Mike Senn Family Farm
Whether waiting for bread to rise or for the next customer to come along, the family behind Mike Senn Family Farm realizes good things take time.
The proof is in their sourdough loaf. Without yeast or sugar, their old-style bread requires a whole day to make compared to conventional bread. But for as long as it takes to make, it tends to disappear quickly after hitting the table at the farmers market. Call it the baker’s paradox.
When your biggest challenge is keeping up with demand, that’s when you know you’ve got it good. From the sounds of it, Mike and Bonnie Senn do.
The couple’s farm started out as a watermelon patch. When selling watermelons, the Senns realized they could offer other produce and baked goods at the farmers market, too.
“All along, we’ve been a baking family,” Bonnie says, referring to the bakery they once owned in Junction City.
Parents to 10 children and grandparents to 13, their operations are a tight-knit family affair. Even 12-year-old Alena sets up shop alongside her parents with her own handmade jewelry, macarons and tea cakes.
Come May through October, the Senn family gets a little bigger as they form bonds with familiar faces at the Farmers Market at MAD.
“I enjoy the atmosphere of the farmers market, all the different people you meet, the different vendors. It’s almost like a family,” Mike says. “It’s really enjoyable.”