Brimfield Bread Oven grew from Jud and Genevieve Smith’s 2014 cottage bakery into a European-style bakery in Brimfield Township, making scratch bread and pastry with organic grains and local ingredients. Its sourdough breads use 100% organic flour, including Ohio-grown wholegrain spelt, rye and wheat, and the bakery’s breads are hand-shaped and baked in a stone deck oven. The shop opened in 2016 after community support through Kickstarter and remains a gathering place for coffee, pastries and Saturday-night pizza.
Berlin Natural BakeryIn Ohio’s Amish Country, Berlin Natural Bakery makes small-batch spelt breads and baked goods by hand, with its old-fashioned sourdough fermented for at least 24 hours. The family acquired the bakery in 1997, and third-generation twins Nicole and Nick now carry forward its focus on organic, minimally processed ingredients and simple recipes. Its organic spelt flour is stone-ground on demand, and the bakery’s products remain Non-GMO Project Verified.MILLERSBURG, OH
123Dough Bakery123Dough Bakery is a certified organic bakery in Pound Ridge that hand-makes naturally leavened sourdough from freshly milled ancient grains. Its founding team spent years researching fermented foods and wheat varieties before opening the bakery, where dough ferments for at least 20 hours without industrial yeast and loaves are made with organic wheat, spring water, and sea salt. The bakery is especially known for its einkorn breads, including a limited 100% einkorn loaf made in batches of just 10 per week.POUND RIDGE, NY
BREADSEstablished in Fairlawn, Ohio, BREADS makes handmade artisan breads and European-style pastries, cookies, and sweets. Its bakers have more than 18 years in the business, preparing the products daily in a custom French artisan oven with nonprocessed ingredients and no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. The loaves are shaped for a crisp European crust and soft interior, while the bakery’s fresh sweets include its popular “Death by Chocolate” cookies.FAIRLAWN, OH
Mediterra BakehouseFounded in Pittsburgh in 2002, Mediterra Bakehouse turns heritage wheat into naturally fermented artisan bread, taking its grain from field to loaf. The bakery grows four heritage wheat varieties on 35 acres in Arizona, mills the harvest with a natural granite stone mill, and uses at least 15% of its own organic heritage wheat flour in every loaf.PITTSBURGH, PA