Great Harvest Bread Co. — Restaurant in Burnsville

I’m the pastor at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis. We’ve recently begun using the Honey Whole Wheat rounds from this bakery for the sacrament of Holy Communion – this bread is delicious, for one, but also soft enough that it tears easily for distribution and dense enough that it doesn’t dissolve when parishioners dip it in the wine or grape juice. There’s a Goldilocks kind of science to finding the right bread for this situation, so we were delighted to find it here.

Until last night – the night before Easter, mind you – when Sue, the volunteer who buys the communion bread, sent me a text. Apparently one of our Honey Whole Wheat rounds had been replaced with a Honey Bunny.

A WUT.

A Honey Bunny. Did we ask for this? No. Was there anything we could do about it? Also, apparently, no.

Cue the sacrament of Holy Communion this morning at Easter worship, when I raised the Honey Bunny with his beady raisin eyes up in blessing during the Words of Institution (“On the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks…”). My parishioners were confused. We sing every week about the Lamb of God but here was a baked bread bunny, and they did not know what to make of it. But then came the next part (“…and he broke it and gave it to his disciples…”) where I had to tear the bunny in half like some messed up, fluffy sacrifice, and then all hell broke loose.

Grown men screamed. Babies cried. The kids at the little tables in the pray-ground threw down their crayons in disgust and walked out. Sirens wailed in the distance, and while they were probably unrelated, the timing fit.

I think we may have unintentionally started a new cult. Worship next Sunday will either be packed or completely empty. The Honey Bunny is no longer available for purchase, according to the website. No one knows why, except maybe the Honey Bunny himself.

5 stars. The Honey Whole Wheat bread from this bakery...

My experience with Great Harvest Bread Co. had its highs and lows. The chocolate babka impressed with its well-layered ganache, but the white chocolate babka fell short due to uneven distribution of large white chocolate pieces. The white bread and sourdough received praise for their taste, yet the consistent density across all breads raised concerns about the proofing process. Ordering during Christmas likely affected the bake quality, but for the price, you expected more consistent quality. The fact that they mill their own wheat is impressive, and the customer service was great, though communication regarding order timing could be improved to avoid last-minute surprises. Considering the mixed experience, you might explore other bakeries before revisiting Great...

Superb bread! I love everything I have ever tried from Great Harvest! I appreciate being able to sample the bread and the friendliness of (most of) the team members who served it up! The smell of the shop can't be beat, and the bread list for each day is impressively long - I'd be surprised if someone wasn't able to find something they like any given day!

We only buy beads for special occasions, (prices are a bit too high for our 'go-to' bread), but it's always a huge treat when we come home with a Great Harvest loaf!

Local and delicious, Great Harvest has gotten my business for years and will continue to in the future!

Tip: Save the paper lable that comes in with the bread loaf! When you collect a dozen, you get...