Brand new Northamptonshire bake shed offers dairy and gluten-free treats
Cake, cookie and traybake fans looking for treats free from gluten, dairy and soya, as well as vegan options, can use a new self-service bake shed in Northamptonshire.
Owner of Bakeworks Co. Louise Ely, a busy mum-of-two, already supplies handmade ‘free-from’ bakes direct to customers, cafés and farmers’ markets.
Now she has expanded to a self-service bijou bakery outside her Thrapston home, part of a trend of bake sheds across the UK – that rely on the honesty of the customers who pay via cash or a QR code but are monitored by CCTV doorbells.
Louise, who also creates celebration cakes, says her passion for free-from baking is driven by personal experience – her mum developed coeliac disease and becomes very ill if she consumes gluten.
She said: “I hate to think that someone is missing out. My customers can’t have a crumb of gluten. I have seen it when my mum gets ‘glutened’. She ended up in hospital and they found she had coeliac disease. My husband can’t eat gluten due to an intolerance and my son has a dairy allergy.
"So I’m really passionate giving people a safe space – and I really enjoy it.”
Louise, 37, fits her baking around family commitments, sometimes getting up at 5am and staying up until midnight to ensure the products are fresh.
It took Louise several months to perfect her recipes using alternative products before they were ready to sell.
Her ‘chunky, indulgent’ range includes favourites such as brownies, blondies, traybakes, cookies and seasonal specials — all made in a totally gluten-free, dairy-free household.
Louise added: “My cakes at the beginning were gross, so dry. Now I have mastered the cakes, I’ve launched cinnamon buns.”
Although she admits it can be ‘lonely’ working on her own, Louise looks forward to meeting her customers face to face.
She said: “I’m the only gluten-free dairy-free maker in the county. I know a lot of the customers because they come back – that’s one of the best things.”
Bakeworks Co bake shed is located outside 18 Scotney Way, Thrapston.
The outlet is due to open on Fridays from 2pm until around 8pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 7pm.
Louise is also a regular trader at Market Harborough Artisan Market, and Thrapston Farmers Market – the first Saturday of the month.
For further information go to https://www.bakeworksco.co.uk.