Every year my husband participates in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer here in Ontario and joins about 4500 other cyclists in riding from Toronto to Niagara Falls in the name of raising funds for cancer research.

While he cycles in whatever weather Mother Nature throws his way, I travel with our daughters and my sister to Niagara Falls so we can camp out at the finish line and cheer for the riders as they cross the line.

This year, my husband was one of only 97 riders (out of just over 4500) that took on the added challenge of a 260+ km course called The Hammer. I’m proud to say, not only did he complete the entire route, but he crossed in the best shape of all the 12 years of the ride thus far. I am blown away by the amount of time and effort it takes to train for this ride and my hat goes off to all the riders.

Dedicated Gluten-Free Bakery

Before we left town last week, I was told that if I was going all the way to Niagara Falls, that I must stop at a little gluten-free bakery in St. Catharines for what is claimed to be THE BEST gluten-free bread anywhere.

I hadn’t heard of the bakery so I looked it up…Edible Options is a dedicated gluten-free bakery that offers vegan, egg-free, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, cane sugar-free baked goods. Always ready to try and support anyone in their gluten-free endeavors (and excited to support anyone who works in a dedicated gluten-free shop as I do), I put it in the back of my mind and made note to try and visit the bakery if time allowed.

Thankfully we were able to take the time to stop in St. Catharines on the way home and wow! The gushing reviews online were not overstated!

As soon as we opened the bakery door, we were greeted with incredible smells of fresh-baked goods that had everyone in our group drooling (gluten eaters included). The bakery is an industrial-style cafe with plenty of room to shtop and enjoy whatever you’re lucky enough to buy and try. Almost immediately I was getting asked ‘are you sure it’s gluten-free’ because 1) there were no signs anywhere saying so, and 2) everything looked incredible!

I went straight for the bread and stood in awe at the height and size of their loaves. It was the first thing I ordered, without hesitation – two multigrain loaves, and one cheese & herb. Only then did I wander along the counter to check out the rest of the goods. The staff were fantastic.. patient, and smiling at how happy and excited we all were to be there.

By the time I’d ordered the bread and the staff had sliced all three loaves for me, everyone in my group had their eyes on something they wanted. They all ordered something different for the long ride home: shortbread cookies, ginger cookies, chocolate whoopies, coconut bombs, banana crumble muffins…there were so many options. I was truly in Heaven…EVERYTHING GLUTEN-FREE! Believe me, it’s not very often I get to walk into a bakery and choose anything I want and know that it will be safe.

I was told that the best way to keep the bread was on the counter (wait, what?!) and NOT in the fridge. Unheard of for gluten-free bread! Yep, apparently the bread will keep for about 7-9 days (seriously?!) but it does also freeze well if I wanted to go that route. I smiled but secretly didn’t believe the cheerful young lady behind the counter.

I don’t think we were even out of the parking lot before everyone in the car began eating their treats and started with the gasps of delight, trading bits of their items for bits of someone else’s so everyone could try everything.

The Best Gluten-Free Bread

Back at home, I immediately broke open the loaves of bread. Gorgeous!

My youngest was into them right away and without anything on it, ate a slice. She was two steps away when she turned around and asked for more saying it was the best bread EVER! That’s all it took…my eldest was right behind her begging to try. Yet again, BEST BREAD EVER! Now neither of my kids has to eat gluten-free (and generally prefer not to) so needless to say, none of the loaves I bought will make it to the freezer. As for the claims of the bread lasting 7-9 days out on the counter, I’ll let you know….if any of it lasts that long.

July 2019 UPDATE: Ok, so the bread was amazing and YES, it did last 7 days on the counter! Just how good was it? I’m off on a 4 hour road trip tomorrow to get more!! And this time, I ordered ahead. Bringing home a car full of goodies.