About

Owl Hollow Bakery makes and sells pies, bread, pastries, and other baked goods. Pies are made from fresh, local produce when in season. We pick berries and even travel as far as Traverse City to purchase Michigan cherries. All recipes are made from scratch and taste-tested before selling. If we don't love what we make, we don't sell it! All bread freezes well and doesn't fall apart as many breads do after being frozen. Only butter and lard are used in pie crusts, as these are heart healthy. We love what we do which is baking and hope you will love what you buy from us.

I’ve been fascinated with owls since first hearing a barn owl screeching when I was a very young child. My next encounter with owls came years later in an owl calling class. After class, I returned home where I sat on my balcony, tape recorder in hand, playing owl calls over and over again. About two hours later I was awakened to the calls of screech owls and great horned owls, which went on for hours. That summer, I heard owls calling practically every night.

At 5th grade camp I had the opportunity to lead a group of 5th graders into the pitch-dark woods in Hell, Michigan, where we went owl calling. Two screech owls joined our circle, one sitting on a stump beside us and the other landing in the middle of our circle, where they called back and forth to each other for nearly an hour.

I was raised in Grand Ledge with my 3 sisters and 2 brothers. When we were growing up, Mom used to buy frozen bread dough. The smell of bread baking when we returned from school was just about the best thing I had ever smelled. In my last year at MSU, I lived in a tiny room with no cooking facilities. I baked my food in a turkey roaster my mom loaned me. I longed for the smell of bread so tried to bake a loaf of cornbread, using field corn. After all, the corn was free and I was a financially strapped student. The final result was a heavy but great smelling loaf with marble textured lumps throughout that nearly broke my teeth. I finally bought a bread magazine and tried baking cinnamon bread. It was a little heavy, and very lopsided, as our house sat on an angle, but not bad tasting. And the room smelled wonderful for hours! I still use this recipe for cinnamon bread and baked nearly 75 loaves this past Christmas for customers, friends, and family.

As you can see, from a very young age both owls and bread have been very important parts of my life. Although the two may not seem to have much of a connection, actually they are a perfect match. Owls have long been seen as birds of wisdom, hence “the wise old owl”. They are a bird of dark mystery and intrigue. In many cultures they are believed to have magical powers. Now think about bread. No, not that stuff you buy at the grocery store; I’m talking about REAL bread. For many of us, the few experiences we’ve had with fresh baked bread are thanks to Grandma. Grandma, that “wise old owl”, spends hours in the kitchen using her decades old knowledge and mysterious powers to turn ordinary ingredients like flour, water, and yeast into something else, something special, something more than just food. Homemade bread nourishes more than just your body; it also nourishes your mind, heart, and soul. It is joy, warmth, and is just plain delicious!