Macarons from Golden Flour Bakeshop (photo Rico Settles)

by Cassandra Hetherington

Maryland native Nieshia Williams has a TON of energy — which is good, she’ll need it for her new Kennedy Street bakery, Golden Flour Bakeshop, opening later this Spring.

There is a lot you should know about this amazing woman, but let’s start with the most important. She was invited to audition for The Great British Baking Show but turned them down. As devoted as she is to all things pastry, she moves at her own pace. This surely is Britain’s biggest loss and soon to be Kennedy Street’s biggest gain.

The other thing you must know is that the floor of Golden Flour Bakeshop is lovely and modeled on the colorful “sugar art” she decorates her sugar cookies with. I found it cheerful and relaxing to look at, something no other floor has ever done for me.

With a B.A. in Chemistry, Nieshia headed to Oxford University in the early 2000s to work on a PhD in BioPhysics. While there, she craved good old American carbs, most especially her favorite: pancakes. Unable to obtain a proper flapjack, Nieshia made her own from scratch. Baking soon became her preferred way to relax.

By 2014, Nieshia had become a serious baker and moved to New York City to take classes at the Institute of Culinary Education. After an apprenticeship with the Department of Labor to learn the commercial side, she began selling her scones and cookies at the Del Ray Farmers Market under the name “Blended Bakerie.” Her fans included one young boy who would chant “baby scones” whenever he saw her.

Golden Flour Bakery owner Nieshia Williams (photo courtesy of Ms Williams)

While things were going well for Nieshia academically and professionally, her health was suffering. For years, doctors misdiagnosed her symptoms, mostly due to the fact that celiac disease is rare among African Americans and they did not consider testing her. Post-diagnosis, she worried that her life would become boring. Most gluten-free products she tried were extremely dry due to the overuse of starch. Fortunately, her chemistry brain encouraged her to think creatively and deconstruct bread in the quest to develop a more palatable baked good.

She succeeded and her special blend of chickpea flour and all-natural, allergen-free ingredients satisfactorily mimicked the missing gluten.

Golden Flour Bakeshop will always have gluten-free and plant-based options for those with dietary restrictions, but will also include more traditionally baked items.

While the bakery isn’t open yet, it’s slated to open doors later this Spring/early Summer. Nieshia plans to open each morning at 5am selling hot coffee, fresh scones and muffins. She chose Kennedy Street because she believes “every neighborhood should have the opportunity to have fresh food using superior ingredients.”

Her focus will be on “clean baking,” using local fresh ingredients whenever possible, including a rooftop herb garden for the personal pizzas she plans to sell at lunchtime. Ideally she would like to tutor a small group of neighborhood kids in the afternoons when the cafe is closed, demonstrating the real life relevancy of math and science as it pertains to baking. She plans on being an active and integral part of the community and may include an intern or training program for local youth.

As excited as I am at the prospect of smelling fresh baked bread on Kennedy Street, I am more hopeful to see how Nieshia uses her new cafe to make an impact within a community not typically exposed to such things. I’m chuffed to bits!

Golden Flour Bakeshop
441 Kennedy Street NW
goldenflourdc.com
(website is live, though the bakery is not yet open)

Tuesday - Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 5am - 2pm
Closed Mondays and Fridays