10/18/2026
A LITTLE ABOUT HARVEST TRAIL COTTAGE BAKERY — AND THE BAKER BEHIND THE BREAD!
To our longtime customers, old friends, and everyone just discovering Harvest Trail, we'd like to share a little about who we are, where we came from, and why we do what we do.
Because at Harvest Trail, we're about more than just baking bread.
MEET BRAD — THE BAKER BEHIND HARVEST TRAIL
My name is Brad, and eastern Ohio has always been home.
I grew up around New Athens and Flushing, attended Union Local and Belmont Tech, and went on to serve 20 years in the United States Air Force.
In 2019, I completed a 2,190-mile journey along the Appalachian Trail, spending roughly seven months hiking from one end to the other.
A few years later, another journey began. This one involved a little less hiking and a whole lot more flour!
HOW HARVEST TRAIL BEGAN
Like many people during COVID, I found myself exploring something new.
For me, it was baking bread.
What started as a hobby in the kitchen of my log cabin in Flushing, Ohio, slowly grew into something much more meaningful.
I started sharing bread with neighbors, friends, and family. Word began to spread, people started asking for more, and before long, Harvest Trail Cottage Bakery was born.
There was no commercial bakery, no assembly line, and no big business plan.
Just a guy in a log cabin who discovered how much he enjoyed making good bread and sharing it with others.
And with the support of our wonderful customers, that little hobby became a small, veteran-owned cottage bakery.
WHAT MAKES OUR BREAD DIFFERENT?
At Harvest Trail, we believe good bread begins long before it reaches the oven.
It starts with the ingredients.
HERITAGE GRAINS: We incorporate traditional wheat varieties and freshly milled flour into our baking. These grains have their own distinctive flavors and characteristics that make them worth preserving.
FRESHLY MILLED FLOUR: Rather than relying entirely on commercially milled flour, we mill heritage wheat for our recipes. Freshly milled whole-grain flour retains the bran and germ, providing distinctive flavor, texture, and naturally occurring nutrients.
LOCAL HONEY: We're proud to use locally sourced honey in our signature honey-based recipes, supporting local producers while bringing a wonderful flavor to our breads.
SMALL-BATCH BAKING: Our breads, Honeybuns, and Dinner Rolls are made in small batches, with hands-on care and attention throughout the baking process.
REAL INGREDIENTS: We believe customers deserve to know what's going into the food they bring home to their families. We value straightforward ingredients, traditional baking methods, and quality over shortcuts.
And here's something we're especially proud of...
We've started growing our very own heritage wheat right here at Harvest Trail!
Our Turkey Red wheat is grown by hand, harvested, and milled into flour as part of our effort to connect the food we make with the land it comes from.
On October 17, 2026, that homegrown wheat became the beginning of something especially meaningful: our very first sourdough starter, affectionately named Old Red.
Made from nothing more than our own freshly milled Turkey Red wheat and water, Old Red represents the next chapter in our journey.
We'll be sharing much more about him soon!
OUR FAVORITES ARE STILL HERE
Many of you remember the breads that helped get us started:
Harvest Honey Wheat Loaves
Harvest Honeybuns
Harvest Honey Dinner Rolls
Those familiar favorites remain at the heart of Harvest Trail.
And as we continue growing, we're looking forward to exploring naturally leavened sourdough breads, additional heritage grains, and new homemade favorites.
A NEW HOME, THE SAME HARVEST TRAIL
Although we're no longer baking in that original log cabin in Flushing, Harvest Trail has found a new home in Barnesville, Ohio.
The location has changed, but our commitment hasn't.
We're still a small, veteran-owned bakery.
We're still passionate about real ingredients and traditional methods.
And we're still grateful for every person who chooses to support a small local business.
WHY DOES ALL OF THIS MATTER?
Because when you purchase bread from Harvest Trail, you're supporting more than a loaf of bread.
You're supporting a local veteran-owned business, Ohio agriculture, local honey producers, the preservation of heritage grains, and a commitment to keeping traditional baking alive.
You're purchasing something made by someone who cares about what's in it, how it's made, and the people who will be eating it.
We're not trying to be the biggest bakery.
We're simply working to make bread we're proud to put on our own table — and yours.
FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS, THANK YOU.
To everyone who bought a loaf back in our log cabin days, shared a recommendation, told a friend, or continues following our journey, thank you.
And to our new friends in Barnesville and the surrounding communities, welcome to Harvest Trail!
We look forward to sharing plenty more good bread and good stories with you.
— Brad, the Baker
Harvest Trail Cottage Bakery
Barnesville, Ohio
Real Bread. Real Ingredients. Real Local.
We'd love to hear from you! Have you tried our Honey Wheat Bread, Honeybuns, or Dinner Rolls? Tell us your favorite in the comments. And if you're new here, introduce yourself!
