Misfits Bakehouse Opens in Palo Alto With Egyptian Breakfasts and Gluten-Free Bread

People loved the gluten-free goods sold by San Carlos-based bakery Ducks & Dragons, but strife between owner Mina Makram and then-partner Kim Sullivan forced its closure earlier this year. Now Makram’s bread, cheese rolls, and more are back, and this time they’ll be served in a new Palo Alto location with a menu that includes Egyptian home-style dishes, the Chronicle reports.

According to an earlier Chron report from 2018, Mikram weighed over 400 pounds when he took up baking as a way to engineer bread that worked with his low-carb, ketogenic diet. He subsequently lost half his body weight but gained a business: In 2015, he and Sullivan opened Ducks & Dragons out of a commercial kitchen in San Carlos. Their gluten-free and Paleo-friendly offerings — many of which are made with a base of almond and coconut flours — quickly gained a following via markets like Luke’s Local and Bi-Rite, as well as through distribution services such as Good Eggs.

But after parting ways with Sullivan in the spring, Mikram was back at square one, with a crowdfunding campaign that only raised $13,505 of the $30,000 he needed to launch a rebranded bakery called Misfits Bakehouse. An investment group of Ducks & Dragons customers helped fill the financial gap, and Misfits opened this month in Palo Alto’s Midtown Shopping Center (2706 Middlefield Road).

This time around, Mikram is serving more than just baked goods. He tells the Chron that Misfits is also serving a breakfast and brunch menu based on Paleo-modified versions of food his Egyptian-born mom used to make (think stew with okra, lamb, and beef) — a notable addition to a Bay Area food scene that only has a handful of Egyptian restaurants, much less ones that are Paleo-friendly and gluten-free. There will also be pizza and bagel sandwiches, and — per Instagram — a Croque Monsieur made with gluten- and grain-free bechamel sauce. Customers can still score Misfits baked goods without leaving the house, however, as items like the bread, pizza crusts, cinnamon rolls, and bagels are also available for sale online.

Misfits Bakehouse is open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays through Sundays.

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