BY JODI BORGER

If you’re driving through Clayton on U.S. 40, you can’t miss the big red barn situated on the south side of the highway. That barn is where you will find Singing Crust, a bakery owned by Emily Waits, specializing in artisan breads and pastries.

For Waits, baking wasn’t always her passion. As a matter of fact, she earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in music and had plans to earn a doctorate degree and teach voice lessons.

“I studied voice. I was never a very good performer, so I planned to teach voice,” said Waits. “I was taking a year off after my master’s degree before applying to doctorate programs, and I got a job in a grocery store bakery where we made the bread from scratch, and I really enjoyed it.”

That’s when her plans changed.

In 2014, Waits began her small bakery. The name Singing Crust comes from a baking term that describes the cracking sound bread makes when it is taken out of the oven. With Wait’s love of music, the name made perfect sense.

Waits initially baked goods at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds. She started by selling at local farmers markets, including Avon, Brownsburg, and Columbus. Farmers markets begin on Saturdays in May and continue into September.

“We sell approximately 500 products at each farmers market, including 20 varieties of bread and 10 varieties of pastries,” said Waits.

Today, she still sells at the farmers markets and also provides bread and pastries to the Oasis Diner; however, her small endeavor has grown into so much more.

In 2021, Singing Crust opened a storefront in Clayton, supplying the local community with baked goods. At first, Waits rented the space, along with other people who needed a commercial kitchen. When the owners decided they wanted to sell the building, Waits jumped at the chance to make it her own. And now, with nearly a dozen employees, she has aspirations to someday open a second location.

Some of the most popular items include sourdough bread and almond croissants. Some of Singing Crust’s items are always available, but some of the pastry and dessert flavors change with the season or are only available at the retail location, such as lemon bars, macarons, cheesecake, and cream puffs.

“What I enjoy most is making a lot of products and filling the empty shelves and racks,” said Waits. “There’s just something special about knowing that your hands were the ones that made all those items.”

Jodi Borger is a freelance writer from Tipp City, Ohio.

SINGING CRUST BAKERY

1753 U.S. 40

Clayton, IN 46118

Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Supplying baked goods at:

• Avon Farmers Market

• Brownsburg Farmers Market

• Columbus Farmers Market

• Oasis Diner

Also available for orders at marketwagon.com