As you know from reading some of my previous posts (here), I live in a super tiny village called Wales in central Massachusetts USA. We do not live the fast life here; we enjoy the quiet and solitude of the woods.
One of the things I like about the people who live in this region is that they often find ways to build small businesses that keep them IN the region. I have commuted for YEARS to Boston (4 hours a day) and I now put a premium on working close to or in the home.
Cathie Albrecht, proud owner of Auntie Cathie’s Bakery
Today, I would like to introduce you to one such resident of Wales, Cathie Albrecht (shown at top). She opened Auntie Cathie’s Bakery two years ago, and she is intensely dedicated to giving her customers what they desire. One outcome of this philosophy is that she is finding ways to make just about everything she offers in her bakery all natural sugar-free, wheat-free, and gluten-free. (Note: She ships to anywhere in the continental US.)
This means that Auntie Cathies makes gluten-free:
- breads
- cakes
- cookies
- Moon pies
- pastries
- pies
- pizza dough
- wedding cakes
- and just about anything else you could imagine.
On a recent day, Cathie allowed me to take some photos of her bakery, herself, her employees, and her delicious food.
Gluten-free Lemon Pecan Coffee Cake
Outside
Moon pies - fresh - so delicious - available gluten-free! (these are conventional)
Blueberry crumble pie
Tools of the trade
Employee, focused on the work at hand
Helping customers, prepping moon pie fixings
Pulling out the moon pie cake-lets
Chatting and making moon pies
Close up of moon pie goodness
If you would like to visit our quaint New England town of Wales and this bakery specifically, click here for a map and directions. If you would like to mail-order bakery items or some of their handmade all natural soaps and other toiletries, give the bakery a call at 413-245-6235.
Auntie Cathie’s Bakery
17 Main Street (Route 19)
Wales, Massachusetts 01081-9777
cathie@auntiecathies.com
Copyright © 2007 Nika Boyce All Rights Reserved
Technorati Tags: Massachusetts, USA, small business, Boston, Cathie Albrecht, , Auntie Cathie’s Bakery, sugar-free, wheat-free, gluten-free, ships, gluten, bread, cake, cookie, Moon pie, pastries, pie, pizza, dough, wedding, cake, delicious, New England, Wales, bakery, handmade, natural, soap, toiletries
14 comments for this entry ↓
1 Margita // Feb 4, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Great, it’a pitty they don’t deliver gluten-free goodies to Eastern Europe…
2 admin // Feb 4, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Margita: Well.. I could ask her.. I think she would entertain it if its something that could survive the travels. Let me know what you have in mind (and where) and I will ask her.
3 Paul // Feb 5, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Auntie Cathie’s also makes a Pumpkin Moon pie (known in this area as whoopie pies…) that is out of this world! I’ve also sampled some of her other tasty treats and make it a point to stop in there when I pass through the Wales area….
4 Linda, The Village Vegetable // Feb 6, 2007 at 11:48 am
this looks lovely - next time I go to mass. i’ll have to try to find y’all! love the photos.
5 admin // Feb 6, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Paul: ooh, I need to get some of those for sure.
Linda: glad you like the shots. We are not far from Sturbridge (Rt 84 - Mass Pike intersection) so we are not THAT inaccessible.
Make sure to check on her hours before you swing by.
6 Margita // Feb 7, 2007 at 6:20 am
Well, I’m living in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. Because of nonexistence of public awareness about a celiac disease, we are limited to home cooking. No one makes gluten-free food here so it would be nice if we could have a different solution…
7 Lydia // Feb 7, 2007 at 8:38 am
After years of living and working in Boston, I moved to northwest Rhode Island — not all that far from Wales. It’s so good to know about Cathie’s bakery — worth a drive up there as soon as possible. I love meeting people who have managed to create the life and work they want, in the place where they want to live. It is not easy, sometimes, to keep our priorities straight.
8 Patricia Scarpin // Feb 7, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Nika
What a lovely post! Beautiful - and tempting - photos!
That pecan lemon coffee cake is on my mind now - I’ll try to find a similar recipe!
9 admin // Feb 8, 2007 at 9:20 am
Margita: wow, it must be so hard there.. tho it does represent an opportunity in the near term.. if you can bake or help a baker set up to make gluten-free foods for the awareness that will likely develop in the next few years you might find it a lucrative biz.
If you want to pay for shipping from MA to Belgrade I will ask Cathie if there are any items that she can package for shipment (that would make it ok to you). Do you have access to the basic ingredients (like rice flour and xantham gum - I think - I am still learning how bakers replace gluten) that you might use to make them in your own home? If not would it be something you would like shipped (am thinking baking kits for those who like to bake at home but do not know how to convert to gluten free baking).
Lydia: You should definitely check it out! Check for open hours cuz there is not much else out here to see. If you come to the Brimfield Antique Show that would be a good time to check it out. They grow their own organic produce and sell that in a farm stand during the summertime.
I replied to this yesterday but somehow that comment got lost :-(.
Patricia: Thanks! It sure does look divine. We have severe nut allergies here so I could not do a taste test on it. Lemon anything is delish.
10 Auntie Cathie // Feb 8, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I want to say thank you for all the nice comments. I did look into shipping after I saw Margita’s post and I think that we could do something as long as it is a coffee cake, muffin or cookie type of thing. I read about packing baked goods and it doesn’t seem too hard.
Nika - thanks for the great pics and the time you took to do this.
11 Margita // Feb 11, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Nika and Auntie Cathie:
Thank you both for advices and for support. I really do enjoy cooking, and gluten allergy has made me experiment with different types of food even more, so I am very happy about it. Of course, I’d like to taste a nice, warm loaf of bread once in a while. I love to bake and I already made some simple things i.e. tortillas or cookies, but I’m limited when it comes to ingredients - xanthan gum is definitely unheard of here. Therefore, making pastry is off limits…
Do let me know some details about shipping, if it’s not too expensive I’d go for it. On the other hand, I could contact people from our local food industries or at least some bakeries, and perhaps find someone who would see the common interest in this cooperation. As for me, I’d love to try those moon pies
Thank you very much again!
12 Nika’s Culinaria » Organic Black Soybean Pasta - gluten free // Apr 5, 2007 at 7:04 am
[…] Local Foods: Auntie Cathies Bakery - Gluten-free to order […]
13 Julie // Jun 29, 2008 at 7:53 am
Hello! know that these GREAT whoopie pies will not be able to be shipped overseas to an APO. The APO mail people leave packages sit sometimes…but I thought you might be able to share the recipe with me. I used to eat these as a kid but now need to eat gluten free ones! Thanks
14 n // Jun 29, 2008 at 9:37 am
Julie,
The recipe is not mine to give, I will pass this along to Auntie Kathy
Nika
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