Business Science & Health

A “game-changer,” gluten-free bakery

By Zoe Ntouvas

Growing up in a family of restaurant owners, food was the world to Josh Borenstein. That world came crashing down in 2007 when he was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder causing severe abdominal bloating, nausea and fatigue.

“Food was, like, his passion, his life, his whole world, so it’s very difficult. His family owned bagel places. So, bagels are, like, you know, his favorite food that kind of represents childhood,” said Orly Gottesman, Borenstein’s wife.

Bagels also are made with wheat flour, and flour contains gluten, and gluten drives celiac disease. Borenstein’s wife–they’d met singing in an acapella choir at NYU–switched her focus from making music to baking gluten-free bread. Modern Bread and Bagel is the bakery she opened in 2018 in Manhattan, then opened her Los Angeles shop  in 2022.

“I’ve been gluten-free since sixth grade and I’m 28 now,” said Bill Gottsegen, a regular at the New York store. “It feels like a normal place. It doesn’t feel like we need to be quarantined with a separate fryer.” 

About 1 in 133 Americans, or 1% of the population, have celiac disease. The illness can damage the lining of the small intestine, disrupting its ability to absorb nutrients. If a celiac patient eats just a crumb of gluten, that person can be sick for days.

Before she opened her bakeries, Gottesman sold gluten-free flour made from her own recipe. She learned how at a culinary school in Australia, Blends by Orly. “I was, like, the one student in the program who showed a really passionate interest in gluten-free product development,” Gottesman said. “I had my own test kitchen. I was able to use, like, any gluten-free ingredients … Anything we made in class, I had to try to make a gluten-free version of it.”

Before culinary school, she took lessons with a French bakery owner. “And I fell in love with it. So, I started apprenticing for her. And that was the point where I realized I wanted to pursue this professionally.”

Gluten is the Latin word for “glue.” Gluten gives flour-based foods elasticity and keeps baked goods from falling apart. So, making, for example, a gluten-free bagel takes some work. Orly’s gluten-free flour is made with quinoa, brown rice, sorghum, millet and other grains. 

Her husband is the one who encouraged her to expand her business. The couple were taking a stroll through New York when they stumbled upon a bagel shop for rent. “My husband turned to me and he was, like, ‘You make the best gluten-free bagels in the world,’” Gottesman said. “He was, like, ‘We need to stop just selling flour to other businesses and show the world what you can do and what you’ve created.’”

For customer Gottsegen, Gottesman is a rock star. “They don’t advertise that it’s gluten-free, the food tastes really good, and many people just come in,” Gottsegen said. “It’s gluten-free, and it’s not patronizing about it … It was a game changer.”