A RECIPE FOR GOING GLUTEN-FREE IN 2018.
It’s that time of year again. You know what I mean — as another new year arrives, it means that once more it’s time for the annual tradition of trying to curb carbs, sweets or any other indulgences in an effort to help combat any waistline expansion that might have occurred over the holidays.
Mina Makram knows this drill of deprivation all too well, which is why he and his business partner and girlfriend, Kim Sullivan, launched their gluten-free and Paleo-friendly bakery, Ducks & Dragons, in 2014.
“A lot of people feel like they’re missing out or feel deprived. That’s always the worst thing when you’re on a diet,” Makram says. “You’re bound to fall off the wagon.”
Makram, who once weighed over 400 pounds, has shed more than half his body weight through exercise and a low-carb ketogenic diet. But as a lifelong lover of bread, he found the options for glutenfree and Paleo-friendly breads were, well, lacking.
“The idea of bread out of a freezer or package that says ‘six month shelf-life’ — it’s horrifying to me,” says Makram.
Makram came to the United States as a teenager with his family as refugees from Egypt nearly two decades ago. Upon finding himself with a lot of extra time on his hands after being let go from a small Silicon Valley startup, the electrical engineer began experimenting to see if he could make better gluten-free and Paleo bread.
“All I cared about at the time was: how do I make bread that tastes really good, but has good nutrition and would help me control my diet?”
For his secret gluten-free flour blend, the self-taught Makram uses a blend of almond and coconut flours, along with fiber-rich psyllium husks, flax seeds (for omega 3s), egg whites and sweeteners like honey and coconut sugar to develop his closelyguarded recipes.
“I just kept experimenting and experimenting over the years. As I learned more about how our flour mix behaves, I’ve adjusted and made things better and better,” says Makram.
Case in point, when he first developed his bagel recipe, Makram says that he went through dozens of iterations before he found one that would hold together when boiled and then baked — and still taste good.
Makram sees his lack of a professional baking background as a good thing because it has made him more adventurous with his experiments in the kitchen. Coming from an engineering background, all of this experimentation is well-suited to his personality, he says. “I love tinkering and figuring it out as I go.”
With a handful of recipes established, Makram decided to leave behind the world of tech startups and see if he could make a go selling his breads at farmers’ markets. He got a spot at the Saturday San Mateo farmers’ market.
Under the banner of Ducks & Dragons, his stand built a steady following. Six months in, demand was high enough that Makram had to move from a shared commercial kitchen in San Mateo to his own fully glutenfree baking facility in San Carlos.
The bakery currently produces about a dozen different kinds of bread, including bagels, baguettes and incredibly addictive chocolate and cheddar rolls, which Makram sells at the San Mateo market. Flavorings also take a cue from Makram’s Middle Eastern heritage with flavorings like sesame seeds, za’atar and Medjool dates.
You can also now find Ducks & Dragons items online through Good Eggs, as well as a handful of specialty markets like Luke’s Local, Bi-Rite Market on 18th Street and Sigona’s in Redwood City and Palo Alto. Makram and Sullivan hope to continue to expand the business and are currently planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign to help purchase a new delivery truck and amp up their retail presence. Oh, and as for the name? Makram’s mother’s nickname for her son is “Ducky” — and Sullivan loves dragons.
“How do I make bread that tastes really good, but has good nutrition and would help me control my diet?” — Mina Makram, Ducks & Dragons