Retail Bakeries, National Honey Board Renew Sweet Partnership

Amy Scherber
Amy’s Bread
Long Island City, New York

“We use wildflower honey in several of our breads and pastries. I like the fact that each type of honey adds its own wonderful full flavor with a nuance, and it adds moisture to the dough or batter. The end result is subtle sweetness and a fresh, moist crumb that customers love.”

Cheryl Day
Back in the Day Bakery
Savannah, Georgia

“We love to use honey in our products due to the fact that each flavor profile of an individual honey elevates the experience of taste. “

Dave Miller
Baker Miller
Chicago, Illinois

“We use honey first and foremost because it tastes good. There’s something about the taste of honey and toasted grain together that is a perfect marriage. We also use it because we believe it’s an integral to a balanced ecosystem. We try to advocate for sustainable foods wherever possible and honey is a very easy way to do that because it’s a product we already purchase regularly.”

Anne Ng and Jeremy Mandrell
Bakery Lorraine
San Antonio, Texas

“We use honey because it’s a natural sweetener. We also love discovering different kinds of honey — it’s amazing how they can all taste and look so different depending on where it comes from. It gives pastries an extra layer of complexity and depth compared to using just refined sugar.”

Graison Mollie and Gill Sciacca
Bellegarde Bakery
New Orleans, Louisiana

Stefphan Gambill (pastry lead): “One of the more appealing aspects of using honey in baking is its relatively high acidity, which can help to inhibit mold growth and extend the shelf life of your baked goods.”

Jennifer Smurr
Born and Bread Bake House
Lakeland, Florida

“We strive to make the highest-quality baked goods, and that starts with the ingredients. Honey is natural, complex and nutritionally dense — an obvious choice ingredient for a bakery.”

Nicole Walsh
Clear Flour Bread
Brookline, Massachusetts

“I think honey complements so many things well. Although it can shine uniquely on its own, it can enhance other ingredients really well. The sweet notes of honey complement products we make like our German rye bread or honey almond granola down to the simplest of products we make: honey butter. I also believe honey bees are the absolute reason anything grows, so without those bees we have nothing!”

Amanda Plyler
Dogwood Cottage Baking
Alexander, North Carolina

“I use honey because I am a beekeeper, and due to that I can shed light on the importance of bees. One of those ways is to bake with honey. I also like having a natural sweetener alternative to bake with.”

Sandra Holl
Floriole Cafe & Bakery
Chicago, Illinois

“We use a good amount of honey in baking because it brings a special flavor to our baked goods. Additionally, by buying honey directly from our local farmers, we are helping to support local agriculture to boot!”

April Anderson
Good Cakes and Bakes
Detroit, Michigan

“We love using honey because of all the great benefits I learned while attending the honey baking class several years ago. We use honey in our baked goods because it is a natural way to change the flavor profile of a dessert.”

Megan Forman
Gracious Bakery
New Orleans, Louisiana

“One of the things we hear our customers say repeatedly over the last 10 years has been that they enjoy our baked goods so much because they aren't overly sweet. When we use honey, it helps us achieve this goal: naturally sweet, but not overly so. Plus honey gives us the added bonus of naturally occurring extended shelf life since it's an inverted sugar. And of course, the deep, nuanced flavors of each kind of varietal lend so much to the taste profile of the baked good.”

Ana Arturo and Salatino Enciso
Gusto Bread
Long Beach, California

“Our bakery uses honey because it's a naturally wholesome way to sweeten and add flavor to our food. It's such a beautiful ancient food, amazingly produced by bees!”

Clyde Greenhouse
Kessler Baking Studio
Dallas, Texas

“I use honey in baking to achieve a sweetness that's not possible with other products.”

Sahar Shomali
Kouzeh Bakery
Los Angeles, California

“I've always loved honey. I love that it carries the distinct flavor of the flowers the bees fed on — that it is warm and soothing. And that the flavor of honey always comes through in food, no matter what other flavors are mixed with it. “

Sarah O’Brien
Little Tart Bakeshop
Atlanta, Georgia

“Honey is a marvel, a gift from nature. We use honey, so we are supporting local beekeepers whose bees are pollinating plants in our region. It's a really special, important ecosystem to be a part of. Beyond that, it's easy to use in our baked goods because honey is delicious. As long as we're baking, we'll have huge pails of honey in our larder.”

Joanne Canady-Brown
The Gingered Peach
Lawrence Township, New Jersey

“Honey is a beautiful, natural way to sweeten up pastries, and its consistency is perfect for so many different fun applications.”

Harmony Sage
Long Beach Beer Lab
Long Beach, California

“I use honey because it’s a beautiful way to showcase the terroir of an area. The flavors and colors that all different varietals of honey infuse into my baked goods captivate my customers and give them a sweet expression of home.”

Lia Holter
Made. by Lia
Florissant, Missouri

“I use honey for the lovely flavor and golden color it adds to pastries/bakery items.”

Avery Ruzicka and Maryanne Florentino
Manresa Bread
Los Gatos, California

“Honey has a depth of flavor that is endlessly explorable given the varieties and ever-changing nature of honey, depending on the season. I also enjoy the level of sweetness — it's much more balanced coming from a natural sugar source compared to processed sugar.”

Nathaniel Reid
Nathaniel Reid Bakery
Kirkwood, Missouri

“Honey adds a unique flavor to foods that you can't get from other sugars and sweeteners. It's delicate, floral and rich but mild, making it incredibly versatile and perfect for both savory and sweet combinations.”

John Kraus
Patisserie 46
Minneapolis, Minnesota

“Honey has gorgeous baking properties, and the unique flavor profile is based on the location of the bees. The options are limitless and never boring.”

Greg Wade
Publican Quality Bread
Chicago, Illinois

“Honey is one of those ingredients that wins on many levels. In the bakery it adds sweetness and a unique flavor profile to many baked goods, and it also is a great "feel-good" ingredient because of the agronomic and environmental benefits of bees.”

Maura Kilpatrick
Sofra Bakery
Cambridge, Massachusetts

“The versatility of honey is a constant source of inspiration. My new favorite thing to make is spiced honey butter with the variety of spices we use at Sofra.”

Jim Lahey
Sullivan Street Bakery
New York, New York

“I love bees; they are my favorite insects. When I say I love bees I mean it; I’ll even gently pet them with my finger while they are at work harvesting pollen and nectar from flowers; I’ve yet to be stung! I adore them. I worry for them too. The more honey we use the better for the bees.”