A trip down Main Street in Hayward isn't complete without stopping by the Hayward Bakery. This is the kind of place that is a part of years gone by in rural America.
When you walk in, you will be greeted with slightly mature Scandinavian women with heavy Wisconsin accents. The counter is filled with homemade cookies, donuts, and brownies. They are not short of inventory, as there are plenty of choices. Having nothing low-fat here, these all have plenty of butter and sugar in them.
We were lucky this trip, as it was the day after Thanksgiving and the first batch of Christmas sugar cookies were out and ready to sell. How could we leave without getting a bag full? We happily walked down Main Street in Hayward chomping on sugar cookies just like grandma use to make.
The best deal here is a loaf of fresh homemade bread sold for only $.50 a loaf. These are certainly NOT L.A. prices! How could we not buy a loaf at this price? We still had a lot of turkey left at the lodge to make turkey sandwiches!
No trip into Wisconsin is complete without tasting some of the local cheeses. It's not called the cheesehead state for nothing! The bakery also has a large counter filled with cheeses. Most of these cheeses are locally made. My favorite is the Wisconsin Cheddar; it's mild, but has a great taste to it. You can ask for samples here; there are a lot of cheeses to pick from.
This is the kind of place that I remember growing up in rural Minnesota. Every little town had a bakery like this one. Sadly, most of them have now closed to make way for big chain stores who sell factory-made baked goods. However, little Hayward still has one of the best in the area. It's high on quality and low on prices. Let’s hope it stays around for a long, long time!