Chilis: 4

Yum Yum’s Gluten Free Bakery

Address: 116 Seeley Road, Syracuse, N.Y.  

Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday and Friday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Website: yumyumsglutenfreebakery.com

I can eat anything. I’m blessed with zero allergies, and I’ve never been motivated to relinquish meat or all animal products, so as my dining partner and I headed to Yum Yum’s Gluten Free Bakery on Friday night, I thought, ‘What exactly is gluten, and why does this bakery strip it from its treats?’

We arrived to a world of pastel colors. Light pink walls and green booths welcomed us.  Café-style tables with quirky mismatched chairs coupled with a drawing of the Eiffel Tower under the glass top of our booth gave the bakery a European vibe. 

High on the wall by the door, picture frames bear the bright faces of owner Erin Gridley’s four children grinning down at us. Two have celiac disease and can’t digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Mystery solved. Gridley always cooked gluten-free meals for them at home, so when the space at 116 Seeley Road became available, she decided to share her recipes with the public. 

At the suggestion of the young woman working the front counter, we ordered a small cheese pizza. Due to my sweet tooth, we also ordered two ornate cupcakes nestled in the big baked goods display case: red velvet and chocolate bomb. The woman handed me the cupcakes and explained that the chocolate bomb fused a chocolate cupcake with cookie dough. For a split second, I considered waiting until our pizza arrived to try the cupcakes but that notion didn’t last long. As Jacques Torres said, ‘Life is short. Eat dessert first!’

My teeth sunk into the chocolate bomb and my mouth exploded with flavor. The cupcake was fudgy and thick, with a layer of cookie on top and a big chunk of soft cookie dough in the middle. The dessert married two flavors that were always meant to be together. Although the cake part of the cupcake tasted indistinguishable from anything non-gluten- free I had in the past, the cookie dough’s texture was slightly grainy. 

Next up: the red velvet. My dining partner and I both agreed the cupcake tasted better than any other red velvet cupcake we’d ever had. The rich red cake was moist and not overwhelmingly sweet. The cream cheese frosting clinched the deal. Light as a feather and delicately creamy, it gave me the impression of eating a cloud.  

The pizza was steaming hot and fresh out of the oven when it arrived. Gridley believes in making everything to order. She even cuts her homemade pizza dough for each individual request.

I admit that I approached my first bite warily. Unaccustomed to eating gluten-free food, I was nervous the pizza would taste dramatically different than anything I’d ever had before. After all, traditional pizza crust is a minefield of gluten. However, I didn’t even notice the crust as first. The delicious seasoning of the thick, melted cheese jumped out right away. Sprinkled with oregano and basil, the cheese had less grease and more pizzazz than what you typically find on a pizza. It struck me that the crust did taste different, but not in the way that I would have expected.

‘Everybody has this idea of gluten-free food in their mind,’ Gridley said. ‘That it’s gritty, gross and dry, but it’s not. Or it doesn’t have to be.’

Indeed, Gridley’s crust seemed denser than what you’d find on your average pie, but I liked it. It had the same slight grainy texture as the cookie dough. Gridley mentioned that customers usually first come to the bakery with friends who have celiac, but even those who could actually digest gluten kept coming back for more. 

I noticed a phrase chalked up on the menu behind the front counter: ‘If you can dream it, we can do it.’ Whether you’ve got a gluten-free diet or not, Yum Yum’s offers a huge array of delicious, moderately priced choices. After all, everyone deserves to kick back on a Friday night with tasty treats and a good old pizza pie. 

jidonfro@syr.edu

Published on February 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm