Named for sunny citrus fruit grown far from the valley, Lemon Bakery in Amherst mixes the sweet with the tart. Four years ago, in the uncertainty of the pandemic, owner Rori Hanson built a bakery business with a model of curbside pickup and delivery rather than a storefront. Hanson’s menu follows the seasons by sourcing from local farms. Today, Lemon Bakery continues to sell through online pre-ordering and curbside pickup or delivery; there is no storefront cafe.

Before the pandemic, Hanson was already planning a care package business that allowed people to send baked goods to family members or students at college. With disruption to the mail service, they explain, “You can’t do food in the mail without a guarantee of when it’s going to get there. I had to switch gears to a model of curbside pickup and delivery.”

Lemon Bakery is all about made-to-order treats. “I am literally making food for you,” Hanson says. “There is no food sitting around. This is an opportunity to source local ingredients and not waste any of it.” In addition to delivery and pickup, Lemon Bakery appears in other spaces around the Valley, including baking granola for Dave’s Natural Garden, and making two desserts for Johnny’s Tavern in Amherst.

Hanson moved from Boston to the Valley a few years before founding Lemon Bakery. While working in the bakery at Green Fields Market, Hanson looked for a location to start their own business. 

“I found this space in Amherst that housed many bakeries before Lemon, so it felt like a bit of a legacy space,” Hanson says. “Access to local farms and the culture of local food in Amherst and the greater Pioneer Valley were part of my decision for opening there.”

With plenty of baking experience, Hanson is largely self-taught and has a healthy appreciation for the contributions of others. “I cannot discount the importance of learning from other bakers, chefs and people who love food,” Hanson says. “I definitely have some sacred family recipes too.”

Currently, Hanson works alone, wearing all the hats of a small business owner, from social media and marketing to sourcing ingredients and making menus. “I usually make menus for each season based on what I am able to source in a given set of months, highlighting the seasonal abundance of ingredients,” Hanson says. “Still following farm-to-table vibes when there is less growing, I focus on the cold pantry or what is available that seems special, like fresh greens.” For baking, cold pantry items might include apples, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms.

Lemon Bakery sources from many local farms throughout the year. “I love every single business where I’m sourcing,” says Hanson. These farms include Old Friends Farm, Plum Brook Farm, Next Barn Over, Winter Moon Roots, Mapleline Farm, Mycoterra Farm, and Kitchen Garden Farm. Hanson uses bread flour, dark rye and all-purpose flour from Ground Up Grain for some breads and pastry.

Local ingredients add pop to Hanson’s recipes. “Local granulated maple sugar is an unexpected addition. It’s so delicious and adds so much to the recipe. I use maple sugar in my carrot cake to make it fun and a little different.”

Edible flowers make an appearance in pastries. Hanson occasionally works with Passalongs Flower Farm for edible flowers. One year, they sourced dandelions for cookies, and another time they featured lavender in baked goods for a wedding.

Sourcing eggs is tricky with a volatile market due to bird flu, but Hanson sees this time to do more of what they are doing: focusing on local products and baking with expansive creativity.

Hanson orders 30 dozen eggs at a time through Marty’s Local, and they last seven to 10 days. With local producers stretched by the national shortage, sometimes availability of wholesale flats varies. Rather than stress over eggs, Hanson is inspired to create recipes and learn methods without eggs, which suits vegan customers nicely.

For Hanson, eggs open up a wider discussion about the impacts of sourcing on a small business. “Honestly, as a person who works alone in the tiniest of small businesses, it is hard to keep up with continuously changing prices at rapid rates.” Constant change was true in the pandemic as well.

“I don’t have a ton of time for continuous work updating prices on menus and websites,” Hanson says. “It can be really challenging when you add on top of that not being able to find ingredients because people are freaked out and responding to a shortage.”

Egg shortages may linger for a while, and the potential for tariffs arise in national conversation. Hanson sees this as an opportunity to stay true to their convictions. “Although sourcing things will be hard, I think we save ourselves through focusing our dollars locally,” Hanson says. “Some things that come from elsewhere, like sugar, chocolate, extracts and coffee may be impacted; however, we are so lucky that we can get maple sugar and flour locally.”

Exploring the creative uses of local ingredients in baking gives Hanson joy.

“Honestly, the idea that I get to be a student of the craft of baking for my job and to keep growing in that passion and knowledge forever is the ultimate. Living my life through the lens of curiosity and creativity is a dream.”

Lemon Bakery is a locally sourced, scratch-made bakery with curbside pickup and delivery, located at 460 West St. in Amherst. New varieties of pies, tarts and breads will appear soon on the spring menu. All cakes can be made gluten-free, and there is a drop-down on the menu for gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan while ordering. To purchase baked goods, use the online portal link on their website.

See www.lemonbakeryonline.com or social media for more information.

Lisa Goodrich is a communications coordinator with Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). To find more local bakeries and restaurants who source from local farms, see CISA’s online guide at www.buylocalfood.org/find-it-locally.