it’s like eating rat poison,” John said, “and it can put them in the hospital for a couple of days.”

Those sensitive to gluten products have to monitor every product they eat. Even a small amount of gluten can have major repercussions because of cross contamination of products. Brinkman and his wife keep close tabs on who is bringing in what to their bakery. They do not want any accidental cross contamination.

“We work with all of our businesses,” John said, “to verify all the products they bring in are gluten-free.”

John said they are looking for other businesses that want to start up or businesses that want to expand into the gluten-free market. Right now they are especially open to a catering service that would specialize in gluten-free foods.

The Brinkmans had a dream when they started out, and now some of that dream has been achieved. But they are not selfish about the dream. They want others to have the same kind of chance they had to achieve their dream. Now they want to help others.

“It’s a challenge to get started, and all the laws and regulations can dampen the passion” John said. “When we built this kitchen, we wanted it to be a place where others could have their dreams come true as well. We are big on having other people having their dreams become a reality.”

John and Jessica freely offer their advice and experiences on how they started their business, and what hoops and hurdles they had to meet. And there were many.

“We actually started this business about two years ago, and the construction took longer than expected. And there was a lot of licensing that had to be taken into account,” John said. “Certain licensing can’t happen until other steps are in place. It will all work out, but it takes a lot of time.”

John should know since this is not the first business he has embarked on. When he started Mix It Up Bakery and Rental Kitchen, he sold his other business called Oopie Scoopies, a dog waste-removal business. He doubts Mix It Up will be his last business venture.

Not all bakeries are created equal and in the gluten-free bakery business, there are some that create a less-than-satisfactory product.

For six months before opening Sweet Nature Bakery, Jessica tested recipes and formulas. About half of her products wound up in the waste basket because they just didn’t taste very good. There was a lot of trial and error, John said. To guard against having a mediocre product, they decided to use the ultimate product-quality testers – their kids.

“All of our baked products are kid-tested and approved,” Brinkman said. “All the products we put on the shelf, our kids tested. The nice thing about having our kids test something is they don’t really care if they hurt our feelings. If they say it doesn’t taste good, it’s back to the drawing board.”