SHELBURNE, Vt. (WCAX) – These sweet snacks are crispy, crunchy and downright delicious.
“Yeah, people love it. And I love making it so, it’s great,” laughs Wendi Shangraw, owner of Back Home Bakery.
Like many other people, the pandemic put a fork in her career.
“I was laid off, trying to figure out what was going on,” she says.
Shangraw spent years working in the food industry and was serving at the time. Forced to pivot, she decided to serve up something sweet, instead. Over the years, Shangraw has baked quite a bit.
“I’ve always loved baking, it’s something I do in my free time, all the time. And I was like, maybe I should give that a try,” she recounts. “It’s relaxing, I love it. It’s what I do all the time.”
She baked both on her own and with her mom, who taught her all the basics. The name, Back Home Bakery, is a nod to childhood nostalgia. For the sake of simplicity while she got her start, Shangraw limited her offerings to locally made, gluten-free granola. In the past three years, she’s launched four flavors.
“Maple almond was my first flavor,” she says. “Blueberry coconut, dark chocolate coconut, chai pistachio is my newest flavor.”
Shangraw says blueberry coconut has quickly become her top seller. Days spent in her shared kitchen space are jam-packed with mixing and baking these crunchy bits, turning out enough granola to keep stock at nearly two dozen stores and keep up with online orders. Fortunately, she has some help from her son, Tanner.
“Not only is he the muscles behind carrying everything to the kitchen space that I need, but it makes it faster,” she says.
The two silently dance around each other, baking with bluegrass blaring in the background. They turn out bag after bag, and say there’s no wrong way to eat it. But, Wendi recommends eating the chocolate granola on top of ice cream.
No matter how you munch, a 12-ounce bag will set you back $11.99. They’re available at stores across Vermont and they have two locations in New York. Customers can also order online.