Thank you for stopping by to visit our bakery!

We're honored that you have chosen to investigate what we feel is the highest quality bread produced anywhere. As a family business, we're proud of our hand picked natural ingredients, our recipes, and our people. You've heard it said, "Good things take time". Well, great bread is no exception. Take a scroll through our bakery to see how it's done, step by step.
 

Milling:
We start in the wee hours of the morning at our stone-burr mill, milling the wheat fresh from one family's farm in Montana. These grains are special. They're 100% High Plains Hard Red Spring Wheat, grown without any chemicals. They yield the highest protein, highest fiber flour and are simply the best in the world for producing nutritious bread. The two giant stones in our mill grind this wheat slowly and without excess heat to keep the nutrition and the flavor of this world-class wheat intact.

Mixing
At Loafers, the Mixing Loafer is the "heart" of the bakery and begins loafing early - long before most hard-working folks hear their alarm clocks. Our natural bread ingredients are simple and of the highest quality, since a loaf is only as good as the sum of its ingredients. However, each ingredient must be carefully weighed, measured and mixed at just the right temperatures to begin proper bread development.

Resting

Our mixing bowls are HUGE, each holding over 140 quarts and weighing over 50 pounds empty, so we move them to and from the mixer on wheels. Once ingredients are mixed, the "sponge," as we call it, sits covered for hours under the mixers watchful eye so that the yeast has time to do its work. This part of the process requires patience, good judgment, and respect because you can't rush a good thing. After the sponge grows just enough, the Mixing Loafer mixes in some remaining ingredients that change the "sponge" into dough. The dough "rests" just a bit more, then is ready to be weighed and cut by hand into loaf-sized pieces

Kneading and Forming

The Kneading Loafers "work" the dough, using the bakers most complex, advanced and versatile equipment - Our Hands. There is just no replacement in bread making for human hands. The dough must be pressed and stretched until it has the proper texture and "skin" for an outstanding loaf - requiring experience and a feel for the dough. Using these same hands, we mold the bread (usually into a round shape for even baking) and place each finished loaf carefully onto parchment paper on flat pans so we need no oil. The Kneading Loafers are the artisans of the bakery.

    
Proofing

The loaves rest one final time for final development, called "proofing". This is done under the watchful eye of the Oven Loafer, who is the "brain" of the bakery. The bread must rise to a proper size, but the time required changes each day depending upon temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure - even in a climate controlled facility! Some of our breads need additional heat and humidity to rise properly. Others would be totally ruined by such a Louisiana-like environment. Part of the bakers job is to make sure each bread receives the tender loving care it needs. When each loaf is at its prime in expansion and firmness, it goes into the oven.

Baking

Our oven is the size of a room (10' by 14') and has a giant "Ferris wheel" inside to move the trays to all parts of the oven for even baking. The Oven Loafer carefully watches the bread bake, checking often by sight and touch until each loaf has been baked to perfection. then the hot bread is quickly but gingerly placed onto cooling racks - delicious, wholesome, and ready for eating!