Samantha Tanner is exploring a unique, modern take on some traditional sweets with her small business, Everything Baked.

Tanner, who grew up in Smethport, pursues her baking passion part time for now. But she is generating quite an online following of locals who can’t wait to get their hands on her merchandise.

Tanner takes private orders and also has regular baking days throughout the month. When she has products for sale, she updates her Facebook page. Since officially starting her business at the end of November, Tanner has already gone to a few vendor shows.

“At first, I worried that no one would buy anything from me and I sort of doubted myself,” said Tanner. “But I finally stepped out of my comfort zone and so far the response has been really positive.”

This summer, beginning June 7, Tanner will bring her baked goods to the Bradford Farmers Market and Craft Fair held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at 210 W. Washington St. from June to September.

Customers love her take on sourdough breads in a wide variety of flavors, including jalapeno cheddar, leek and cheese, and blueberry. She uses sourdough to craft cinnamon rolls, chocolate rolls, tortillas and bagels such as strawberry, blueberry, and jalapeno cheddar.

“I also do normal baked goods, like banana bread, zucchini bread and pumpkin bread,” said Tanner.

Tanner credits her mother with passing along a love of baking.

“I have a lot of wonderful memories of spending time in the kitchen baking with my mom,” said Tanner. “I guess it kind of brings me back to my childhood and brings my heart joy to know I can share what I love with others.”

Sourdough differs from other bread because of how it rises. Rather than using commercial yeast, sourdough uses a starter — a mixture of flour and water that captures wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria in the environment. This process can have added health benefits compared to regular bread.

“The way it is fermented allows the glucose to release more slowly into your bloodstream so you don’t have that spike in your blood sugar when you eat sourdough,” said Tanner. “The way it absorbs into your body is better for digestion so many people with stomach problems like the sourdough.”

The starter Tanner uses is one she began five months ago. Because they are a bacterial colony, a starter is alive. Tanner describes it as being a bit like having a pet.

“You have to burp it and clean it and feed it every day,” said Tanner. “It is amazing how fast it grows.”

She said she never realized before all the recipes that could be made from sourdough.

“Once you get into it and you have to start figuring out what to do with the discharge from your starter you get creative,” said Tanner. “That is part of the reason I started creating my own recipes.”

After several rounds of trial and error, she is currently happy with the recipes she has crafted. Each dough goes through a 24-hour process from start to finish, to give it time to ferment.

“I just have a little mini oven and you can only fit one dutch oven in there at a time so when I have my vendor shows I stay up for 24 hours to bake,” said Tanner.

She also prides herself on using local ingredients whenever possible, including locally sourced honey.
“My dad makes honey so I get all my honey from him,” she said.

Overall, she said she is truly thankful that people are enjoying her baked goods.

“I feel so grateful whenever I get positive feedback from people,” said Tanner.

She said the sky’s the limit when it comes to new flavors and she is always up for suggestions.

“Right now I am having fun experimenting and going to shows,” said Tanner. “Someday I would love to have a little store with my baking and be able to work in a proper space but for right now I just feel really grateful for where I am at on my journey.”