Some of you may be asking, “What’s been happening at the Wardensville Garden Market bakery so far this year?” We are happy to say quite a bit!
Once our bakery team returned from winter break, a well-needed rest from a year full of many challenges and hurdles, they came back excited and ready to go! It’s been non-stop ever since, creating festive sugar cookies, savory galettes, delicious muffins, new cookies, and vegetarian (now vegan!) pepperoni rolls. Oh! And how could we forget, a highly requested new favorite, Strawberry Rhubarb pie. You could say it’s been a busy first quarter! We keep adding new from-scratch baked goods while we putting others to rest for the season. The list will continue to grow, so stay tuned, or stop by and smell what’s happening in the bakery. We guarantee you can’t resist trying one (or several) of our made-from-scratch baked goods.
Our seasonal galettes have been a very popular item on our menu. No matter what we make, you all seem to love those savory open-faced hand pies! The galettes are what’s known as a value-added item because we use farm seconds, such as wilted kale or too-small-to-sell turnips, so nothing goes to waste! We continue to find new ways to make our savory galettes appealing and delicious using the ingredients on hand. During the winter, we were making butternut squash and apple galettes with caramelized onions nestled into our signature butter crust. (Are we making you hungry yet?!)
During late winter, we cleaned up odd-shaped carrots, roasting them along with misshapen hakurei turnips. Those little turnips are so good! They have a wonderful nutty flavor when roasted and paired with the sweet caramelized carrots; it’s a match made in almost heaven West Virginia! The carrot galette was made with an herbed cheese spread using Spring Gap raw milk Tomme cheese. We sell the cheese in the market, so grab some the next time you come by. It’s well-aged, giving it a sharp, robust flavor.
After we finished up the carrots, we found ourselves in early spring, which means it’s the spring green time of year! That’s when we started making kale and turnip galettes topped with Tomme cheese and sliced garlic. We also added a sweet + savory option: an apple and turnip galette topped with Tomme cheese.
We have so much fun creating galettes! Our signature butter crust made with Amish butter from pasture-raised cows is to die for when baked with our organic veggies from the garden. Keep checking our Facebook, Instagram, and farmtakeout.com for new additions to our sweet, savory, and delicious galette line.
We also added a new cookie to the menu! This came from a request of one of our long-time regular customers who kept asking us, “You have a cowboy cookie, so where is the cowgirl cookie?” Every time Bob came in, he would ask the same question. So, we decided it was about time to create a cowgirl cookie! The bakery crew started testing different cookie options (a delicious experiment) and came up with a truly unique cookie that deserves to be called a “cowgirl cookie.” We started with a soft cookie base and filled it with juicy dried cranberries, sweetly fragrant Ghirardelli white chocolate chips, and pecan pieces to give it a bit of nuttiness. The cookie base is made with Amish butter from pasture-raised cows, organic flour from Bob’s Red Mill (no relation to cowgirl cookie Bob), organic cane and brown sugars, and organic eggs. We even make our own vanilla extract using Madagascar vanilla beans! I must say they have become a hit. We even gave them a nickname “giddyup cookie” just for the fun of it. Next time you want something hearty but soft and nutty, grab a couple of our cowgirl cookies and enjoy!
Next on the list is something for our vegetarian customers. That’s right, we turned a West Virginia staple, the famous pepperoni roll, into a vegetarian option using vegan pepperoni made right here in our bakery. Now, we’re making them full on Vegan! We use organic tofu and selected herbs and spices to make vegan pepperoni. Once that is made, we roll it up just like the regular pepperoni rolls using our focaccia dough, vegan cheese spread, and a hint of our house-made sweet heat relish. Vegan or not, we’re sure you’ll love this menu option. It’s available in-store or on farmtakeout.com. Buy the roll, a three-pack, ½ dozen or by the dozen. If you need more, give us a call to make sure we have plenty in stock!
So, what’s happening now? Well, now that Spring has finally sprung, our taste buds have been wanting something sweet, tart, aromatic, and zesty. Here comes Strawberry rhubarb pie! That’s right; a “new” pie has been added to the bakery case. It has replaced blueberry pie, but have no fear, blueberry pie lovers, it’ll be back. But who knows, we might just keep strawberry rhubarb around even after blueberry season restarts on July 4th! What do you think? These pies are packed full of organic strawberries, tart red rhubarb, organic cane sugar, and organic arrowroot. We source out nothing but the best ingredients for our bakery. Oh! In case you didn’t know, all of our pies have a whopping 2.5 pounds of filling loaded into our signature flaky butter crust, making every pie a piece of art for the table. Now, getting back to the strawberry rhubarb pie, did you know that rhubarb is loaded with more antioxidants than kale? It’s a great source of fiber, and it’s heart-healthy. Some studies suggest that rhubarb helps with digestion and could help with inflammation. All in all, rhubarb is the holy grail of pies, also known as the “plant pie.” It’s a tasty treat and a nutritional powerhouse, so grab a whole pie or grab a slice next time you stop in our in-person market or shop online at farmtakeout.com!
As you can see, the bakery team has been busy bees creating new recipes and decorating seasonal sugar cookies, from snowflakes to shamrocks to Easter eggs. My goodness! With everything we’ve done, I almost forgot about the cheddar and dill cream biscuits baked right here in the bakery, served with rich Amish butter and strawberry jam. They’re great for a grab-and-go snack. Speaking of Amish butter, we use Minerva unsalted Amish butter; it is 85% butterfat making it creamier, richer, and more flavorful. So much so, that it rivals European butter. Minerva Dairy is a family-run business that has been in operation for 125 years. The cream is slow-churned in small batches, and they use only the freshest cream from pasture-raised cows on American family farms. It’s a win-win for the bakery!
Just when I thought I was done, I remember something else we added this spring! Gluten-free double chocolate pumpkin muffins. They are super moist and irresistibly chocolatey; you won’t even know they are gluten-free. These muffins are filled with rich Ghirardelli cocoa and semi-sweet chips, and a secret ingredient that makes these muffins mouth-watering moist. That secret ingredient is our organic pumpkin puree, made with pumpkins grown right here on the farm and processed in our bakery. We bet you can’t eat just one! Unfortunately, these delicious muffins have left our bakery case because we ran out of the pumpkin puree that made them so perfect! But, don’t fret, we may have them again in the future….
We have a few new items coming soon. With our Value-Added Department’s help, we will be bringing on quiche with seasonal veggies from the garden. We’ll be using organic eggs and Spring Gap Mountain Cheese. For the sweet tooth, we thought it would be nice to add a gluten-free cookie to the menu. What do you think about gluten-free peanut butter cookies? Sounds good to me! Keep an eye out for them.
The biggest thing coming will be our big move to the new production bakery and kitchen on Main Street, not far from where we are now! Click here to read all about it. I know the bakery team is excited and looking forward to being in a real commercial bakery. Don’t worry; we’ll still be making those huge cinnamon rolls and the flaky butter crust pies that you’ll pick up in the revamped farmhouse market. On your next trip through town, slow down and do a little rubbernecking at the new bakery. It’s a beautiful addition to the old town of Wardensville, plus it will be adding a smell that no one can resist.
We hope you enjoyed the bakery’s update. Come on by and say hello! We love talking to our guests and sharing baking secrets, plus we want you to taste what we are so passionate about. Our Junior Crew are the leaders in making sugar cookies. If it wasn’t for them, our bakery case wouldn’t have that splash of color that catches your eye. We are looking forward to seeing y’all soon, stop by and enjoy all of our creations!
Jackie Milburn
Bakery Manager
Hi, my name is Jackie. I love to bake! When I’m not baking you’ll see me behind a lens trying to capture a moment in time, or just out enjoying the natural world. I also enjoy playing with my beautiful black and white kitty, Mr. Felix.
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