By Macy Boyer

First established in 2019 in New York City, Modern Bread & Bagel has been offering delicious bagels and pastries to gluten-free foodies across the nation. With a variety of items, spanning from gluten-free cinnamon buns to chipotle salmon salad, each and every dish is prepared gluten-free. Their mouthwatering and delicious bagels mimic a classic New York style bagel that gluten-free people have long been deprived of. At Modern Bread & Bagel, menu items such as double chocolate zucchini bread and strawberry frosted donuts are not denoted by the familiar “GF” symbol because they don’t have to be—they are naturally wheat-less. It is, so to speak, a gluten-free person’s paradise.

Modern Bread & Bagel’s everything bagel (gluten-free, of course). Photo credit: Modern Bread and Bagel.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease at age nine. According to John Hopkins Medicine, “Celiac disease is a disorder that damages your small intestine and keeps it from absorbing nutrients in food. The damage to your intestinal tract is caused by your immune system’s reaction to gluten.” 

What is gluten, though?

Gluten is found in wheat, barley, and rye. So foods such as bread, donuts, Goldfish crackers, and even obscure items like Twizzlers and soy sauce contain gluten. I used to tell people that gluten would most likely be found in any food that looked remotely delicious. However, after trying the fluffy pastries at Modern Bread & Bagel, I have been proven wrong. 

With six locations evenly divided between New York City and Southern California, Modern Bread & Bagel’s roots can be traced back to New York City and the mind of Orly Gottesman and her husband Josh. In 2007, Josh was diagnosed with celiac disease. In an interview with The Match, Orly explained that there “were very limited options for a gluten-free diet” at the time. She recalled that “the first thing we did was go to Trader Joe’s to try their GF brownie mix, and I remember thinking it tasted like grass.” 

In 2010, Josh and Orly moved to Paris, where he was forced to deal with the frustrations of being gluten-free in a wheat-based world. Orly commented that she discovered her passion for baking during her time in Paris when she “decided to channel Julia Childs and took some French baking lessons with a pastry shop owner.” Orly explained that she “fell in love with French baking and became [the pastry shop owner’s] apprentice.” A year later, Orly made the decision to attend culinary school, so she could pursue a career in food.

Orly received her formal patisserie training from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Sydney, Australia. While she attended classes, Orly commented that she “pioneered an independent study” where she “had to take what we made in class and make a GF version of it to present to my teachers and classmates.” Orly’s goal was to develop gluten-free flour blends that would create gluten-free delectable pastries. It took Orly two years to perfect her blends. Her success allowed her to pursue a career in creating gluten-free flour blends, named “Blends by Orly,” which are used to bake the goods sold at Modern Bread and Bagel. 

Baker and flour blend creator Orly Gottesman is most proud of her gluten-free Brioche and Challah mix. Photo credit: Modern Bread & Bagel.

Yet her triumph did not come easily. When asked if she encountered any frustrations while experimenting with gluten-free flour, Orly said, “it was difficult to find the right balance of light, medium, and heavy flours, as well as the correct amount of gums to give the blends the right texture and viscosity.” As a part of her independent study, Orly recalled that “one time I made sablé cookies with an early version of my cookie flour. My teacher tasted it and said ‘tastes like sand in my mouth.’” 

When Orly and Josh returned to New York from Australia, Orly described that she was “walking around the streets of NYC and passed a bagel shop for rent.” She recalled, “Josh turned to me and said, ‘You make the best gluten-free flour product out there. It’s a shame that you are selling it to other people for them to use, and not showing the world what you can do with your flour. We should open a GF bagel shop and show NYC how amazing your bagels are!’’’ They decided to take the risk and open their own gluten-free bagel shop. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had the world on lockdown a year later, and virtually no one was eating out. Yet Orly explained that they were able to stay “afloat” when they began shipping their orders nationwide. 

Modern Bread and Bagel has gained widespread media coverage since their opening, even appearing on NBC’s The Today Show this past September. On top of shipping their various Modern Bread & Bagel mixes across the nation, Orly and Josh’s pandemic-timed decision to distribute their various gluten-free goodies has allowed wheat antagonists across the world to rediscover their love for donuts and cinnamon buns.

Over Thanksgiving break, I traveled to New York City with my family, and of course I had to pay a visit to Modern Bread and Bagel. As I opened the door to the all-glass storefront on the corner of 3rd Avenue and East 81st Street in the Upper East Side, I was instantly greeted with the smell of freshly baked bagels. I looked around in awe at the small yet cozy store, the word gluten-free jumping out at me everywhere I turned. I was dumbfounded when I took a closer look at the pastries sitting in the window. The glazed donuts looked like “real” donuts I would find at Krispy Kreme, and the chocolate chip cookies didn’t appear as if they would crumble the second I touched them. 

Modern Bread & Bagel’s delicious double chocolate zucchini bread. Photo credit: Tennille Boyer.

I decided to order one glazed donut, the double chocolate zucchini bread, and the cinnamon bun. Additionally, I ordered the Breakfast Grilled Cheese. This meal entailed a fried egg, a cheddar blend, homemade onion jam, and truffle aioli sandwiched in between two gluten-free halves of an everything bagel. 

While I waited for my Breakfast Grilled Cheese to be prepared, I hastily opened the plastic container with the glazed donut inside. My taste buds sang as I took my first bite. I don’t remember exactly what a Krispy Kreme donut tastes like, but I’m pretty sure it tasted exactly like the gluten-free one I was biting into. I was equally as surprised by the gooey goodness of the cinnamon bun and the rich chocolate zucchini bread. The Breakfast Grilled Cheese was flavorsome and tangy due to the truffle aioli, and the everything bagel was the cherry on top. Yet, the glazed donut was the clear winner.

Since being diagnosed with celiac seven years ago, I have noticed a drastic change in the amount of gluten-free products available for consumers to purchase. Small sections in grocery stores dedicated to gluten-free items have now expanded into aisles. A July article in Food Navigator explains that “according to marketing insight firm, Statista, the global market for gluten-free foods and beverages is expected to expand considerably over the next decade, reaching an estimated 14 billion USD by 2032. That’s more than double its current value at 6.7 billion USD.” 

According to Scott Adams, an author with celiac disease who founded Celiac.com, the growth in the gluten-free food market can largely be attributed to “the rise in diagnosis of celiac disease and gluten intolerance but also by a growing number of health-conscious consumers.” Yet it is still difficult for many people living with celiac disease to find nutrient-rich and decent tasting foods in certain areas. I have found that airports and train stations are usually the worst places to be gluten-free, as the grab-and-go items often contain gluten, and restaurants offer limited options. 

Modern Bread & Bagel’s glazed donut was the best gluten-free donut I have ever had. Photo credit: @omgshesglutenfree via instagram.

Orly believes that “the biggest challenge for people with celiac today is that so many people claim that they offer gluten-free options, but it is really not safe for people with celiac to eat at non-dedicated gluten-free kitchens, because the risk of cross contamination is inevitable.” For many people with celiac, a single bread crumb in their meal can leave them feeling sick for days. The stress of not knowing whether the kitchen staff fully understands the severity of your “allergy” is an unfortunate reality people with celiac live in. 

Additionally, Orly explained that while most places dedicated to being celiac safe are bakeries, “most people who are hungry want to eat a meal, not a cupcake.” In Richmond, I have found this statement to hold true. Pearl’s Bake Shoppe and Shyndigz both offer delicious gluten-free pastries that are easy to bring to  functions where gluten-free items are requested. Yet few restaurants in Richmond have dedicated celiac-safe kitchens. 

Even still, I am hopeful for the future of the gluten-free world. Adams writes that “the future of gluten-free foods is bright, with constant innovation, improved nutrition, and a focus on sustainability.” Until then, I am grateful for restaurants like Modern Bread and Bagel, who have made the dreams of many people suffering from celiac come true.