Gluten Free Heaven – Against the Grain Factory Store

Against the Grain Factory Store

It has been over 90 degrees here the last few days, which makes me a little reluctant to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. (Like most New England homes, especially ones that are 125 years old, ours does not have built-in AC. Even with window units, it’s still pretty toasty.)

Instead I’m posting about a fun GF-related outing we just had. Hubby and I just spent a lovely weekend in Vermont. We were planning on doing some hiking and kayaking, but ended up having a lot more sedate trip because I fell and broke a rib last weekend. (Ouch!) So definitely NO kayaking, and sadly for Hubby, not even much fun driving the little back roads as we might as otherwise had since my bruised ribs and the car seat were not getting along very well.

Our first stop in Vermont was the Against the Grain factory store, which is located in their production facility in Brattleboro, Vermont.  If you are not familiar with Against the Grain products, they are really good, especially the GF French baguettes.  We’ve met the owner briefly a couple of times now at another Vermont event, the Strolling of the Heifers. Unfortunately, they don’t have a factory tour, (hint, hint) but they do have free and discounted ATG items, and given the price of gluten-free foods, it was well worth it.  They also have samples, cookbooks and some GF merchandise (including their tongue-in-cheek “#gfyourself” t-shirts.)  The GF, Vegan cookies were excellent. (I’m a big dairy fan, and usually not so into the vegan, so if I say something vegan is good, it’s pretty good).

We could only buy what we could eat in the next few days, since we didn’t have access to a freezer.  But we did get some super yummy rolls and baguettes. No, the texture and taste of an Against the Grain baguette is not quite the same as a “real” wheat baguette, but believe me, if you haven’t had one, they are worth getting.  It is both by light years the closest we have found, but also stands on its own.  It doesn’t need to compete to be “real.”  This is one of the products that passes the test of – I eat because I want to, since I don’t have to eat GF. They just had the plain baguettes as seconds, which is yummy, although the rosemary version is even better, I think.

Nancy Cain, the founder, doesn’t like using gums as binders and so for this bread basically uses cheese as the binder. Generally ATG products use lighter flours (tapioca, etc.) The result is a loaf that is light (yes, a gluten-free product that is light without being tasteless!) and airy, has a good chew factor (not as crunchy as with wheat), and is very tasty.  It’s sort of like a cross between standard French bread and a cream puff shell. Along with tasting good, the company tries to do good with its business practices, using as much green energy as possible and paying a starting wage of $15 a hour for all workers. She has a new cookbook out, which I bought and will be trying recipes from so you will hear a lot more about that.

Is this a gorgeous picnic spot or what?

We had brought ham, cheese, tomatoes, berries and drinks with us.  Now with the bread, we had all the elements for a spectacular picnic.  We ate along the West River in Dummerston, just under one of Vermont’s many covered bridges. I gingerly descended the steps to the river and we were definitely rewarded for the effort because it was a gorgeous spot and we had a wonderful picnic, watching the rapids and little kids (and some grownups) jump around in the water.

PS. If you do go to Against the Grain, the store is quite hard to find, so don’t give up.  You turn in from Rt. 5 just before the Agway.  There’s a set of industrial buildings just to the back of it, and you need to go in there and follow around the edge of the building all the way to the other side.  (There is a very, very tiny sign). Alternatively, you can go around the front of the Agway and back around on that side.