It’s all about taste at Abu Dhabi’s first totally gluten-free bakery

Abu Dhabi’s first totally gluten-free bakery quietly opened its doors on a side street in Al Rowdah, near Al Bateen airport, last month. Firin Gluten-Free Bakery, operating in a hard-to-find area that’s still under construction, is one of the capital’s newest hidden gems: offering not only delicious gluten-free baking but also a stylish, cafe atmosphere.

Emirati owner Moza Al Mazrouei says her bakery has generated a lot of excitement in the gluten-free community, in part because of the 100-per-cent rule.

For many people with allergies or coeliac disease, the risk of cross-contamination in cafes that offer items containing gluten is too great.

“We hear stories from customers every day,” says Al Mazrouei. “We see tears every day. People can’t believe everything here is gluten-free because it’s so tasty. It’s not dry. It’s not what they’re used to with gluten-free.”

Five years ago if you told Al Mazrouei that she would one day own a gluten-free bakery in the capital, she would have called you crazy. She has three master’s degrees and, until recently, was working at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. Running a bakery was simply not on her to-do list. But that was before her daughter, Mariam, was diagnosed with an allergy to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats.

Original article by Stacie Overton Johnson

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It’s all about taste at Abu Dhabi’s first totally gluten-free bakery