Foster continues to experiment with flour blends and tastes in her baguette recipes.

A cottage-style bakery in Manzanita, offering locally-made sourdough bread and pastries, is planning to transition soon to a walk-up window.

The Whale’s Tail Bakery, owned and run by April Foster, churns out new recipes constantly — baguettes, bagels, pretzels and danishes are just a few of the treats made by the small bakehouse.

“Baking, I feel like that’s just who I am,” Foster said. “I’ve been baking since I was a little kid.”

Since launching the home-based bakery in 2021, Foster has built a local customer base online.

The bakery’s Instagram page is updated frequently with its most recent creations and projects. It also serves as a point of sale. Because of sourdough’s unpredictable nature, Foster posts available bakes on Saturday mornings. Orders come in via messages and she delivers throughout the day.

Foster bakes out of her Manzanita home, sourcing ingredients like flour from local vendors. She also uses local berries and organic Northwest grains.

“Right now, I’m working on perfecting my baguettes,” she said, adding that she continues to experiment with flour blends and tastes to get the best baguette recipe possible. Savory dishes pop up from the bakery from time to time, including homemade soups, sandwiches and even pizza.

Once Foster has a bread down, she turns her attention to fine-tuning a new type of baked good. “Even when I’m not selling, I’m always trying to work on the craft,” she said.

The Whale’s Tail Bakery makes local deliveries in Manzanita, Nehalem and Wheeler. For Foster, deliveries are a way to meet new people around town, but the bakery’s next step is to transition to a more permanent space.

Foster plans to open a walk-up window later this year, likely in the fall, which she said will give her more time to focus on baking. She also hopes to install a ramp to the window to make it easily accessible.

“There’s a huge window, so you’ll be able to see the baked goods, so you can walk up and order what you like,” she said.

Cooking and baking have long been an integral part of Foster’s life. She recalled cooking alongside her parents and grandmother and busting out ingredients at a moment’s notice to experiment in the kitchen at a young age.

“It’s just in my nature,” Foster said. “There (are) so many cooks in my family, we just love to not only eat but to feed other people.”

Years ago, Foster moved from California to attend culinary school in Portland. She later transitioned to the medical field but left the job when the coronavirus pandemic hit. She decided to stay home with her daughter and pivoted to looking for jobs with creative opportunities that would allow her to take care of her daughter full-time.

“I decided I would try to do a cottage bakery out of my house,” Foster said. “So I could be with her full-time and also do something I loved.”

The Whale’s Tail Bakery

Small-batch home bakery based in Manzanita, online orders open Saturdays

@the_whalestail_bakery

www.thewhalestailbakery.com