 For many market goers, Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery is a weekly staple. From fresh baked goods like decadent brownies, breads, cookies, squares, cupcakes, and bars, to scones, waffles, granola, and much more (all gluten-free, but you wouldn't know it by the delicious taste). Each week, their stand at Horton is filled with fresh, made-from-scratch goods, but make sure you get to the market early to get a pick of the whole assortment; their products go quick - a further testament to their quality and taste. Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery may have started right out of the Horton Farmers' Market, but they have since expanded to a bakery and storefront in Aylmer, a cafe at The Old Imperial Market, and custom phone or website sweet and savoury orders (including pot pies, perogies, lasagna's, sausage rolls, quiches, pizza doughs, and more! But Horton holds a special place in owner and operator Tracy's heart, as it was the first place where Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery debuted, and arguably where the company got its start with the support of the local St. Thomas and Elgin County community. Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery started in 2021 out of the Horton Farmers' Market, and in 2022, Tracy officially opened her bakery location in Aylmer. "I've always been a baker my whole life," Tracy explained. "I've always made stuff from scratch." After her husband was diagnosed with celiac roughly nine years ago, Tracy's daughter was also diagnosed with celiac just a few months later. So Tracy did what she knew how to do, and began baking from scratch to test out some new gluten-free options for her family. "I was in the kitchen all day, so I figured I might as well sell some and get something out of it, and that's how it started," Tracy said with a smile. But gluten-free baking comes with lots of challenges and learning curves Tracy had to adapt to. "When I first started baking and trying out recipes that I found, they were mostly disgusting," Tracy laughed. "The [gluten-free] flour is so expensive, there were many trials, and then I stopped baking altogether for six months because I'm like, screw it, this is disgusting! And then I did a ton of research, like hours and hours and hours to find what flours to blend together, and as soon as I started working with my blend that works really well, it made all the difference. Then things started turning out, and I thought, "Okay, now I can do this." I don't have to throw out the things that I baked because they're awful; they're not dry anymore, and they taste like good bread." Tracy is proof that gluten-free goods don't have to mean sacrificing good taste. With hard work, dedication, research (and some less-than-delicious trial runs), delicious gluten-free options are possible. "It doesn't have to be disgusting, but it also takes A LOT of hard work and research to make it not disgusting," Tracy said. "It's not an easy thing to do." Starting with self-guided research, Tracy ran through thousands of Google searches, blogs, and learning the chemistry behind baking. "I had pages and pages and pages of notes," Tracy explained. "To see how this batch turned out or how this changed, and what properties each flour and blend has. Different flours have varying protein and starch, and for baking, they need to be structured a certain way. It's very fancy, very chemistry heavy; baking is a science." Starting out baking all by herself in her home kitchen, Tracy would bring a small batch of offerings to Horton with her each week. "I would sell out of scones every week," Tracy said proudly. "I was selling like 96 scones every single week. So I started getting really good recommendations and very loyal customers [at Horton]. And by the end of the summer, by October, they would ask me where they could get my goods in the winter, and I was like...no where." With some encouragement from her husband, they began to look for locations around them and found a good place to rent and decided to go for it. That space has become their flagship storefront in Aylmer, and is where all of the baking (still all done by hand and from scratch) happens. "We've definitely outgrown it a little bit," Tracy smiled. "We've packed it full of extra freezers and fridges to try and stock everything that we make for the week. We started with the physical bakery making one nine by thirteen pan of brownies a week, and now we go through two full sheet pans in a week. The girls are barely keeping up!" In addition to their signature and expanding baked good offerings, Tracy has started to also offer freezer meals and carry other gluten free goodies to make the storefront a sort of grocery store, one-stop-shop for her customers. What started out as Tracy being the sole baker, has now expanded to a team of eight bakers, spread out across their Aylmer locations. Originally, Tracy began making sourdough breads that she absolutely loved, and then she ventured into more desserts, which she says are a bit more forgiving. She would love to expand her bread offerings further, but says she still has lots of research that needs to be done. As for their frozen meal offerings, Tracy started off with pot pies, and then found customers asking for more freezer options. From there she tried lasagnas and shepherd's pies, and they took off. "Our product expansions have definitely been shaped by customer feedback," Tracy explained. "We have customers come back and ask if we've ever thought of doing a certain dish, asking us what we can make, or asking to place orders. And my answer is we can try! We've done it, I'll do it; we aren't afraid of a challenge." Tracy started off coming to Horton due to its proximity, and off a recommendation from her brother, Roger, who (alongside his wife Romina) owns and operates another staple Horton business, Our Fields. Tracy got a booth next to Roger and has been coming to Horton ever since. Tracy loves being able to partner with her brother for their seasonal offerings - especially if they have a large amount of a particular crop. "They'll have too much broccoli or spinach, and I'm always like I'll help!" Tracy laughed. "I love making quiches, because we can use up so many different fresh produce for them." Some of Tracy's current favourite offerings include their muffins, waffles, mac and cheese, and oat fudge bars - but you honestly can't go wrong with any of their goods. Since their beginnings at Horton, Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery is eternally thankful for its loyal and supportive customers. Rain or shine, they come out, and the market is on. "Some markets you know if it's a rainy day you're not going to sell much, at Horton, it makes a little bit of a difference, but people still come out and it's pretty awesome," said Tracy. Horton gave Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery the ability to build up an essential piece of operating a small business: exposure and the ability to build up a customer base. "Being able to build up the company and get our face out there was essential, and the market location is perfect because it's close to [their home base] or Aylmer," Tracy explained. "Building a loyal customer base to start helped carry the business in the beginning." Customers began to spread the word of this awesome gluten-free place, and the business expanded.  In addition to Horton, Tracy heavily relied on the Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) for guidance, business advice, tips and tricks [also run by the St. Thomas EDC]. "They were very, very helpful in getting me started, helping me find resources," said Tracy. "They got me into the Foodpreneur program, where I got my dough-sheeter, and that has totally changed our pastry production. I always refer people to SBEC if I hear they are planning out or starting a business." Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery is a true Horton success story, and is built off of determination, care, trial and error, endless research, and community resources and support. The bakery has come a long way from it's humble beginnings, but each product is still lovingly made from scratch with care to ensure the best taste and quality - so good that you wouldn't even know there isn't any gluten. Next time you visit Horton, keep an eye out for Abby Mae's Gluten Free Bakery and check out what they have to offer. (My personal favourite is their cherry cream cheese brownie - especially when it's slightly warmed up and served with some ice cream).
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