by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
Raegamuffin’s Bakery in Veazie is suffused with the traditional enticing aromas of freshly baked bread, cakes and cookies. What isn’t traditional is that the products bakery owner Rachel Eugley, 21, makes at Raegamffin’s are gluten free. Gluten is found in foods made with wheat and other grains, including barley, rye and spelt. Some people, including Eugley are allergic to or have a sensitivity to gluten and cannot eat items that contain it. But not all of Raegamuffin’s customers are sensitive to gluten. “Fifty percent of my customers [don’t need to eat] gluten-free,” said Eugley, who grew up in Greenfield and attended Orono High School.
Eugley uses rice flour, tapioca and potato starches, gluten-free oat flour and sorghum flour in her baking. Her baked goods also are xanthan and guar gum free.
The bakery is an open space divided by a half-wall to separate the kitchen with its large ovens from the dining area where customers can have a cup of Carrabassett Coffee, iced tea and other cold beverages, accompanied by a cookie, muffin or donut.
Eugley learned she had to avoid gluten in her diet when she was 17, which led her to develop gluten-free bread and pastry recipes. “I did a lot of experimenting, trial and error.” She learned when to add an extra egg and when not to, for example. “I made up all my own recipes,” she said. She is especially proud of her recipe for baguette bread. “It’s a good neutral bread that can be shaped into bagels and other things. I learned about gluten-free baking chemistry.”
Eugley began her baking education at United Technologies Center in Bangor when she was still in high school. She continued her culinary education in baking and pastry arts at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. She opened Raegamuffin’s on April 29 at 1552 State St. in Veazie.
“I was trained really well in college. I went to school to learn how to run a business, not just for the baking aspect,” Eugley said. In addition to baking and pastry arts, she took classes in business, management, how to train employees and other subjects related to owning and managing a bakery.
“I already have ‘regulars,’” Eugley said, “from Silver’s, people on the way to work at Eastern Maine Medical Center and from Veazie Veterinary.”
Eugley began thinking about establishing her own bakery business while she was still serving a baking internship as part of her college work. It took her nearly a year to look for, find and renovate the former Veazie Market building that now houses her business. The building was gutting and revamped to suit its new role as a gluten-free bakery.
“Everyone is excited and happy that the building has been rehabbed and has a thriving business in it,” Eugley said.
Eugley credits her parents, Juliann and Reginald Eugley, and her brother, David Eugely, and many friends with helping her get the space ready for opening day.
Eugley, who has employed an assistant to help out at the bakery, said her mother drops by each noontime so she can take a time out for lunch.
The list of gluten-free bakery items Raegamuffin’s offers include tarts; donuts; pineapple-coconut, blueberry, vegan tropical, pumpkin, and raspberry muffins; cookies, cupcakes, special-order cakes and bread. “Bread always sells out,” Eugley said. “Gluten-free people are ecstatic.”
One Raegamuffin’s most popular items is Sunflower French Macaroon mint and chocolate cookies. “People come and ask the ‘little green cookies,’” Eugley said.
Eugely takes pride in the fact that her kitchen and dining area are tree nut and peanut-free. There soon will a separate kitchen with sealed doors and equipment, including an oven, where items containing nuts or peanut butter will be baked and packaged.
“I want people with air-borne allergies to be safe in here,” Eugely said. “We always have dairy-free, soy-free and vegan items, too.”
Eugley is in the early planning stages of adding lunch-time items to her list of products, including soup and pizza slices that “you can grab and go,” she said.
Raegamuffin’s is open 5:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m.-noon Sunday.
For information, call Raegamuffin’s at 942-9400, email raegamuffins@gmail.com or stop in at the bakery at 1552 State St. in Veazie.
by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
Raegamuffin’s Bakery in Veazie is suffused with the traditional enticing aromas of freshly baked bread, cakes and cookies. What isn’t traditional is that the products bakery owner Rachel Eugley, 21, makes at Raegamffin’s are gluten free. Gluten is found in foods made with wheat and other grains, including barley, rye and spelt. Some people, including Eugley are allergic to or have a sensitivity to gluten and cannot eat items that contain it. But not all of Raegamuffin’s customers are sensitive to gluten. “Fifty percent of my customers [don’t need to eat] gluten-free,” said Eugley, who grew up in Greenfield and attended Orono High School.
Eugley uses rice flour, tapioca and potato starches, gluten-free oat flour and sorghum flour in her baking. Her baked goods also are xanthan and guar gum free.
The bakery is an open space divided by a half-wall to separate the kitchen with its large ovens from the dining area where customers can have a cup of Carrabassett Coffee, iced tea and other cold beverages, accompanied by a cookie, muffin or donut.
Eugley learned she had to avoid gluten in her diet when she was 17, which led her to develop gluten-free bread and pastry recipes. “I did a lot of experimenting, trial and error.” She learned when to add an extra egg and when not to, for example. “I made up all my own recipes,” she said. She is especially proud of her recipe for baguette bread. “It’s a good neutral bread that can be shaped into bagels and other things. I learned about gluten-free baking chemistry.”
Eugley began her baking education at United Technologies Center in Bangor when she was still in high school. She continued her culinary education in baking and pastry arts at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. She opened Raegamuffin’s on April 29 at 1552 State St. in Veazie.
“I was trained really well in college. I went to school to learn how to run a business, not just for the baking aspect,” Eugley said. In addition to baking and pastry arts, she took classes in business, management, how to train employees and other subjects related to owning and managing a bakery.
“I already have ‘regulars,’” Eugley said, “from Silver’s, people on the way to work at Eastern Maine Medical Center and from Veazie Veterinary.”
Eugley began thinking about establishing her own bakery business while she was still serving a baking internship as part of her college work. It took her nearly a year to look for, find and renovate the former Veazie Market building that now houses her business. The building was gutting and revamped to suit its new role as a gluten-free bakery.
“Everyone is excited and happy that the building has been rehabbed and has a thriving business in it,” Eugley said.
Eugley credits her parents, Juliann and Reginald Eugley, and her brother, David Eugely, and many friends with helping her get the space ready for opening day.
Eugley, who has employed an assistant to help out at the bakery, said her mother drops by each noontime so she can take a time out for lunch.
The list of gluten-free bakery items Raegamuffin’s offers include tarts; donuts; pineapple-coconut, blueberry, vegan tropical, pumpkin, and raspberry muffins; cookies, cupcakes, special-order cakes and bread. “Bread always sells out,” Eugley said. “Gluten-free people are ecstatic.”
One Raegamuffin’s most popular items is Sunflower French Macaroon mint and chocolate cookies. “People come and ask the ‘little green cookies,’” Eugley said.
Eugely takes pride in the fact that her kitchen and dining area are tree nut and peanut-free. There soon will a separate kitchen with sealed doors and equipment, including an oven, where items containing nuts or peanut butter will be baked and packaged.
“I want people with air-borne allergies to be safe in here,” Eugely said. “We always have dairy-free, soy-free and vegan items, too.”
Eugley is in the early planning stages of adding lunch-time items to her list of products, including soup and pizza slices that “you can grab and go,” she said.
Raegamuffin’s is open 5:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m.-noon Sunday.
For information, call Raegamuffin’s at 942-9400, email raegamuffins@gmail.com or stop in at the bakery at 1552 State St. in Veazie.