Mennonite Bakery: A Return Visit (22 Photos)
Last year I made a Christmastime visit to a plain Mennonite bakery in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Weaver’s Market and Bakery is run by Stauffer aka “Piker” Mennonites, essentially the plainest of horse-and-buggy Mennonites.
The group settled here from Lancaster County decades ago. They would be plainer and more traditional than some Amish.
I was excited to have a chance to return. Especially since last year I decided that it was my favorite bakery. As you can see by the signboard outside, Christmas favorites featured heavily in both the market and bakery.
Like last year, before going into the bakery we stopped at the adjacent market part of the business. They had rearranged the place a bit, but the contents were about the same.
Canned goods, quilts, books, stationery, produce, baskets and crafts, and so on.
One thing I found amusing last year was that this Mennonite bakery seemed to be doing some unabashed Amish-themed marketing. In last year’s post I included this shot of Amish postcards they had for sale:
Similarly, here is a sign promoting Amish-made handicraft. You can’t miss it. Now, most Amish businesses avoid this direct call to attention, choosing to let customers discern the pedigree of their products in other ways. However, third parties selling Amish products, such as online retailers, don’t restrain themselves that way. And looks like that also applies to their Mennonite cousins 😉
Leaving the market, signs warn you what to watch out for. Also note the swollen Susquehanna River.
The bakery happened to be much fuller this year. A lengthy but fast-moving line stretched through the narrow customer section. About ten or so Mennonite ladies were hard at work in the much larger production area of the bakery. This was just a few days before Christmas so people were loading up on holiday goodies.
I saw many of the same treats as in the previous year. I picked up some of the same things but also tried one or two new things, including mincemeat pie (I recently shared my experience with that treat here).
In the below photo, you can see: lemon sponge pie, raisin pie, banana bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, ginger snaps, coconut macaroon cookies, monster cookies (among other treats).
Here are a few things I didn’t get, but maybe now wished I did: Lemon bars.
Sour cream cranberry bars & peanut butter fingers.
About half of this photo.
They also had some gift baskets.
The Amish do not have a monopoly on the whoopie pie (or shoofly, for that matter).
Checking out. I picked up a promotional calendar to go with my baked goods haul. This year I got granola bars & pecan pie squares (again), fruitcake (again), and the aforementioned mincemeat pie.
Leaving the market, we drove through the community, heading up to the central PA valleys.
Here you can see a local school. Behind it is a meetinghouse, with the long covered buggy parking areas partially visible.
Contributor Jerry had this to share about this community in a comment on last year’s post:
This settlement is often called the “Snyders”. (Mattie from Burkes’ Garden uses that term and I think she had a brother living here). They live in a triangle of Routes 11/15, 104 and 35. Three church districts of Stauffer Old Order Mennonites.
However there are four meeting houses in the area and I suspect one church district consists of Mifflinburg Mennonites. We call those the Reiff Mennonites. These orders publish their “census” every 10 years and I have the Stauffer 2020 version and the 2010 Reiff edition.
Jerry continues:
Did you get a chance to see any meeting houses or school buildings in either area? Did you also notice Route 11/15 is a four lane divided highway? The OOM run their horse and buggies only on the south bound side regardless of which direction they are going.
Weavers is known for their huge variety of whoopie pies. However you missed the real treasure in the area. It’s 1/2 mile from Weavers and called The Old Trail Supply. The locals also call it “the Amish Walmart”.
Alas, I missed it again this time. But this just gives me another reason to make a third visit.
A treasure find
Erik, this bakery is my guilty pleasure. We stop in about every two weeks and always find something new to try. My favorite by far is the monster cookies and whoopie pies. The seasonal fruitcake is also very delish. It is a local favorite and always has a steady flow of customers. Cheers and Happy New Year.
Glad to hear we’re on the same page Joseph. I am usually big on monster cookies but somehow failed to get them. Will have to fix that next time 🙂 Fruitcake is great as well, I shared it with my mom and made her a fan too. Happy New Year!
Bakeries
You have to try rise n roll bakery in Middlebury, In. Just go! The donuts ate some of the best we’ve ever had! You’ll need a nap after having them!
This is probably top three for best-known Amish food places out there (and I’m yet to try it!). Great recommendation, just sounds like I would want to be careful eating these before a long drive 🙂
I’ve never been to that part of Pa., and may never make it there, so I enjoyed reading this post and viewing all of the good pictures.
Erik, if you’re going to the Elkhart/LaGrange settlement and stop at Rise N Roll, you may as well stop at two other bakeries in the area — one is Country Lane Bakery which is about 1 1/2 mile west and 1 1/2 mile south of Rise N Roll. They are an Amish bakery which I’ve been to several times and they have a variety of baked goods. Then there is an Amish bakery in the E & S Bulk Food Store in Shipshewana, about 4 miles east and 1 mile north of Rise N Roll. They have great cookies, many varieties to choose from. I like to get there fairly soon after they open (7:30 a.m.) because they usually have marked-down prices on “day old” baked goods. I’ve bought many and they still seemed real fresh, and very reasonably priced. After E & S, if you’re still in the market for more Amish-style bakery products, you could walk about a mile on up the road to the Blue Gate Bakery in the “heart of Shipshewana”. Lots to choose from in the Middlebury-Shipshewana area.
Southbound Side Travel
They drive on the west berm because it is much safer and wider. Some time ago in the late 90’s if I’m correct there was a horrific accident between a buggy full of children going fishing around dusk travelling southbound on the east berm facing northbound traffic. The horse spooked and jumped in front of a nb tractor trailer. Many fatalities. One of the worst things I witnessed as a State Trooper.
The "Snyders"
Greetings!
Years ago, Erik asked what is my favorite Amish order I visit, and I responded “the Snyders”. Local legend has it this group left Lancaster because they objected to the practice of hatching chicken eggs using kerosine egg incubators rather than having hens to hatch the eggs.
The photo of your cashier at Weaver’s might be in a wheelchair. A couple years ago I met an OOM man and his wife who was caring for six handicapped individuals, two of which are employed by Weavers’. I spent an hour with this man and his charges on an outing he was taking on Mt Pisgah Alter lookout. He was driving a modern super van that accommodated the individuals. He is the owner of a pallet manufacturing facility in the Synder community and has the resources to get permission from the local deacons to drive a motorized van in the caring of his charges. He takes them to all the benefit auctions to provide the best experiences possible. I see him there often.
To fully appreciate this intriguing community, one would need two days of exploring. Years ago you published a pic of “Merle’s Custom Furniture” shop and an image of a leaning barn from this area. While these wonderful folks are not your typical Amish, they will illustrate the vast variances in the Anti Baptist communities. These OOM actually have “meeting houses” rather than holding church services at individual homes. The meeting houses are often accompanied by schoolhouses. The “Snyder’s” are a little know treasure among the “Amish” legacy. A word of caution is once you visit and do a deep dive, you will want to live here. LOL
Martin's Greenhouse
The sign for Martin’s Greenhouse directs you to an amazing place that has a dozen greenhouses heated by a wood burning heating system. She does a huge business with an assortment unequal to any greenhouse one will ever experience. She buys plants from several sources and the variety and prices are amazing. It’s a must visit establishment every spring.
Interesting fact
While traveling on US 11/15 North one might think you travel in Perry County from Duncannon and into Snyder County above Liverpool but for a few hundred feet, a traveler enters Juanita County. It’s unique feature that has Juanita County bordering the Susquehanna river.