The Bread Lady’s Loon Cookies

Tastemaker

By Lynda Wheatley | April 25, 2020

To bring awareness to her beloved water birds (and her burgeoning bakery business), Rachel Beckwith — aka The Bread Lady of Lake Ann —
chose the Common Loon to be the icon of The Bread Lady logo and what might be the coolest and (sweetest/softest/perfect amount of crunch-iest) sugar cookie we’ve ever inhaled.

“Loons are my favorite,” she said. “They’re endangered in Michigan, and Lake Ann has only about 12 loon pairs left, where we used to have around 50.”

Now, despite having lost 90 percent of her business’ income during the shutdown, a change that’s pushed her goal of opening a physical bakery in the Village of Lake Ann from June 1 to (hopefully) August, Beckwith is still helping others. This time, though, it’s her fellow humans.

To Lake Ann Elementary, which is trying to provide food for at-home students from its limited budget, she baked 100 loaves for only the cost of the ingredients. To several local families she knows are struggling, she provides free bread and baked goods on a regular basis. Why, when she’s struggling to get her own bakery off the ground, does she give away her handcrafted goodies?

"When I was growing up, my family was homeless for 2 ½ years,” she said. “I don’t know, it just makes me kind of tear up to think of other families dealing with that, too.”

We think a good way to help Beckwith help her community is to help yourself — to an order of her custom loon cookies ($13.50 per set of six) or any of her artisan-style breads, cupcakes, muffins, spreads, and other excellent eats.

Find all her products listed at www.facebook.com/TheLakeAnnBreadLady, plus look for her post of weekly specials each Sunday or Monday. Call (231) 633-2515 to place your order and arrange pickup.