Rolling in the dough
A sure cure for hunger or homesickness, the Old Grist Mill Bread Company can serve up a tasty meal or treat that will taste just as good or better than mom’s home cooking.
The Old Grist Mill Bread Co. has been providing Logan with fresh-baked goods for 15 years. Best known for their hearty breads, they also serve a variety of cookies, muffins, bagels and scones.
There are currently two stores in Logan, one in Ogden and another coming soon to Brigham City. The original store is located at 78 E. 400 North in Logan and is known as the bakery location. The other Logan location is at 981 S. Main Street and is called the Deli Location.
Sarah West, a junior at USU majoring in print journalism, has been working at Old Grist Mill for three years. Her favorite thing about working at Old Grist Mill is the food.
“While working, we can eat anything we want for free. It’s nice for a college student on a budget,” said West.
The baking process starts each morning at 4 a.m. Old Grist Mill makes everything from scratch, they even grind their own wheat to make flour. Val Christensen, manager and part owner of Old Grist Mill, wants people to know their bread is healthy.
“The basic ingredients are flour, water, honey and/or sweetener, yeast and salt. It’s as healthy as bread gets,” said Christensen.
The Old Grist Mill bakes its bread in large ovens that can hold several hundred loaves at a time.
“We can make a lot of bread,” Christensen said. “The oven can hold almost 300 loaves.”
Around Christmas, Old Grist Mill may make as many as 1,500 loaves a day.
Old Grist Mill offers many different kinds of bread to choose from. It has about 14 varieties that are available every day, such as white, wheat, three-cheese, cinnamon drop and pumpkin.
Elaine Kidman a North Logan resident and Old Grist Mill customer, likes to buy bread at Old Grist Mill for thank-you gifts. She also picks bread up for her family.
“We like the cinnamon drop, it tastes good,” Kidman said.
They also bake several other kinds that are only available on certain days of the week, such as cranberry pecan, raisin walnut and rye. Prices for a loaf start at about $2.69, but you can also get a slice for $.50 or try the bread on one of their sandwiches.
The sandwiches at Old Grist Mill are “design your own,” so each customer can choose exactly what bread, meat, cheese and veggies to use. The sandwiches are sold as a full sandwich or a half with a bag of chips included or as a combo with a cookie, chips and a soda. At the deli location, you also have the option of adding soup to your meal.
“My favorite at Old Grist Mill is a cup of chicken noodle soup and half a turkey sandwich,” Adrienne Johnson, a junior in the nursing program, said. “Plus, if you go on Wednesdays you can get a cowpie cookie.”
Cookies are a big seller at Old Grist Mill and, like the breads, some are available every day, but others are just made once a week. The cowpie cookie, available Wednesdays, is a chocolate cookie that contains chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and almonds. Sugar cookies are made on Mondays, Thursdays and holidays.
“People go nuts over the sugar cookies and if we run out then they’re furious,” West said.
Chocolate chip, chocolate chip walnut and oatmeal raisin are available every day.
If the Old Grist Mill has any baked goods that don’t sell, they are given to the food bank, which are then provided to people in need.
The Old Grist Mill bakery location is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
-nnaylor@usu.edu
Kaleena Jensen, a junior in English, has been an Old Grist Mill employee for more than two years.
The Old Grist Mill´s bakery location at 78 E. 400 North in Logan.
Old Grist Mill Manager ValDee Christensen stands by a rack of many loaves of bread baked that day. During their busy season, Old Grist Mill can make over 1,500 loaves in one day.