You’ve got questions, we have answers!
From “Where can I find Silver Hills Bakery products in stores?”, to “What is the best way to store sprouted bread?”, or “Do Silver Hills Bakery breads contain nuts?”, you can find answers to our most-asked customer questions here!
Where to buy
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Can I buy Silver Hills Bakery products online?
We have online ordering available throughout the USA and now have Canadian shipping available, too!
Our two preferred online partners make it faster and easier than ever to bring the goodness of sprouted whole grain bread home. With the same 2- or 3-day delivery across the lower 48 states* and 4-day delivery in Canada**, one less errand means more time with your family:
- Add your favourite Silver Hills Bakery breads to your cart with the rest of your shopping for the one-click convenience of Amazon! Click here to shop on Amazon.com for shipping in the USA. Click here to shop on Amazon.ca for shipping in Canada
- Buy your favourite breads direct from Stan and Kathy Smith, two of the three friends who started Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery over 30 years ago. Click here to shop at TheOvenDoor.co in the USA. Click here to shop at TheOvenDoor.ca in Canada
* 2-day delivery available to select states (otherwise 3-day delivery). Not available in Alaska or Hawaii.
** Canadian delivery not yet available to Yukon, Nunavut, or Northwest Territories. -
Where can I buy Silver Hills Bakery Products?
Our products are sold in stores across Canada and the United States. To find a store closest to you, check out our Store Locator tool.
Our Store Locator will populate local stores in proximity to your postal code or zip code that currently carry our products. You can also filter by specific products you are looking for.
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Do you have an outlet store?
Yes, yes we do! Our outlet store—called the Sprouted Oven—is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, close to our bakery. The Sprouted Oven carries the full line of Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery breads, bagels, buns, and tortillas (including some that are harder to find or aren’t available in Canadian stores).
The Sprouted Oven also carries wheat-free and gluten-free products, organic cereals, plant-based cookbooks, health books, a large selection of whole grains, nuts and seeds, and other baking goods. And they have a plant-based kitchen with a menu of sandwiches, paninis, bagelwiches, toasts, veggie burgers, pizzas, soups, and sweet treats to-go! Come swing by and say Hi!
Summer Hours: March 2 – October 31
- Mon – Thurs: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
- Friday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Winter Hours: November 1 – March 1
- Mon – Thurs: 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Friday: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Come visit us at:
#115 – 1828 McCallum Rd.
Abbotsford, BC (map here)
604.850.9674 -
Does Silver Hills Bakery sell sprouted grain flour?
We sell sprouted grain flour at our retail store, the Sprouted Oven located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, just off the McCallum exit on Highway 1.
If you live in the area, we’d love to see you! Come by and try our fresh baked treats, shop our entire collection of Silver Hills Bakery sprouted whole grain breads, bagels, buns, and tortillas, and explore a wide selection of other plant-based and gluten-free products!
Allergens
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Do all Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery products contain sesame?
Yes. And not just on our breads, buns, or bagels where you can see them as a topping.
Sesame is a priority allergen in Canada, and a major allergen according to the US FDA—in both countries, food labels must state when sesame is (or may be) present in a product.
Sesame seeds are small, and the oil they leave on bakery equipment makes it difficult to ensure no traces of sesame are left on shared production lines between batches.
That’s why all Silver Hills Bakery wheat-based products will soon list sesame flour as an ingredient and include Contains sesame as an allergen warning (as appropriate for country of sale per Canadian or US regulations).
(Packaging changes will flow through in the first half of 2023; some packaging will state May contain sesame until the transition is complete).
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Do Silver Hills Bakery breads contain peanuts or other nuts?
Breads: While some of our breads may have a nutty flavour (thanks to seeds!) none of our breads contain any nuts. All of our breads are peanut-, tree nut- and coconut-free.
Tortillas: Our tortillas are crafted in a peanut- and tree nut-free facility that processes coconuts.
Buns & Bagels: Our buns and bagels are made in a peanut-free facility but tree nuts are processed there.
Freshness
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What is the best way to store Silver Hills Bakery products?
If you purchased your sprouted bread, buns, bagels, or tortillas fresh:
Check the best before date on the bag provided by the retailer. You can keep your bread (and other products) on your counter in a cool, dry area away from any hot appliances until the best before date on the bag. Or store in your freezer for up to 6 months and take out slices (or buns, bagels, or tortillas) as needed to thaw or toast.
If you purchased your sprouted bread, buns, bagels, or tortillas frozen:
You can either continue to keep your products frozen for up to 6 months, or you can choose to thaw them then store in a cool, dry, place away from any hot appliances for up to 9 days.
Around the 8th day after thawing, put any unused portions back in their freezer for up to 6 months, and take out slices (or buns, bagels, or tortillas) as needed to thaw or toast as needed.
*See the next FAQ What is the shelf life of Silver Hills Bakery products? for product-specific times
Avoid the fridge:
We do not recommend storing your bread in the refrigerator. While it may keep your bread fresh for a few days longer, the fridge tends to dry out your bread.
Speaking of the fridge, do not store your bread on top of it—or above any kitchen appliance that heats up (dishwashers, microwaves, etc.). The top of the fridge gets a few degrees warmer than room temperature and storing your bread there can shorten its shelf life.
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What is the shelf life of Silver Hills Bakery products?
How long does Silver Hills Bakery bread last?
If you buy it fresh, check the best before date sticker stamped by the retailer. If you purchased it frozen (or froze it yourself when you brought it home) Silver Hills Bakery breads, buns, bagels, and tortillas stay fresh on the counter for up to nine (9) days after you thaw them.
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What is the best way to defrost frozen sprouted bread?
Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery breads, buns, bagels, and tortillas stay fresh for up to 6 months in the freezer, so if you won’t use up a whole loaf or bag within a week, the freezer is the best place to store them! But how do you defrost frozen Silver Hills bread?
If you plan to toast or grill it, do it right from frozen! If your slices are stuck together, wait 10 minutes for them to thaw slightly, or microwave for 20 seconds to separate before popping them in the toaster—then toast as usual. (The same process applies for Silver Hills Bakery buns and bagels. Take care when separating frozen or partially-thawed tortillas to avoid snapping or tearing).
For soft slices, thaw frozen sprouted bread in the bag for 1 hour, but only thaw what you need! If you don’t need a full bag of bread, buns, or bagels, remove what you need and let it thaw on a plate or bread board, and return the rest of the bag to the freezer.
If you need soft slices (or soft buns, bagels, or tortillas) quickly, remove what you need from the bag and microwave for under 30 seconds—less time is better. (As microwaves vary, start with 20 seconds, then thaw in 10-second increments to find your personal speedy bread / bun / bagel / tortilla thawing sweet spot!)
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What does the Production Code mean and how do I read it?
At Silver Hills Bakery, we use an eight (8) digit production code for product tracking our bread, bagels & buns. The number helps determine when the bread was made and all the ingredients used.
How to read the production code on Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery products:
In the example code 11112222,
- 1111 is the time on a 24-hour clock (e.g., 11:11 am)
- 222 is the production date on a 365-day calendar (e.g., 222 is August 10)
- 3 is the last digit of the year (e.g., 2022)
We use a four (4) digit production code for product tracking our tortillas.
We guarantee our product for six (6) months from this date, if kept frozen. Want to know more? Contact us at 1.888.863.4481 or [email protected]
Certifications
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Does Silver Hills Bakery use genetically modified ingredients (GMOs)?
Not on your life, or anybody else’s for that matter. Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery is passionate about keeping genetically modified organisms out of our products—so much that we were the first bread in Canada to be verified by the Non-GMO Project. Our grains, like the rest of the ingredients we use, are verified non-GMO and can be easily traced back to the Canadian farms they came from. We are also a certified organic production facility by QAI (Quality Assurance International), which means we can’t (and wouldn’t) even think about bringing any genetically modified organisms into our bakery.
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Are all of Silver Hills Bakery products verified non GMO by the Non GMO Project?
Absolutely! To be Non-GMO Project Verified, our products undergo mandatory testing according to consensus-based best practices for GMO avoidance. On top of that testing, we follow rigorous traceability and segregation practices to ensure ingredient integrity all the way through to our finished products. Our Non-GMO Project verification is maintained through an annual audit, along with inspections for high-risk products.
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Is Silver Hills Bakery vegan?
Creating only vegan-friendly products is one of our core values. All Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery breads, buns, bagels, and tortillas are certified vegan. That means all Silver Hills Bakery products are plant-based and do not contain any dairy, egg, or other animal products.
As for our employees, while we can’t speak for everyone, Stan, Kathy and Brad—the founders and owners of Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery—are vegan. They’ve made this choice based on the belief that it’s a better lifestyle choice for their health as well as the health of the environment.
And whether you are vegan yourself, or you just want to make more easy, healthy plant-based meals at home with your family, all the recipes you’ll find on our website are vegan, too. Because we believe healthier eating starts with small choices that can be as simple as choosing a better-for-you bread for your sandwich or starting your day with a slice of sprouted whole grain toast.
Ingredients
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What does Silver Hills Bakery do to ensure high product quality?
We take quality seriously and do everything we can to make sure our breads and bagels are always as fresh, wholesome and delicious as possible. Our grains undergo a thorough sifting, sorting and cleaning treatment, first by the farmer, and then again at our bakery to ensure only the best organic whole grains enter the baking process.
We’re always looking for ways to improve and boost the quality of our breads, bagels, buns, and tortillas, so if you have suggestions, please let us know.
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Why does Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery use certified organic, non-GMO ingredients?
We’ve spent over 30 years focused on inspiring healthier living through healthier choices because we believe that lifestyle and nutrition are significant to people’s happiness. The way we contribute to the health and well-being of our community is by baking sprouted whole grain, non-GMO breads that not only taste great but are also some of the healthiest breads available.
We receive a lot of questions about timely and relevant issues regarding healthy living, food transparency, our company values and other issues that are facing our society, our industry and the world as a whole. Being the first bread in Canada to be verified by The Non-GMO Project means that we get a lot of questions about GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and genetic engineering in our nation’s food supply. We’ve tried to answer these the best we can but if you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us to continue the discussion.
Silver Hills Bakery is Canada’s leading producer of sprouted organic bread and one of the only Canadian breads made from sprouted organic whole grains. We’re happy to educate anyone who’s interested in healthier, better-for-you bread about the benefits of using sprouted grains and wholesome recipes that do not include any oil, artificial preservatives, additives, stabilizers, eggs, dairy, or genetically modified (GMO) anything.
If there are any questions that we haven’t answered here or perhaps you’d like to send us a comment or share your story with us—we’d love to hear from you!
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Does Silver Hills bakery have low-salt or no-salt breads?
We don’t offer any sodium-free breads. However, we do offer low-sodium varieties with 140 mg or less per serving, including The Big 16 and Steady Eddie.
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Does Silver Hills Bakery have no-sugar breads?
All our breads require at least a small amount of sugar in the dough to help the yeast rise. While most varieties have organic cane sugar, there are two loaves that use a natural sweetener that may interest you:
Our Squirrelly bread is made with raisin nectar, and our Steady Eddie bread is made with organic crushed apples. Both loaves have only 1g of sugar per 2 slices.
To find them available near you, please check on our store locator, or learn more about our other products.
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What is cultured wheat and why does Silver Hills Bakery use it in their products?
Rather than using unhealthy preservatives in our breads and bagels, we use cultured wheat as a natural and healthy way to maintain freshness and prolong the shelf life of our products. Cultured wheat is made using a completely natural fermentation process similar to how natural yogurt is made. This natural fermentation produces a concentration of food-grade organic acids that lower the PH of bread and delays the formation of mold.
As a completely dairy-free process that does not involve any form of animal products, you can rest assured that the use of cultured wheat aligns perfectly with our pledge to being kosher and vegan-friendly.