Frequently Asked Questions

Sam's Club has cut back on distribution of the Oregon Trail breads. Most notably they have discontinued it in their Florida distribution center. This affects all Sam's Clubs in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. The only other option for Oregon Trail breads is BJ's Wholesale club. We are asking fans of Oregon Trail bread to contact Sam's Club and ask them to bring Oregon Trail breads back. Thanks for your support.

We're asking that people fill out comment cards or speak with a bakery manager and ask that they continue to bake Oregon Bread.

The inner wrapping is a choice made by individual bakeries. Some choose to inner wrap breads that have toppings in order to keep everything in place and make it easier to bag and seal the breads. We have run our own tests and have concluded that an inner wrapping provides no additional preservation for baked goods.

We've moved East coast production of the Innkeeper's 8 Grain & Innkeeper's Apple Strudel bread to a different facility. Prior to this move, the product was baked in Canada and shipped in for East coast distribution.( For more information about where our products are produced please see http://bread.com/faq#n189 ). The new bakery is using a different production method which may account for a difference in taste and mouth-feel. This was in no way a cost cutting move, rather we were hoping to gain better consistency from the finished product. We have been made aware of some issues regarding the breads coming from the new bakery and are working with the bakery to correct these issues. This does not effect Innkeeper's bread on the West coast.

Sam's Club has discontinued Oregon Trail Apple Danish bread. BJ's is the only place currently carrying the bread. It is no longer being baked anywhere on the west coast. For more information please see http://bread.com/content/finding-oregon-trail-breads

We develop items and brands for specific grocery or wholesale clubs. In many cases one of brands may be exclusive (i.e. the Innkeeper's brand is managed by Costco so you won't find Innkeeper's breads for sale outside of Costco). In some cases the products are specific to a location (i.e. the Grain Basket brand is found in multiple locations but products are specific to the carrier). In most cases it is up to the individual store or club manager as to what products they carry. (i.e. Not all Sam's Club locations carry Oregon Trail breads. This is the manager's decision). Some of our products are made locally here in Oregon using ingredients from the Pacific Northwest - like our Oregon Bread brand. Since breads have a relatively short shelf-life, we are not able to ship some products long distances.

The Simple Grains line is in a transition phase right now. It used to be in Wild Oats but when Wild Oats was purchased by Whole Foods the line was cut way back. Recently they discontinued the Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Bread all together. We’re hoping to revive the line in the future. I would recommend contacting your retailer where you purchased this item, assuming it was Whole Foods.

Our products are baked in different bakeries across the US and Canada. We set the standards for each product and do our best to make sure each bakery follows the formula. We operate a small bakery in Oregon for specialty items and small runs.

Cranberry Orange bread was once under the Innkeeper's Bed & Breakfast line as well as the Oregon Trail line.

Innkeeper's Cranberry Orange bread has been picked up by Costco Canada on a rotator program. Costco members in Ontario and Quebec will be able to purchase the Cranberry Orange variety between November and January. It has been off the market in the U.S. since 2005 and at this time neither Costco nor Sam's Club plans on bringing it back.

Costco decided to discontinue the Innkeeper's variety. The Innkeeper's brand is exclusive to Costco and all decisions regarding the brand are made by Costco. To contact Costco: http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePageLeftNav.aspx?ProductNo=10045080 or by phone at (425) 313-8100 or Costco General Member Services: 800-774-2678.

Sam's Club decided to discontinue the Oregon Trail variety. You can contact Sam's Club at: 888-746-7726 or online at http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=6103

Mango Peach bread was once under the Innkeeper's Bed & Breakfast line. Costco decided to discontinue the variety. The Innkeeper's brand is exclusive to Costco and all decisions regarding the brand are made by Costco. To contact Costco: http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePageLeftNav.aspx?ProductNo=10045080 or by phone at (425) 313-8100 or Costco General Member Services: 800-774-2678.

Colors are usually based on what day the product was baked.There isn’t an industry standard for color coding twist ties or Kwik Loks. Individual bakeries use their own system based on which days they’re baking. We would suggest contacting the bakery that produces that product to find out thier coding system.

The Innkeeper's brand is exclusive to Costco. All decisions on this brand come from Costco corporate including which brands are on the market, which brands get discontinued, which varieties are in individual Costco warehouse locations, etc. Contact Costco corporate online or by phone at (425) 313-8100. We thank you for your interest and support.

CLICK HERE to see an article on keeping bread fresh.

Sorry, we are not a commercial bakery. We don't actually stock any products locally. We tried a pilot program selling direct by mail years ago. We ran into a few problems. 

1. Our small bakery doesn't bake Oregon Trail bread every day. Sometimes not even every week.

2. We're a small operation and don't have anyone who can handle shipping orders

3. The cost of shipping loaves of bread across the country is 3-4 times greater than the cost of the bread. Mainly because its a perishable good with a limited shelf life. 

Our products are baked by various bakeries across the country under our strict specifications. Neither IBR nor any of our bakeries are set up for mail order. Try contacting a local retailer about carrying or ordering any product you're interested in.

Bran is the outer covering or "shell" of wheat kernels.

The Oregon Trail breads can be found at select Sam's Club locations. If you're unable to find the Oregon Trail bread you are looking for please contact Sam's Club and let them know you'd like them to carry it. We would love to have all our Oregon Trail breads in every Sam's Clubs. Beginning January 2010, BJs Wholesale will be carrying Oregon Trail breads in all locations. The Oregon Trail 100% Whole Wheat Bread is produced by Franz Family Bakeries and can be found in many locations throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Try our Oregon Trail store locator to search by zip code.

The Innkeeper's brand is exclusive to Costco Wholesale Co. Regional buyers decide what products are stocked in their locations. If you are unable to find an Innkeeper's bread you are looking for please contact Costco and let them know you'd like them to stock one of our breads. We'd love to have all our breads available to our customers.

A plant or animal containing a gene inserted from a different species which causes the plant or animal to express the desirable traits of that species. An example of a GMO is a potato that has had its genes combined with that of the bacteria Bacillus Thuringienisis. The new potato produces a toxin that protects it from pests.

For answers, and to find experiments, pictures and step by step instructions for making bread, visit this web-site. www.howstuffworks.com/bread.htm

The dictionary gives this definition: "A stable food made from flour or meal mixed with other dry and liquid ingredients, usually combined with a leavening agent, and kneaded, shaped into loaves and baked."

There is no one person or date attributed to the "invention" of bread. The web-site listed is great for outlining the history of bread. It covers quite a bit and includes great pictures, too. It even has Egyptian hieroglyphics. www.botham.co.uk/bread/history1.htm or try these sites: www.bakersfederation.org.uk www.fabflour.co.uk

You can't just say that white or wheat bread molds the fastest. Molding time depends on many factors. Two items which contribute to mold are moisture content of the bread and if "mold inhibitors" or "preservatives" are in the bread. If you want more information on wheat, types of flour, storage, and nutrition, try this web-site. www.wheatfoods.org

We have discontinued The Grain Scoop newsletter in order to concentrate all efforts on allowing users to contribute to Bread.com. We may decide to revive the newsletter in the future. Our newsletter was sent out quarterly. Just prior to signing up for the newsletter you should have received a confirmation email to which you must respond to in order to be entered into our subscriber's list. If you haven't received the confirmation email you either mistyped your email address when you signed up or you have an active SPAM filter that is blocking correspondence from Bread.com.

We do however have news updates for Oregon Trail & Innkeepers brands. You can sign up for these individually by visiting their pages.