Bonté Bakery

We recently had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Anne Marie Shea, owner of Bonté Bakery in Montpelier, whose gluten-free bread is quickly taking the area by storm. The bread is exceptional in a category where true standouts are rare, but after talking with Anne Marie it became clear that the people behind the business are just as exceptional as the loaves themselves.

Like many entrepreneurs serving people with dietary restrictions, Anne Marie’s journey began with personal experience. She has been gluten intolerant for many years, but what truly fueled her pursuit of the perfect loaf was her son, who does not have a gluten intolerance. Her goal was simple (and pretty ambitious): create a gluten-free bread her son wouldn’t recognize as gluten-free. After much experimentation and refinement, she succeeded! Her son now prefers the gluten-free bread Anne Marie makes over other breads. Anne Marie laughs that there are many things in life she hasn’t followed through on, but this is one she carried from idea to fruition and we can firmly say the entire Vermont community and beyond is grateful for that. 

The enthusiasm for this rustic-style quickly spread beyond her household. Friends, customers, and neighbors began reaching out to say they genuinely preferred her gluten-free bread to conventional loaves. One especially meaningful moment came when her sister-in-law texted to say it had become her favorite breakfast, often topped with almond butter and whatever delicious additions were on hand. For Anne Marie, that kind of response confirmed she was offering something of value to the people around her, which was deeply satisfying and gave her the motivation to keep baking.

Anne Marie did not follow a traditional path to baking. She has no formal baking education; her background is in pre-veterinary science. Although she ultimately chose not to pursue that field due to its emotional demands, the scientific mindset stayed with her. A love of experimentation, comfort with trial and error, and meticulous attention to detail became her foundation and guideposts. Baking, in her view, is simply applied curiosity.

That curiosity was put to the test with sourdough since sourdough is a living, unpredictable system. Perfecting a gluten-free sourdough loaf required months of persistence. When she launched the business, the sourdough wasn’t ready because the culture needed time to mature. It developed over two full years before she felt it met her standards.

The bakery itself began during the early days of Covid as a subscription service for gluten-free sweets, but Anne Marie quickly noticed something surprising: customers returned again and again for the bread. Truly rustic, artisan-style gluten-free bread is difficult to find, and the demand revealed a clear gap in the market. She leaned into that need, embracing the joy of providing something both nourishing and rare. 

Today, Bonté Bakery employs twelve people, in addition to Anne Marie and her husband, and the group functions like a close-knit community. Recently, the team held a farewell gathering for their kitchen manager, who is moving on to a new career path. The celebration was heartfelt and emotional, which is a reflection of the supportive environment the team has cultivated. Anne Marie describes breadmaking as dreamy work, but the atmosphere the team has built together makes it all the more dreamy. 

Community engagement has long been part of Anne Marie’s story. Before launching Bonté, she managed the Maple Corner Community Store for many years. When the store’s owners were ready to sell, she helped lead the effort to transform it into a community-owned cooperative and later served on its board. That experience shaped her collaborative approach to business and knowing this about Anne Marie only solidifies our excitement to support the bakery. Of course, Anne Marie is extremely humble and she did not want us to forget her thanks to Rob Lamb, her husband and Business Manager, and Brian Clark, Operations Manager. Anne Marie developed the bread, but says that the business would not be what it is without Rob and Brian. 

Growth has come organically. Demand currently far exceeds production capacity, despite almost no formal marketing. Even the bakery’s newsletter is refreshingly simple, which is just a plain text email reminding everyone when the bread is available. No more is needed. The product sells itself. The next chapter is already underway: a large barn on a spacious property just outside Montpelier is being renovated to house a new production facility, which will help Anne Marie and the team be able to bake more bread. The most common question customers ask is, “Why can’t I get your bread?” Soon, the team hopes the answer will be different. The new space will not only expand output but will also offer employees the opportunity to wander around in the woods on break, if they’d like. Even more dreaminess. 

We are so thrilled to offer Bonté Bakery bread at our Co-op and we are also excited to say that Bonté Bakery will be joining our BreadFest 2026 lineup on Saturday, March 28th! While unfortunately the bakery will not be able to attend the event as they had planned, we will be offering free tastings of their bread with Side Hill Jam and Vermont Creamery butter during the festivities from 12-3pm. We are delighted that those who are gluten-free can join us in celebrating bread!! 

Sourdough 

Made from gluten-free sourdough culture. It’s soft inside with a chewy, golden crust.

Ingredients: brown rice sourdough culture (brown rice flour, water), brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, maple syrup, *psyllium husk, olive oil*, sea salt. 

Country Loaf 

Unsliced, country-style. Soft inside with a thin, golden crust.

Ingredients: tapioca starch, buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, millet flour, *psyllium husk, *apple cider vinegar, sea salt, maple syrup, yeast, *olive oil. 

Buckwheat Sourdough 

Hearty and flavorful. Made from locally grown light buckwheat flour, plus homemade sourdough culture. 

Ingredients: sourdough culture (brown rice flour, filtered water), buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, maple syrup, *psyllium husk, *olive oil, sea salt.  

Harvest Boule

Packed with whole organic black mission figs, organic golden raisins, organic pecans, and lightly sweetened with a touch of local maple syrup. It has a soft crust and delicate, flavorful crumb.

Ingredients: *golden raisins, tapioca starch, *pecans, *black mission figs, buckwheat flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, maple syrup, millet flour, *psyllium husk, sea salt, *apple cider vinegar, yeast, *olive oil. Contains tree nuts.

Olive & Rosemary Boule 

This flavorful bread is bursting with organic rosemary and salty kalamata olives.

Ingredients: buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, Kalamata olives, *cane sugar, *psyllium husk, *apple cider vinegar, sea salt, yeast, *rosemary. 

*organic

Written by Sarah Galgano