How Hearth & Grain started
Hearth & Grain opened in 2011 in a former hardware store on Lyndale with one deck oven and a starter that came in a jam jar from a bakery in Duluth. The first winter we sold four kinds of bread and whatever croissants did not collapse.
The starter is the same one. The oven has a bigger sibling now, and the croissants stopped collapsing in 2013. We still close on Mondays, because the bakers start at four the other six days.
What we insist on
- Bread leavened with our starter only, proved overnight, baked on stone
- Cultured butter in every laminated dough, nothing else
- Minnesota wheat and rye, milled within 90 miles
- Nothing in the case older than this morning; what is left goes to the food shelf at three
Who bakes
Eight bakers in two shifts. Bread starts at four, pastry at five, cakes at seven. If you come at six you can watch the first loaves come out through the window on the alley.
Good to know
Can I order a whole cake?
Yes. Pick a cake, choose 6, 8 or 10 inches at checkout and a pickup time at least two days out. Messages and berries are options on the same screen.
What time is the bread ready?
Sourdough and rye are out by seven, baguettes at seven and again at eleven. Order ahead and your loaf is held with your name on it until close.
Do you bake gluten-free?
No. Everything here is made with wheat flour in one room, so nothing in the case is safe for coeliacs.
Do you have nuts in the kitchen?
Yes, pecans, walnuts, almonds and pistachios are used daily. Every product lists its allergens; add a note to your order if you need us to check something.