The Funky Muffin Bakery
When Carol Key was diagnosed with celiac disease 13 years ago, a doctor handed her a list of the only 15 items she was allowed to eat. With that, 15 bags of food from her pantry were thrown in the trash.
The disorder affects digestion, potentially causing damage to the lining of the small intestine, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. Gluten is the guilty protein, which is found in wheat — the main ingredient in most breads. So out went the pies, muffins, cakes, cupcakes and sandwiches. Most of the food she had grown to know and love was now out of reach.
But for Carol, it wasn’t the end of an era. It was the just the opposite.
“I wanted to create something where those with celiac disease or those who chose to live the gluten-free lifestyle could eat anything in the store,” Carol said of her recently opened gluten-free bakery, The Funky Muffin.
At The Funky Muffin, located in the Riverhills Shopping Center on U.S. 280, shelves of bread and muffins greet customers as they walk through the door. Lemon squares, brownies, cookies and doughnuts are tantalizingly arranged behind a glass display case. Sweet vanilla and chocolate breads line the left side of the entrance, and beyond the checkout counter you can see the baking staff hard at work.
Aromas greet passersby and pull them inside the busy shop where equipment is always stirring, industrial ovens always cooking and proofers always heating to supply the stream of gluten-free customers.
“The response has been superb,” Carol said.
The Funky Muffin isn’t limited to its basic display. Carol is willing to create custom cakes for others afflicted with celiac disease or wheat intolerance.
Following her diagnosis, Carol, an avid baker, launched herself into a trial-and-error experience in the kitchen. Her goal at first was to uncover ways she could eat what she loved without aggravating the disease. But as her niece Kelly Key explained, it was an uphill climb.
“Ten years ago, it was not like it is now,” said Kelly, marketing manager for The Funky Muffin. “Now, you can go into a restaurant and ask for the gluten-free menu, but she couldn’t go to the store and shop the gluten-free shelves.”
Kelly is also wheat-intolerant, and she grew up eating Carol’s concoctions. Like her aunt, she’s a proponent for the health benefits of changing to a gluten-free diet.
“I have friends now that are switching for whatever reason, including making diet changes to help their kids,” Kelly said. “There are just so many reasons that people are going gluten free.”
Carol’s mix of flours allows her products to be moist as opposed to dry and crumbly like many other gluten-free items. Gluten is a binding agent in bread, and without it the texture can become coarse and brittle.
Currently, prices at The Funky Muffin range from cookies at $.50 each to custom-made cakes at $35. Carol said she’s always testing new recipes and intends to have new items available on the spring menu.
“Right now, our plan is to just keep growing it as it is,” Carol said. “I don’t really have any plans set in stone except that. We’ve got to walk before we run.”