Outrageous Baking is marking two decades of supplying specialty sweet breads to coffee shops across roughly 30 states. Pamela Fletcher launched the gluten-free bakery out of her 880-square-foot Boulder house to support her family after her daughter, Grace, developed eczema, prompting a dietary shift that made commercial gluten-free options difficult to find.
A Home Kitchen Launch in Boulder
When Fletcher began experimenting with baking alternatives two decades ago, commercial gluten-free goods were largely absent from grocery shelves and restaurant menus. According to Fletcher, finding a suitable flour blend and perfecting the taste required a year of testing.
"There were almost no gluten-free baked goods available. No bread, no buns and no pizza crust. None of that stuff. Restaurants didn’t have it on their menus," Fletcher said.
The recipe evolved to exclude both gluten and dairy, targeting individuals with celiac disease—which affects an estimated 1% of the population, or about 1 in 133 Americans—as well as those with gluten sensitivities or dietary preferences. After a neighbor diagnosed with celiac disease praised an early loaf, Fletcher packed a cake and her young daughter into a car to pitch the Brewing Market in Boulder. The manager, who happened to have celiac disease, placed an order, initiating a steady trajectory of wholesale growth into local coffee shops.
Scaling Up Production in Longmont
Today, the operation runs out of a 3,000-square-foot, certified gluten-free facility in Longmont, Colorado. A small staff produces around 1,500 eight-slice loaves a week, distributing products to farmers markets, grocery stores, online buyers, and widespread cafes including The Laughing Goat, Ozo Coffee, Paul’s Coffee, Beleza Coffee, Junkyard Social, and Gabee Coffee.
The bakery manufactures eight primary flavors: cinnamon coffee cake, chocolate zucchini, lemon poppyseed, pumpkin, cherry chocolate, cranberry, vanilla, and pumpkin chocolate chip.
A Measured Model of Loan-Free Growth
Unlike many natural food enterprises, Fletcher chose a measured growth model. The business has remained loan-free, prioritizing operational sustainability alongside family balance.
"I’ve never taken any loans, so it’s been slow growth. My goal wasn’t just to grow and sell. It was to be a mom to my daughter as a single mother, have a life and not totally stress my employees out," Fletcher said.
A Mother-Daughter Cookbook Partnership
Grace Long, the daughter who inspired the bakery’s founding, is now 23 years old. Together, Fletcher and Long produced the Gluten Free for Everyone Cookbook, featuring 60 simple recipes.
The book is sold online alongside bags of the company’s proprietary Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour Mix. The brand’s products remain a staple across roughly 30 states, bridging the gap between specialty dietary needs and mainstream coffee shop pastries two decades after its home-kitchen beginnings in Boulder.