Freed.me Gluten Free Artisan Bakery started as a labour of love for chef Laura Guevara Convers. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Good gluten-free baked goods are hard to get right. Some are too dry, too stodgy or just too hard to find. But one local chef is looking to change that.
Freed.me Gluten Free Artisan Bakery was born out of love. Colombian-born chef Laura Guevara Convers met her partner – also called Laura – in Canberra in 2024.
“My partner is Irish, and their love language is bread! They grew up with things like soda bread, but they are gluten intolerant and the stuff you get at the supermarket is horrible,” said Laura.
“So I decided to try and make some gluten-free bread. My first attempt didn’t work at all! But I’m very persistent.”
Freed.Me Gluten Free Bakery started with bread but now makes pastries and cakes. Photo: Freed.Me.
Laura’s persistence eventually led to her baking enough bread to supply a few wholefood and health shops, as well as a couple of independent grocers. Then she branched out into pastries and cakes, holding weekly stalls at Southside Farmers Markets and Little Burley Market.
She quickly outgrew the rented kitchen space she was sharing, and started looking for her own facility and found a space in Gungahlin. The repurposed childcare facility now houses office space and has a small commercial kitchen that is perfect for her needs.
“I’m much more flexible in my own space, and there is no risk of cross-contamination here. So we are 100 per cent gluten-free.”
The space has also allowed her to open as a cafe on Saturdays, which resulted in queues out the door on opening weekend!
“It was chaos! Totally overwhelming, but there were lots of grateful and happy customers. I want this to be a safe space for everyone to enjoy. I also have products that are dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan.”
Weekly specials – like these scones – round out the offerings at the bakery. Photo: Freed.me.
Creating excellent gluten-free breads and pastries requires considerable skill. Laura uses different flours like corn, buckwheat and tapioca to achieve the right textures. Learning to understand the science behind the baking process has played a big part in Laura’s success.
So far the cinnamon scrolls have been a popular choice; Laura said it’s uncommon to find gluten-free versions and customers have told her it’s the first time they’ve enjoyed the treat since their coeliac diagnosis.
As for Laura’s partner?
“She loves everything I make! And we did some scones last weekend that she really enjoyed.”
For now, Laura is focusing on consistency and increasing supply for her Saturday-morning customers and hopes to open on Sundays in the near future. She’s not doing any market stalls for now, but is planning to bring her gluten-free goodies to the south side one day. Her breads can still be found at select stores.
Freed.me Artisan Bakery is located at 4 Gribble Street, Gungahlin (in the Yellow Box Business Centre). It’s open from 8 am to 2 pm on Saturdays, or until sold out. Follow Freed.me Artisan Bakery on Instagram. Visit their website for a list of stockists.