MONTICELLO - The Seven Dwarfs may have whistled while they worked, but a Monticello woman knows yodeling is far more conducive to turning out delectable scones and muffins.
Toni Blum Seitz is the Yodeling Baker. She bakes a variety of goods, including cheesecakes, pies, cakes, cookies, breads and Christmas stollen, from a commercial kitchen in a converted outbuilding on the Blum family homestead in rural Monticello. She's the sixth generation to live on the land, which has been in her family since 1848, with husband Bob and their four children, ages 12 to 3.
Placing family first was her main impetus to begin baking. "I started baking for my family as a way to get healthier ingredients," she said.
The Seitzes considered the idea of a starting a bakery for years, she said, but the opportunity to do so presented itself just recently when Seitz's father installed a commercial kitchen in the same building Seitz's brother, Silvan Blum, uses for his mail-order cheese business. Seitz's sister also has a mail-order business selling alternative sweetners that she runs from the farm.
Seitz's bakery, aptly named The Yodeling Baker, has been in business about two months. To get started, she's collected her recipes from her family, her husband's family and cookbooks, modifying them to be appropriate for baking in bulk.
"I don't fill an order unless I have a tried-and-true recipe," she said.
Seitz emphasizes using high quality, natural and mostly organic ingredients in her baking. For example, she uses cane juice crystals so she can avoid refined white sugar. She also uses Sucanot, a sugar cane extract, to replace brown sugar, and white whole wheat among other ingredients.
Besides being healthier, there's other benefits to using less refined, more natural ingredients. For one, baked goods tend to be more filling, she said.
And, "I think it tastes better," she said.
With four young assistants helping her out, Seitz also puts a premium on offering family-friendly recipes. Her Christmas stollen, for example, doesn't have the traditional nuts, dates and orange peels in a nod to pleasing younger palates.
While Seitz's baking is her bread and butter, yodeling has proven to be the icing on the cake.
Seitz's interest in yodeling began when she was 8. "I picked it up from my older sisters," she said. Her three older sisters studied yodeling under master yodeler Robbie Schneider. Toni practiced and soon was performing with them at the New Glarus Hotel. But by the time she was 12, Seitz said, there weren't as many opportunities to yodel.
Except for her wedding, Seitz really didn't yodel again until about five years ago. Her husband encouraged her to enter a yodeling contest in New Glarus and she won. She since has yodeled throughout the region, including at festivals and the Swiss Historical Village in New Glarus and Turner Hall and Cheese Days in Monroe.
Still, she was surprised last February when she received a phone call from an ad agency, asking if she would be interested in yodeling for a commercial for a chewing gum. At first, she didn't believe it. "I was floored," she said.
But it turned out to be true. Her yodeling can be heard in a recent Stride gum commercial. The tongue-in-cheek commercial features a young man in a parking garage who becomes surrounded by men wearing ledershosen and a woman wearing traditional Swiss dress, dancing in a circle to Seitz's yodeling.
The commercial hasn't left Seitz starstruck. She considers yodeling still to be just a hobby - "a little fun on the side," she said.
Seitz has a CD of her yodeling available. It, along with her performance schedule, is available at her Web site, www.swissyodeler .com. Her CD also is available at amazon.com and CDbaby.com. Locally, it is available at Roberts European Imports in New Glarus and Turner Hall in Monroe.
The Stride gum commercial can be seen on YouTube.com. Search "Stride" and "parking garage" to access the video.
Her products are for sale by retail by contacting her at 527-4264 or e-mailing toniseitz@dishmail.net. Her products also are available at the Country Store, on Wisconsin 69 just south of Monroe.Jeff Rogers 11/28/08 Jean Woodruff 11/28/08
Toni Blum Seitz is the Yodeling Baker. She bakes a variety of goods, including cheesecakes, pies, cakes, cookies, breads and Christmas stollen, from a commercial kitchen in a converted outbuilding on the Blum family homestead in rural Monticello. She's the sixth generation to live on the land, which has been in her family since 1848, with husband Bob and their four children, ages 12 to 3.
Placing family first was her main impetus to begin baking. "I started baking for my family as a way to get healthier ingredients," she said.
The Seitzes considered the idea of a starting a bakery for years, she said, but the opportunity to do so presented itself just recently when Seitz's father installed a commercial kitchen in the same building Seitz's brother, Silvan Blum, uses for his mail-order cheese business. Seitz's sister also has a mail-order business selling alternative sweetners that she runs from the farm.
Seitz's bakery, aptly named The Yodeling Baker, has been in business about two months. To get started, she's collected her recipes from her family, her husband's family and cookbooks, modifying them to be appropriate for baking in bulk.
"I don't fill an order unless I have a tried-and-true recipe," she said.
Seitz emphasizes using high quality, natural and mostly organic ingredients in her baking. For example, she uses cane juice crystals so she can avoid refined white sugar. She also uses Sucanot, a sugar cane extract, to replace brown sugar, and white whole wheat among other ingredients.
Besides being healthier, there's other benefits to using less refined, more natural ingredients. For one, baked goods tend to be more filling, she said.
And, "I think it tastes better," she said.
With four young assistants helping her out, Seitz also puts a premium on offering family-friendly recipes. Her Christmas stollen, for example, doesn't have the traditional nuts, dates and orange peels in a nod to pleasing younger palates.
While Seitz's baking is her bread and butter, yodeling has proven to be the icing on the cake.
Seitz's interest in yodeling began when she was 8. "I picked it up from my older sisters," she said. Her three older sisters studied yodeling under master yodeler Robbie Schneider. Toni practiced and soon was performing with them at the New Glarus Hotel. But by the time she was 12, Seitz said, there weren't as many opportunities to yodel.
Except for her wedding, Seitz really didn't yodel again until about five years ago. Her husband encouraged her to enter a yodeling contest in New Glarus and she won. She since has yodeled throughout the region, including at festivals and the Swiss Historical Village in New Glarus and Turner Hall and Cheese Days in Monroe.
Still, she was surprised last February when she received a phone call from an ad agency, asking if she would be interested in yodeling for a commercial for a chewing gum. At first, she didn't believe it. "I was floored," she said.
But it turned out to be true. Her yodeling can be heard in a recent Stride gum commercial. The tongue-in-cheek commercial features a young man in a parking garage who becomes surrounded by men wearing ledershosen and a woman wearing traditional Swiss dress, dancing in a circle to Seitz's yodeling.
The commercial hasn't left Seitz starstruck. She considers yodeling still to be just a hobby - "a little fun on the side," she said.
Seitz has a CD of her yodeling available. It, along with her performance schedule, is available at her Web site, www.swissyodeler .com. Her CD also is available at amazon.com and CDbaby.com. Locally, it is available at Roberts European Imports in New Glarus and Turner Hall in Monroe.
The Stride gum commercial can be seen on YouTube.com. Search "Stride" and "parking garage" to access the video.
Her products are for sale by retail by contacting her at 527-4264 or e-mailing toniseitz@dishmail.net. Her products also are available at the Country Store, on Wisconsin 69 just south of Monroe.Jeff Rogers 11/28/08 Jean Woodruff 11/28/08