A Trip to the Amish Bakery

We have an Amish community not too far from our town. They live in the country surrounding the next town to the West of us, about 20 miles or so away. My brother Eric and I met, and became friends with many members of this community through our beekeeping and herbal groups. You might enjoy this blog post about when we were processing horseradish a few years ago. Of course, none of the people in the photos are Amish. They do not believe in having their pictures taken.

We like to periodically go to their bakery. It is quite aways back down a gravel country road, so feels like an adventure! The bakery is attached to Mary and Danny Yoder’s home. The do a lot of baking from spring through fall, but not this time of year. I imagine they are doing well enough to keep the house heated and their own cooking with their woodstoves, besides trying to bake for others right now! My brother and Eric and I like going to the bakery for other things though, besides baked goods. They carry some herbal things, some good brands of olive and coconut oils, and a variety of things we just don’t see in our grocery store. Plus, we are supporting a local family business!

Much of what they have is organic and made by them or another Amish family. Today I was able to pick up some more homegrown applemint. I love hot applemint tea. Nothing fancy, not particularly medicinal, but just tasty with no sweetener what so ever. I was out, so restocked.

Our nearest herb store is an hour away from our house and so it is nice, that sometimes I can pick up things I am out of here. The Amish try to live a good clean life and use herbal remedies extensively. They sometimes will have things they have bought from herbal stores in bulk and repackaged for resell, and sometimes just other things they have bought a quantity of such as Rescue Remedy, supplements or something.

I usually pick up canning supplies, dried beans, farina, steel cut oats and other staples here too.

You do have to pick and choose when it comes to prepackaged goods on the shelf like those name brand flours and canned goods.. thrifty folks that they are, they might have picked those up in a bulk deal like at an auction or something! Check dates and look over those packages well!

Other items I can get there is fresh butter and eggs, sometimes frozen fruits, you just never know what might be in the refrigerator!

Our Amish community is set up like this. Each family has a different specialty. This family has the grocery store and bakery, another has a saw mill, another a woodworking shop, another greenhouses and tool repair, others might just farm. Some houses might just have a room in it that has a sewing/ fabric kind of products the wife sells on the side. 

Well, I just thought for those of you unfamiliar with an Amish bakery, you might enjoy the photos. This is brother Eric on their porch. You can see the bakery is just attached to their house. The mother of the family seems to head up this bakery and her great number of children pitch in!

We got some more firewood ready today for the syrup making. Now we are just waiting for the flow!

Herbal and Honey Hugs to all who visit Comfrey Cottages xxx