From a Chagrin Falls kitchen, North Hill Bakery makes small-batch sourdough wheat crackers using a 36-hour fermentation and all-natural ingredients. The woman-owned Ohio business grew from founder Katy’s pandemic-era sourdough experiments and the encouragement of local neighbors, with its original Black Pepper cracker still at the heart of the line. Its crackers now reach retailers across Ohio and in Chicagoland, ready for snacking or a charcuterie board.
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Woman-Owned Business
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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
Crackling Crust MicrobakeryCrackling Crust Microbakery is a hands-on “microbakery” built around naturally fermented bread and a sense of community. Its baker supports nearby farms when possible and uses eggs from a personal flock of hens called “The Divas,” while sharing the craft through local farmers-market baking and sourdough classes.MASON, OH
Jenny Lee Swirl BreadRooted in a Pittsburgh baking lineage that began in 1875, Jenny Lee Swirl Bread makes small-batch sweet and savory swirl breads in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. The Baker family’s tradition includes Jenny Lee Bakery, founded in 1938, and today’s products carry that history forward through naturally fermented breads such as its cinnamon swirl, cinnamon raisin and savory varieties.MCKEES ROCKS, PA
Brimfield Bread OvenBrimfield 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.KENT, OH