Main Street News

Ever since Hanna Rybolt was little, she’s loved baking. After studying at Johnson and Wales University through their pastry school and attaining about 10 years of experience in the bakery and restaurant industries, she explains that she wanted to find a way to have her own baking business. She explains, “It’s been my dream to have my own baking business for as long as I can remember!”

Getting started & finding community

In February 2024, Hanna launched Pastries by Hanna, a craft bakery specializing in breads and brioche-style donuts. What started as supplying ILSE Coffee in Canaan, CT, with wholesale baked goods gradually grew as she took on more wholesale accounts and started pastry pop-ups. 

Today, Hanna takes on anywhere from six to 10 wholesale accounts depending on the season, and these include No Comply Foods, Guido’s Fresh Marketplace Great Barrington, Mill River General Store, ILSE Coffee, Cafe Holli, and The Elm.

In addition to breads and donuts, Pastries by Hanna offers all sorts of pastries—ranging from blondies and cookies to pies and tarts—and also provides private event catering. And in sharing all of these delicious goodies, Hanna is mindful about every step of the baking process, including the use of locally sourced ingredients. 

“I use High Lawn Farm milk and cream in all of my pastries, Cream of the Crop eggs, Farmer Ground flour, and I love working with local farms during the summer and fall for fruits and vegetables. Some of my favorites are Indian Line Farm, Klein’s Kill Fruit Farm, Taft Farms, and Windy Hill Farm, just to name a few!”

Cherished customer connections

Hanna feels fortunate to have earned a spot at the Great Barrington Farmers Market this past season, a fact which was pivotal in connecting her to more local businesses in the area. In these types of settings, she finds it incredibly rewarding being able to interact with customers through her pastry sales. 

“Being at the farmers market this past summer, I enjoyed seeing the same customers week after week, and learning their favorite items,” she shares. “Baking can be pretty solitary at times (early morning hours, long days), so the customer connections I’ve been able to make are what make it all worth it!”

Getting to know her customers is an all-around pivotal part of Hanna’s business, and she truly appreciates this opportunity to connect. “Due to the fact that I don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, my customers are willing to travel to different states to get my products, and for that I am so grateful,” she reflects.

Indeed, Hanna is extremely thankful for all of the people who have purchased her pastries, and she has seen a remarkable level of dedication from her customers. “If my items are sold out at one of my wholesale locations, I know of customers who are willing to drive to other locations to find my products as well,” Hanna says. “Without the demand that my customers bring, I would not be where I am today.”

Being able to share her pastries through wholesale deliveries has helped to spread the sweetness of her baked goods far and wide. “I love the wholesale model because it allows for my products to be a part of many different communities, as opposed to just one,” she observes. 

Navigating the launch of a new business

Hanna acknowledges that in starting Pastries by Hanna, she’s encountered numerous obstacles and comes across new circumstances every day. “I would say some of my greatest challenges would be adapting to the weather when selling baked goods outside at the Great Barrington Farmers Market and being my own delivery driver (when you have 10 places to be by 8am, time management is key!),” she notes.

As she looks to the future, Hanna is hopeful that she will be able to continue producing thoughtfully sourced craft pastries and making her baked goods accessible across the area. Additionally, she wants to continue uplifting the other businesses in the area with which she collaborates.

She is excited to share that this month, Pastries by Hanna will be moving to a new production facility where she will be able to double her oven and donut frying capacity while taking on more wholesale customers and events! With this expansion, Hanna also hopes to add some more bakers to her team, since it’s been a one-woman-show thus far, and further down the line, she aspires to open her own brick-and-mortar bakery.

With these goals in mind, Hanna still recognizes how much she’s learned operating a business by herself since last February. The number one thing? “That I am capable of so much more than I ever thought,” she says. “There are so many things to juggle as a business owner, and I am very proud of myself for how far this has come in just one year!”

To learn more, please visit www.pastriesbyhanna.com, and be sure to follow Pastries by Hanna on Instagram! To get in contact, give them a call at (561) 632-6151, or send an email to pastriesbyhanna@gmail.com.