Baking Traditions
Photos by Emma Highfill, Rose Wheat Photography
On any given day in Baking Traditions, the aroma of freshly baked bread fills the air of the roomy, sunlit shop. In the display case up front, customers will find a variety of baked goods such as cookies, scones, pecan rolls, muffins and more. In addition to the breakfast breads and pastries, Baking Traditions offers at least two hot breakfast options daily, such as breakfast pizza and hot breakfast sandwiches. On Saturdays, the menu includes quiche and biscuits and gravy. For the lunch crowd, Baking Traditions serves stuffed baguettes, chili, soup, grab and go salads, sandwiches made with fresh bread and more.
The name Baking Traditions speaks for itself. The bakery focuses on handcrafted, European style breads, many of which are made from recipes passed down in owner Nancy Clasemann’s own family. She notes that the focus on tradition is not just her family’s tradition, though.
“Tradition also means the custom of how the recipe itself was traditionally made,” Clasemann explained. “Not all of these recipes are the way my family would have made them, but they are made with traditional ingredients, in the traditional way.”
An example are the scones, which Clasemann proudly says have passed the taste test of a former colleague from England, as well as visitors from Ireland and Australia, all of whom praised the texture and taste.
Clasemann has been baking since she was a little girl. She was raised in a big family, so her mom baked a dozen loaves of bread a week to keep everyone fed. Nancy remembers “helping” from the time she was very small with tasks like patting the dough a er it was shaped. As she got older, she really became a help, and learned a lot from her mother. As an adult, baking was a creative outlet, a fun and satisfying hobby that slowly grew into a side business of special orders and farmer’s market sales.
When Nancy, like many others in the Topeka area, lost her full time job at Payless, she decided to seize the opportunity to make baking her full time business. In October of 2018, after three years of filling special orders and baking for farmers markets in her home kitchen, Baking Traditions opened its doors. After a great first year, the bakery is becoming established as a go-to for fresh breads and baked goods, as well as memorable breakfasts and lunches.
Despite the welcoming loveliness of the shop near Huntoon and Gage, Clasemann notes that Baking Traditions sells much more food to-go than for dine-in. If you’re in a hurry, the staff is definitely accustomed to helping people get in and out quickly.
“The majority of our business is take-away,” Clasemann said. “Folks will get a box of breakfast rolls, quiche or biscuits and gravy to take home to their families.”
Baking Traditions also has an amazing catering menu, so a good part of the business is still in special orders. They offer a fantastic variety of pastries, breads, pies, hors d’oeuvres, box lunches, and more.
Baking Traditions is also committed to buying and baking with local ingredients as much as possible. They buy their produce from a local farmer, and their flour is from a Kansas mill. They serve coffee roasted by Caffiend in Topeka, and sell bags of coffee beans.
“It’s important to support each other,” Clasemann said, “and fortunately for us, supporting local vendors also means we’re getting the best product possible. I know exactly where my lettuce is coming from, and that makes me feel good about what I’m serving.”
