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Our Breads

We specialize in long-fermented, hearth baked bread made with certified organic, regionally sourced grains. Traditional methods as old as bread baking itself are at the heart of each recipe.

The majority of our breads are naturally leavened, meaning we rely on a naturally-occurring fermentation process as opposed to commercial yeast.

The result is a complex, flavorful loaf of bread with a hearty crust that's more sustainable and nutritious than the mass produced and processed loaves you find on many grocery store shelves.

AT A Glance

The Red Hen family of breads runs the gamut from dense whole grains to light and airy baguettes and everything in between. Hover over each image below to get the stats on our signature varieties.

Where to Find our bread

You can find our bread at coops, general stores, and markets across Vermont. Check out the map to find the retail location closest to you.

Red pins indicate locations that receive fresh bread 7 or 6 days a week. Black pins receive less frequent deliveries. Click on each pin to see when they receive deliveries and what varieties you can find there.

Our grain Sourcing

Good bread starts with great grains, so we source the very best. It’s been a long-time goal of ours to help foster the grain growing industry in the Northeast and support farmers practicing sustainable agriculture. Thanks to our close partnerships with three regional farms and farm-based mills, 99% of wheat and rye used at Red Hen is organically grown within 300 miles of the bakery.

Le Moulin De Cedres

Le Cedres, Quebec

We've been working closely with the Dewavrin family for over 10 years to bring their organic flour to Vermont. This unique family-run operation supplies us with all of our roller-milled flour. Unlike stone milling, roller milling allows the three components of wheat (bran, germ and starch) to be clearly separated in order to obtain white flour. This is essential for all of our light and fluffy favorites like baguettes, ciabatta, Waitsfield Common, and croissants. The fact that we're able to source all of our white flour from a family-run organic farm that practices regenerative agriculture, owns their own roller mill, and is just a few hours drive from our bakery is a unique privilege.

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Farmer Ground Flour

Trumansburg, New York

In the Finger Lakes region of New York, this "micro-mill" is a collaborative project between organic farmer Thor Oechsner and millers Greg Russo and Neal Johnston. The mill was established in 2009 by a few friends with a passion for local agriculture and organic grains. They supply us with weekly deliveries of fresh, stone-ground flour. All the grains are milled to order, giving them an incredible freshness and flavor. They share our passion for nurturing the grain growing industry in the Northeast and see the value in keeping this ancient farming practice close to home and close to the heart, saying, "We know our grain farmers. We see our beautiful grain in the fields near the mill. We smell our fresh flour and love how it covers our Carhartts."

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Elysian Fields & Red Hen

Shorham & Middlesex, Vermont

The third mill is right here in our Middlesex bakery! We mill all our whole wheat in-house on a New American Stone Mill, made in Elmore, Vermont. The wheat is grown by organic farmer Joe Hescock at Elysian Fields in Shoreham, Vermont. In 2020, we purchased our own stone mill for the specific purpose of milling Joe's grain. We now mill about 250lbs of local grains every day.

Our Stone Mill

All of the whole wheat and whole rye flours used in our breads are milled fresh right here in our bakery. We purchased our first mill in 2018, and as high-quality local grain continued to become more available, we upgraded to a New American Stone Mill, made in Vermont. We now mill upwards of 1,000 lbs of regionally grown wheat and rye every week.

Bread FAQ's

We prefer the term "naturally leavened," but the process is the same. When the average person hears "sourdough" they think of the white San Francisco style with that classic tang. Our breads have a wide range of flavor profiles and grain types that we don't feel is fully represented by the term "sourdough". Yes, the majority of them are leavened (given their rise) with a naturally fermented starter rather than the addition of commercial yeast.

We bake and deliver bread 7 days a week because we believe in fresh bread! The majority of our breads are best enjoyed the same day they are baked, however there are a few varieties that keep very well for a few days, like the Miche, Sprouternickel and Kingdom Rye. Our sliced breads, sold in plastic bags, keep well at room temperature for 3- 5 days.

We have always sold our unsliced hearth breads in paper bags. We do this because we go through a lot of trouble to create a crisp crust on our breads. In order for that crust to remain crisp, the bread needs to “breathe.” The paper bag is really doing nothing more than identifying our bread and keeping others’ hands off of it. Once you bring it home, you can toss the bag in the recycling (or save it for making papier mache) and store your bread sliced side down to keep it from drying out. The crust will act as a natural package for the rest of the loaf. Refer to the information on our specific varieties to see how many days you can expect to keep your particular bread in this manner.

If our breads are put into a plastic bag, they will stay moist for much longer, but the crust will soften. If you are willing to sacrifice a crisp crust to stretch the shelf life a little longer, you can put our bread in a plastic bag. At temperatures under 70 degrees, our breads will not get moldy for at least a week. If it is one of our naturally leavened ones, it will last even longer. You can be sure that you have a naturally leavened variety if you do not see yeast listed in the ingredients.

We do not recommend keeping our breads in the refrigerator because, even in a plastic bag, the dry air in the fridge dries out the bread. If you need to keep your bread for longer than a week, see below.

Our breads freeze very well in a well-sealed plastic bag. In a frost-free freezer, they are good for 3-4 months. In a traditional freezer, they are good until the next time you have to defrost it. If our bread is frozen unsliced, a few minutes in the oven after it is thawed will bring the crust back to almost as good as fresh.

Yes, by request at our café, and on select days in stores that we deliver to, we sell sliced breads. These need to be packed in plastic to prevent the crumb (interior) from drying out—a sacrifice for convenience that can be worth it (especially if you intend to use if for sandwiches or toast). Unless the weather is very hot (over 70 degrees), our sliced breads should keep for a week. (See above about plastic bags.)

All of our breads use what's called a "lean dough", meaning it contains no milk, dairy, butter, or oil. The only exception to this would be the occasional special offering around the holidays, like Panettone or pull apart rolls, and of course our pastries.

We do not offer gluten free bread. In order to do so safely, we would essentially need an entirely separate facility. We do however offer a few items on the pastry menu that contain no wheat for those with sensitivities, like the coconut macaroons and the buckwheat cookies. We also offer buckwheat waffle cones during creemee season.

Yes! In partnership with our friends from Le Moulin des Cedres in Quebec, we package and sell 5lb bags of our organic all purpose flour in our cafe and in coops. You can also purchase 100% Vermont-grown, freshly milled whole wheat in our cafe. If you run your own bakery or restaurant and want to source regionally grown organic four for your own use, reach out to us via our contact page to learn more about wholesale flour options.