WHY ROUND LOAVES? Round loaves are traditional. Back in the day, when communities shared a baking oven often wood fired and built of stone, loaves were marked with an initial or symbol so they knew who’s loaf was who’s. Not only do they look cool, a round unsliced loaf will actually keep longer than sliced bread. Many folks prefer to slice their own so we offer unsliced round loaves in addition to sliced “toaster” loaves.

WHAT DOES “STONE GROUND FLOUR” MEAN? The photo below is one of the stones from our flour mill. As the mill spins at high RPM’s, the wheat kernels move out through the grooves and get ground up into fresh whole wheat flour. This is how we grind our own fresh flour every morning. Grinding flour this way makes a better tasting and more nutritious loaf of bread because the flour is fresh and contains all of the natural nutrients. When flour is allowed to sit for extended periods of time, it becomes oxidized and essential nutrients dissipate from the flour. This is why you often hear of cereals and flours being “enriched”. Basically, nutrients are artificially put back into the flour. For freshness, we mill our flour everyday and turn it into bread within 24 hours. So, just like fresh ground coffee beans make a better cup of coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice has no equal, it makes sense that fresh ground whole wheat flour makes a better tasting loaf of bread.

Flour Mill

HAS GREAT HARVEST BREAD IN BOISE CHANGED OWNERSHIP? It certainly has. In January, 2007 Zach & Mal purchased the bakery from original owners Peggy & Paul. Since that time, many changes have been made but we continue to offer everything the former owners did plus much more. If you have any suggestions for the new owners, please introduce yourself at the store or email us at greatharvestboise@gmail.com We are committed to baking and selling what our customers want.

IS YOUR BREAD AVAILABLE IN GROCERY STORES? Our breads are not available in grocery stores. We have a lot of competitors who try to make their bread look and sound like ours but unless you buy it at one of our bakeries or local farmer’s market, it is not Great Harvest Bread. There are even some who literally copy the ideas and names of our breads. Great Harvest Bread has been around since the late 70′s baking whole wheat breads from scratch with quality ingredients. Our business model is to bake and sell our bread as fresh as possible to the public. Like many items in grocery stores, commercial bakeries put preservetives in their breads to make them soft and appear fresh. Trouble is, they aren’t fresh because of the time it takes to transport and stock shelves. Our breads are baked fresh each morning in our bakery and offered for sale as soon as they come out of the oven. It is not unusual to drop in our store in the late morning and take home a steaming hot loaf of bread. That is the way it should be rather than the funky vinegar taste you get from mass produced bread. We hear all the time from our customers, “Once you’ve had your bread, you can’t go back to grocery store bread!”

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO STORE MY BREAD? The best way to store our bread is to take it home and when cool enough, wrap it in a plastic bag. Keep it in a cool dry climate out of the sun. Our breads are made without preservatives or dough conditioners so you can expect them to keep fresh for 7-10 days.

Bad places to store bread: 1. on top of the refrigerator-it is too warm because of the heat from the appliance. 2. on the counter under a window – the sun makes the bread steam up inside and will accelerate mold. 3. in the refridgerator – the temperature in the refridgerator causes the honey to crystalyze and the air flow can dry out the bread. Note: Refridgerating bread will keep it from molding as quick but it will dry out your bread.

Good places to store your bread: 1. In a pantry out of direct sunlight. 2. a bread box or under the cabinet on your counter out of direct sunlight. Note: Our breads can be frozen. It is best to wait 24 ours after it has been out of the oven to freeze. This will allow flavors to mature and the texture of the bread will be better after thawing out again. Double bagging is recommended to avoid odors and tastes from other frozen goods from tainting the flavor of the bread.

WHATS WITH THE PRICE INCREASES? In the spring of 2008, the baking industry began to see unprecedented price increases in ingredient costs. Wheat and flour were in short supply and a host of economic factors like the weakening of the US dollar made it so raw goods were sold more profitably to other countries not our own. Weak crops in wheat producing countries contributed to this shortage. Our wheat price per bushel doubled during this time along with many of our other ingredients. We have seen some relief with wheat costs but many of our other ingredient costs such as honey and fruit remain unstable. We are committed to offering our quality and fresh products at a good price. Note: Our loaves weigh much more than other breads available at the store. Ounce for ounce, our breads are comparable or cheaper than the majority of other breads. We guarantee it is made with higher quality ingredients and better tasting too! UPDATE: As of January, 2010 we have actually been able to lower many of our prices on cookies, muffins and breads.

HOW MANY LOCATIONS IN BOISE? We currently have 2 locations in the Treasure Valley. The original location on Fairview between Curtis St. and Orchard in Boise (across from Mor Furniture) and another between Cloverdale & Eagle Rd on Fairview in Meridian.

YOU GUYS MAKE SANDWICHES? Yes, we have offered sandwiches since 2007. See our “Sandwich” tab on this website or drop by the store to check it out.

WHEN DOES YOUR BREAD COME OUT OF THE OVEN? Our breads are made from scratch and take about 5 hours from start to finish. Our first breads of the day begin to come out of the oven around 9:30 am and most of them are out by about 12:30 pm. If you are wondering about a certain bread being available, check our “Menu” tab or just give us a call! 377-5587

DO YOU SELL GIFT BASKETS? Yes! see our “Gift Ideas” tab for more information. We also have a gift brochure in our store you can take with you next time you are in.

DO YOU DELIVER? We can deliver for larger orders of sandwiches or gift baskets for better customer service but we arent’ set up like a pizza chain with delivery vehicles, etc. Call for details.