Gluten-free bakeries rise to occasion, demand

Like the dough in their ovens, interest is rising in gluten-free products produced by bakeries large and small in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado.

Nationally, analysts predict a 9.3% compound annual growth rate for the gluten-free market through 2026.

That growth might seem puzzling given that a University of Chicago study found that celiac disease — an autoimmune disease that occurs in people who are genetically predisposed to suffer damage to the small intestine if they consume wheat-based gluten protein — affects only 1% of healthy Americans. That translates to about 3 million people. Further, a 2017 study published in the…