Hixson resident Pam Johnson, a former chemistry teacher at Soddy-Daisy and Tyner high schools, is using her knowledge of chemistry while baking for her new business, Cottage Hearth and Home.
“When baking any yeast bread, a chemical reaction happens,” she said.
Johnson sells her baked goods at the St. Alban’s Farmers Market in Hixson Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at Signal Mountain Farmers Market Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. She said she uses locally and sustainably grown ingredients in her products whenever possible.
Johnson has a local source for stone-ground whole wheat, honey and eggs, and the strawberries in her jam come from Flat Top Farm near Soddy-Daisy.
“You can walk by and can almost taste them from the smell,” she said of the berries. “There’s definitely a difference between them and what you would normally get in the grocery.”