Boulder, CO – It’s been picnic time for a few weeks, but July 4 really kicks-off the season for lots of people. From now until sometime in the early fall, the perfume of the grill wafts through neighborhoods, compelling people to run out to the grocery store and get their own sausages, hamburger, chicken and more to toss on a grate over a bed of hot coals.
The traditional summer picnic calls for a lot of wheat-based products – when dad runs out to the supermarket for those bratwursts, he also nabs a sack of white rolls. Hamburgers, hot dogs, pizzas on the grill, pulled pork sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, blueberry pies, brownies, cakes – all of it depends in part on wheat.
But wheat, and the gluten it contains, is no longer taken for granted. More and more people every day get diagnosed with celiac disease – an autoimmune condition sparked by exposure to gluten found in wheat and other grains. And increasingly, too, people without medical conditions are just cutting back on wheat for their health.
Kim and Jake’s, a gluten-free artisanal bakery in Boulder, can help turn summer picnics into parties for everybody – including those who don’t eat wheat anymore. The bakery has gained a following for its French baguettes – always welcome at a picnic. But it also turns out $6 sacks of buns; plain, seeded and shellacked with olive oil and herbs. Cookies come in eight-packs, for $6. Hungry for a basil-strewn and vegetable-freckled pizza? Kim and Jake’s sells par-cooked or partially cooked pizza crusts individually for $5, or three-packs for $12.
The bakery’s Picnic Cakes, which come in different flavors and sizes, have become especially popular. The treats are two layers of cake with the icing in the middle – like a cake sandwich. No longer do cakes need to be fitted into cake pans and carefully lofted to the picnic table, to prevent icing from getting smeared or removed. With a Picnic Cake, the icing is inside the cake itself.
Kim and Jake’s goods are available in the physical store, through the Kim and Jake’s online marketplace and at select markets, including Whole Foods and Alfalfa's stores along the Front Range.
Interested in making your own gluten-free desserts? Excellent. Kim and Jake’s sells its own flour mixes, which are a few big steps beyond what you might find on the shelves at the supermarket. Kim and Jake have spent more than a year perfecting their gluten-free flour mixes.
About Kim & Jakes
Founded in Boulder, Colorado in 2010 by former pro bike racer and chef Jake Rosenbarger and his wife and chef, Kim Rosenbarger, the bakery specializes in gluten-free baked goods ranging from elaborate wedding cakes to unique cookies to rustic baguettes. For more information, visit kimandjakes.com. Get in touch by heading to the bakery at 641 S. Broadway in Boulder; by telephone, 303-499-9126; or email, info(at)kimandjakes(dot)com.
Source: Kim & Jakes