Deanna Smith’s Escondido-based business Deanna’s Gluten Free is one of the most successful gluten-free bakeries in the country, but the climb to success came from a loving good deed.
About 14 years ago, Smith felt sorry for her then 3-year-old cousin who couldn’t enjoy a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich or grilled cheese sandwich with her fellow cousins because she had Celiac disease. Eating traditionally baked bread would cause havoc on the young girl’s digestive system, and the gluten-free breads available at the time were tasteless. Deanna wanted to do something about it.
Smith, who worked in marketing and had no prior baking experience, began researching gluten-free breads and decided to try to make something tastier than what was on the market at the time. This process took quite a bit of trial and error.
“I could actually make a small house out of all the brick bread that didn’t work,” Smith said.
According to Smith, her inexperience was actually beneficial to her, as baking gluten-free bread is quite different from traditional baking.
“If you’ve made regular bread, you know what it’s supposed to do,” she said. “Gluten-free bread is not regular bread. It’s really the complete opposite.”
