ABOUT US

Red Hen Bread was born in 1996 with a simple philosophy – “bake great bread”. How many times have you heard the saying “they sure don’t make em the way they used to”? Well WE DO! It's why we use only the finest ingredients we can find and produce all of our products by hand.

We aren’t like the mass producers that mix and send their dough into machines that squeeze the life out it. We mix our doughs and give them time. Time for our “starter” to slowly ferment, grow, and develop the taste and flavor that is uniquely Red Hen. We then shape by hand so we do not overwork and squeeze out the flavor we worked so hard to obtain. We let it rest again and when its growth is just right, we put it into a stone deck oven, give it a shot of steam for that perfect crust, and voila – the best breads around! 

Red Hen Bread is the premier purveyor of high quality artesian breads & pastries in the Chicago area. The business has grown from a small boutique shop on Milwaukee Avenue to one that has a thriving wholesale operation along with three retail stores in the Chicago and metro area.

Red Hen Bread specializes in artisan breads and pastries along with a delicious line of coffees, fresh deli sandwiches, and soups served at our retail stores. Red Hen continues to produce all of its products by hand and will only use the finest of ingredients.

Red Hen breads and pastries are natural, mouthwatering works of art. We are so proud of our products that we have an outlet store in Oak Park located at 736 Lake St. on the corner of Lake St. and Oak Park Avenue, so that we may share them with as many people as we can.

 

Besides providing great products to our retail locations we also service hundreds of the best restaurants and hotels in Chicago and surrounding neighborhoods. In fact we have sent our products as far away as California.

We are so excited to work with anyone as committed as we are in providing to their customers the best that they deserve. That is why we will continue to bake the finest breads and pastries we can for the wonderful people of Chicago. 

Simply put… “it makes us happy.”