Little bakery getting big response

A Palmer micro-bakery is earning its place on the local culinary map.

The inspiration of Jamie Popham, Bradley Lake Bakery began last year as a home-kitchen operation and an extension of her lifelong love of baking. The pediatric nurse practitioner and mother of two, whose baking prowess had been enjoyed by friends and family for years, decided to take the next step in early 2023.

When Popham heard about a new summer market starting up in Palmer, she sensed her opportunity. The Matanuska Community Farmers Market was seeking vendors, and Popham applied.

“It was part a desire to see if strangers might also like my baked goods, and part a desire to be a small part of the Palmer community,” Popham said. “The market seemed like the ideal spot to give my bakery idea a real world test.”

Judging by the line of people at the bakery’s booth each Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m., the test has been passed with flying colors. Bradley Lake’s offerings at the market are so popular that there often is not enough of everything to meet the demand.

Crusty baguettes, sourdough loaves, and four varieties of bagels take their place at the market alongside what the bakery describes as “seasonal goodness and gluten-filled adventures” like cupcakes and pastries.

“I’m super grateful the Matanuska Community Farmers Market gave me a chance,” Popham said. “The bakery owes any success to being a part of that amazing community.”

The baguettes are a new addition to the bakery’s weekly lineup of goodies. After her successful debut at last year’s farmers market, Popham was already considering ways to improve and expand for this year.

“It was a goal to get a good baguette figured out over the winter,” she said. “It just seemed like something I should have, and I thought it would be cool to see a baguette sticking out of everyone’s bag of gorgeous produce.”

Popham built capacity in the offseason, adding a special bread oven in the fall and big mixer in the spring that helped streamline the baking and bread-making process.

“I’m always dreaming and scheming and thinking about what else I can make,” she said.

Whatever Popham dreams up, just adds to the baking joy.

“I enjoy making the different sweets. The sourdough is fun, too,” she said. “The bagels are definitely a labor of love, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to my husband, Chris, who is so, so good at bagel shaping.”

But expansion has limits, especially for someone not working out of a commercial kitchen. Bradley Lake Bakery’s goods are only available currently at the Wednesday market in Palmer, although Popham does special orders and dabbled in online pre-orders over the winter.

“We talk about expanding further outside the market, but life seems very full and only seems to get busier,” she said. “But maybe someday.”

In the meantime, her little enterprise has netted big user satisfaction.

“Bradley Lake Bakery customers are the best. It's really great to see the same people week after week. I always take that as a good sign if they return,” she said. “One little girl has been coming weekly this summer and her mom told me the last time that she waits all week to visit the bakery, which made my day. It's all those little things that keep me motivated on the long bake days.”