Haley’s Corner Bakery
100% Gluten-free Bakery
10216 SE 256th St. Suite 111 ~ Kent, WA 98030
Phone: 253-852-4486
Store Hours (as of 8-2011)
Monday Closed
Tuesday 9am-6pm
Wednesday 8am-6pm
Thursday 8am-6pm
Friday 8am-6pm
Saturday 9am-5pm
Sunday Closed
When we flew into Sea-Tac airport the other week on a trip to visit my grandparents, one of the first things I did was pull out the DH’s IPhone and look for a gluten-free bakery near the airport. I was hungry and remembered an earlier visit to a gluten-free bakery located near the airport. That bakery was no longer open to the public, unfortunately, but I found another promising candidate in Kent about 20 minutes away from the Seattle airport. It was in the opposite direction from our ultimate destination, Anacortes, but a good gluten-free breakfast can be hard to find. After a few token grumbles, the DH agreed.
The bakery was in a pleasant strip mall with a Starbucks. This latter fact turned out to be important because we were dying for some morning espresso. When I walked in the doors, I was so impressed that I momentarily forgot about my pressing need for coffee. This bright and airy space was cheery, and small tables arranged against the windows were welcoming. Most welcoming of all was the bountiful offerings in the bakery cases and against the wall behind the counter.
The first order of the day was breakfast. I can rarely find gluten-free quiche, so when I saw that they had one, I had to order it. The DH was intrigued by their larger-than-life breakfast muffins that emulated omelets, and he bought the Denver muffin with onion, peppers and ham. I couldn’t believe the fluffy texture when I saw him rip off a piece for Kira. I had to get a meatless one for later that had been basted in pizza sauce.
After we ate, it was time to get some baked goods for the rest of the week in Seattle. I got some of their sandwich bread as as staple food, and I was so intrigued by their sourdough loaf that I had to get some. Living in San Francisco I’m always jealous of the sourdough bread bowls filled with chowder. It was interesting though- when I brought it to my grandparents’ house and my grandpa saw it, I learned that when he was a kid, only poor families ate the stuff. He ate it and hated it- so now he won’t touch it. Actually- although I’ve made gluten-free sourdough at home a la Bette Hagman and enjoyed it, this loaf turned out to be my least favorite of the things I bought at Haley’s. It was just a bit on the heavy side for my taste, and maybe my Grandpa’s story about the hardships of sourdough as a kid made the flavor a bit sour for me.
But let me tell you about my favorite things at the bakery. There were a lot of them. The DH gave an unequivocal thumbs up for Haley’s Corner, and said “the selection is just what you would get at a regular bakery.” In many cases, he said he wouldn’t have known it was gluten-free unless he was told that it was. And amazingly, they don’t even use unusual flours- rice and tapioca seemed to be the norm.* You could buy prepared pizza slices in the refrigerator case- but they all seemed to have meat (especially chicken) so I didn’t buy any of those. I was so impressed by the sweets that I went a little crazy buying one of everything, or so it seemed.
I got pie- and who could choose between gluten-free apple pie, caramel apple pie, or key lime pie? Not me, apparently. I liked them all, but the key lime pie was my favorite. It was sweet without being cloying, with just the right tart note to make things interesting. I love cookies, so on the clerk’s recommendation I got the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and a snickerdoodle. The former came in handy for a reunion with my cousins when they had a box of those foofie cupcakes of beauty that everyone, including toddler yum, got to enjoy. I ran and got my cookie and savored every sweet crumb. There was a slice of sweet cake for sale as a day-old goodie that also went into the rental car with us… and last but not least, tiramisu AND one lovely chocolate eclair.
I know, I really went crazy with the sweets- but this place had such lovely sweets, and would you believe for everything I bought, there was at least 3 more things that I could have tried? The selection was amazing. I enjoyed watching my sometimes critical DH dig in and enjoy this bakery, and it was fun to see Toddler Yum dart around the store, occasionally pausing to gaze in rapture at the counter, saying in her breathless, high pitched toddler voice “oh my!” She was also a fan of the cookie samples, although we stopped after two pieces because I try to limit her sugar.
I am so pleased to see another bustling gluten-free bakery in the Northwest, and I hope they are around for many years to come so that stopping in for breakfast with the DH and Kid Yum can become a tradition. I had more sweets and baked goods in the week after my visit than I usually have over a period of a few months- probably next time I wouldn’t go QUITE so crazy. After all, my grandparents did feed me, and it wasn’t necessary to stock up quite so heavily on the sweets. But… it was fun, and now I know what my favorites are for next time. I’d buy the tiramisu again… and the key lime pie… and the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. And then I’ll sign up for gym membership. Pangs over dieting aside, this bakery is one more reason to love the Northwest. I hope you get a chance to visit and love it as much as we did.
*By the way, for those allergic to rice, in researching Seattle bakeries I found out that Da Vinci bakery is not only still running but is also transitioning to be rice free.
*PS This was written while on the road in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is the first of many Gluten-free bakery and restaurant posts I’ve got lined up. We’ve been in Seattle, Manhattan, and now are in Israel. Can’t wait to share our latest gluten-free experiences with you! Adopt a Blogger adoption sign-up post should be up or linked around the 15th of this month.
