(This article first appeared in the August print edition of the Hendersonian.)
It wasn’t that many years ago that a shopper at Henderson Farmers Market would have been hard-pressed to find a loaf of freshly baked bread (or even so much as a homemade cookie) on market day.
But that’s all changed now. Now there are several bakers on the roster of Farmers Market vendors. Some producers are totally dedicated (or nearly so) to baked goods and others have added them to their usual line-up of produce to generate more value on their days at market.
This season it’s been very easy to partake.
Lemon Pound Cake or Pecan Pie Bars from Windy Hill Farms.
Amish White and Artisan Sourdough Bread from Amy’s Simple Sweets.
Salted Caramel Fudge from Stone Hill Honey Farm.
Farm Girl’s famous cupcakes in a variety of flavors.
Peach and Blackberry Cobbler from Laughing Donkey Berry Farm.
Pastel de Tres Leches, Scones and Empanadas from Dulce Maria Mexican Pastries.
And there’s more tucked in here and there between the free-range eggs, heirloom tomatoes, seedless watermelons, sweet corn and peaches, such as jellies, jams and preserves to go with the bread and biscuits.
Charlotte Baumgartner with CBD Honey Farm and Produce, long-time vendors at the market, said they started offering bakery products in the early part of the season when there’s not much produce ready to sell.
And it’s been a good strategy for them.
On a recent market morning she set out 10 loaves of sourdough bread, thinking it would last the morning, but not very long after the market opened she looked up and it had all been purchased.
She said that even though there are more vendors with baked goods, it’s not really a competition. Each vendor does something just a little bit different or has their own specialty.
She said she combines flavors in some of her sweet breads, such as Blueberry Zucchini, Pina Colada Zucchini and Bourbon Zucchini.
Amy Mattingly Kimsey of Amy’s Simple Sweets bakes Amish-style white bread and sourdough artisan bread, and has started milling her own flour. She said she asked for a grain mill for her birthday.
The hand-milled flour is a whole different style of baking, she said, and produces a more nutritious fiber.
Other items on her menu include quick breads made with seasonal fruit, such as Peach Cobbler Bread and Lemon Blueberry Bread. The Blueberry Streusel Cookies are good for a quick snack.
The bakers at Field of Flours, in their first year at the market, also said their goal is to offer “high quality and a healthier alternative” to commercially produced bread. They bake flour tortillas, raisin biscuits, Italian herb bread, baguettes, conchas (a Mexican sweet bread) and other specialty items (such as cinnamon peach bread.)
It’s also Jo Ann Lacer’s first season at the market, and she is using both the expertise acquired making both gluten-free and sugar-free items for family members and the free time she’s had after losing her husband Ray.
Jo Jo’s Baked Goods and Crafts “is keeping me busy,” she said.
Brittany Turner Johnston of Windy Hill Farms said hardly anyone was offering baked goods when she and husband Josh started bringing items to the market in 2021 but that’s steadily changed.
Like other vendors they use it to have more items to sell when the vegetables and fruits are less available. One of their bestsellers is Lemon Pound Cake, and she also makes at least 15 flavors of jams and jellies with top flavors being razzleberry, pumpkin pie jam, apple pie jam and blackberry.
“Anything we can’t sell Brittany figures out how to make a jam out of it,” Josh said. In addition to baking for the market she takes custom orders.
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The Henderson Farmers Market is open for the season from the first of May until the last of October on Tuesdays, Friday and Saturdays. Growers and producers set up from 8 a.m. to noon (as long as supplies last). The market includes local and fresh produce, honey, wine, meat, bakery goods and more.The variety of items and number of producers present at the market are at peak this month. The market location is the Cates-Porter Farmers Market Pavilion at Henderson County Fairgrounds located on Sam Ball Way at Airline Road.
Follow the Henderson Farmers Market Facebook page for updates about what’s available at the market and news about special activities that take place on select Saturdays during market season.
