BY SAM VISE | FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — The Auburn-Opelika dessert scene just got a little bit sweeter and a lot more inclusive. Beyond the Batch, a new home bakery based in Auburn, is crafting sweet treats that are entirely gluten-free.
Owner Melissa Gipson launched Beyond the Batch this past spring, turning a lifelong passion into a dedicated business. She has been baking since she was a little girl and went to vocational school in high school for the culinary arts. Though she ultimately pursued a business degree in college, she said she fell back in love with cooking and baking a few years ago.
“Baking was kind of what I wanted to push myself forward into,” Gipson said. “Baking was my idea, instead of cooking, because there’s more of a science and more of a creative side to it.”
In 2017 she was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. When people with celiac disease consume gluten, their immune system attacks the small intestine, which can cause various health problems.
Gluten is found in many baked goods because it acts as a binding agent, giving foods their structure and elasticity. Gipson said it was difficult for her to find gluten-free baked goods that were affordable and tasted good.
This led her to open Beyond the Batch out of her home in Auburn, a bakery dedicated entirely to gluten-free treats.
“Everybody wants to open a new bakery, and somebody might have an option for gluten free, but nobody has just a bakery that is gluten free itself,” Gipson said. “I feel like people that I’ve seen, if they go to a place and they have a gluten-free option, they’ll probably go for it, but there could still be cross-contamination. That’s always a worry. So that’s kind of my inspiration. I wanted to give people, either gluten intolerant or an allergy, an option that they knew was going to be safe, knowing they can have sweets every single day and not to worry about it.”
Gipson said that her home kitchen is a completely gluten-free environment and that everything is sanitized before and after baking, ensuring no chance of cross-contamination.
Currently, Gipson works entirely out of her home. She has a permit from the Lee County Health Department and a government-issued business license. Gipson said she hopes to one day have a standalone kitchen where she can do her baking, but her home kitchen does just fine for now.
Beyond the Batch typically gets three to four orders each week. Every Monday, Gipson posts on social media about sales she has going on or what she’s making special that week. She delegates a certain day to baking and a certain day to delivering.
“I do free deliveries throughout Auburn-Opelika,” Gipson said. “I make it so it’s easier for the customer, because that way they don’t have to worry about it. So, I can drop off through the door or they can meet me somewhere, it doesn’t matter.”
Gipson recently celebrated a significant milestone: her first recurring customer.
“If you are looking for someone to provide excellent service for a great price and actually good tasting gluten-free baked goods, Melissa is who you need to talk to,” said one customer review. “You will not be disappointed!”
Beyond the Batch is Gipson’s part-time job — she works full time as a staffing coordinator for Aramark. She said she does have hopes to one day expand Beyond the Batch and make baking her full-time job.
“I think probably depending on how busy I am, within a year I’ll get into running a kitchen because once I get into running a kitchen and it’s all FDA approved, I can start expanding a lot more,” Gipson said. “With a cottage, I can only sell within Alabama, which is tough because we’re 45 minutes from Columbus. So, I think, yeah, I’m going to try to get into farmers markets and things like that […] So, I mean, within a year I probably would be opening something more broad.”
Beyond the Batch currently offers cookies (both mini and regular sizes), Rice Krispies treats, brownies and scones, but Gipson said she hopes to expand to cakes soon. Some of her favorite treats to make are sugar cookie bars and carrot cake.
Other than gluten-free goods, Beyond the Batch also offers dairy-free and sugar-free treats upon request.
“I’m sort of branching out a little bit here and there, trying to find different flavors for things and trying to see what works, what recipes are the best tasting,” Gipson said.
She said she wants to cater for weddings some day since it can be difficult for those with celiac disease to find caterers.
“I feel like a lot of people that have celiac disease, it’s hard for them to find people to cater larger events, like people are trying to find options for themselves and they can’t have it,” Gipson said.
Originally from New York, Gipson moved to Auburn in 2020 while she pursued a master’s degree online. She moved away for a few years, but said she is glad to be back in the area.
“I’ve been kind of like a nomad the last five years and have been trying to find my footing of where I wanted to be,” Gipson said. “I lived here [in 2020] trying to figure out life, and then I moved around, just trying different jobs. Now I’m back and I’ve always liked this community, just liked the way people are. I didn’t really have that up north, people aren’t really like that, their sense of community is not the same way up there. So, I kind of found my footing here, and I want to help the community as much as I possibly can. I’m trying to find small impacts because I feel like small impacts can eventually make bigger impacts.”
Gipson said that she wants to give back to the Auburn-Opelika community as much as she can.
“I kind of want to do things like if I have leftover cookies, giving them away to people, or church communities if they want to do that,” Gipson said. “Or, you know, giving cookies to people in need. I just want to help people and know they’re getting something out of it, and they can go home and have these and enjoy them and not have to worry about going to find something gluten free.”
In a world where dietary restrictions often mean limited choices, Beyond the Batch offers true freedom, proving that gluten-free doesn’t mean compromising on taste or quality. Gipson is not just baking goods — she’s baking peace of mind, one treat at a time.
To place an order with Beyond the Batch, visit their Facebook page or contact Melissa directly at (518) 937-2606 or beyondthebatch@outlook.com.
