Wise Oven Bakery produces 30 freshly baked loaves of bread and less than three dozen cinnamon rolls a day.

It's going to need more now that the word is out.

The bread and cinnamon rolls at the new Havelock bakery are that good.

Open since April 6 at the back of Against the Wall, the Havelock art gallery, Wise Oven has been one of Lincoln's best-kept secrets.

Run by Todd Rivers and his wife, Susan, the small bakery features sourdough breads, including patron favorite green apple, baked in a handmade wood-fire oven.

The breads begin with a starter that Rivers ordered from Maryland. It purportedly dates back to pioneers on the Oregon Trail.

Here's an important fact: Rivers uses organic ingredients, including flower from Swanee Mills in Freeport, Minn.

"I'm just following my interests - food and nutrition and things like that," said Rivers, who also runs Rivers Metal Products on North 38th Street.

The result is a hearty loaf, with a dense crumb and crisp exterior. The style differs from the fresh-baked bread at the new Le Quartier Baking Company across town, which feature loaves with an airy crumb.

"We are making more traditional loaves as opposed to the light European-style breads," Rivers said.

Wise Oven rotates eight bread varieties daily in addition to some of the best cinnamon rolls in town. The bakery is experimenting with baguettes and focaccia breads as well.

Flavors include sourdough white, wheat and rye as well as a delicious cinnamon raisin walnut. Prices range from $2.50 to $4. The five-count cinnamon rolls, smothered in a cream cheese frosting, are $6.25.

Rivers built the oven, which features a heavy metal door acquired from a family friend. The door has an owl insignia and the word 'wise' stamped on it, hence the name.

Gallery owner John O'Hare handled the brick and tile work.

Rivers burns wood until the oven reaches 600 to 700 degrees, when he scoops out the ash and lets the oven cool a bit.

At 500 degrees, he starts baking, using a 10-foot wood shovel to place the breads in the oven and take them out. The oven is big enough to bake 100 loaves before it needs to be heated again.

Rivers said the idea for the bakery was his. O'Hare and his wife, Omina, had space at the back of their gallery, with a door leading to a fenced-in patio. O'Hare considered a sandwich shop for the unused area.

"I told him he should try something different," Rivers said. "Lincoln doesn't need another sandwich shop."

Rivers had visited a baker in Hastings, the Back Alley Bakery, which featured artisan breads baked in a wood-fire oven. He thought the concept would work in the Star City as well.

"John said OK and then asked will you help me do it?" Rivers said. "That's how I got involved."

He and his wife also are fans of the north Lincoln neighborhood - both grew up there.

"I have a thing for Havelock," he said. "This is an opportunity to do something wonderful."

Indeed, the bakery has a bunch of potential. Right now, it's an oven and counter. But the patio someday could offer seating. Some display racks or cases and a more visible menu board would be nice as well.

The Riverses slowly are figuring out the bread business, such as how many loaves to bake each day. As good as the bread is, they are going to need to bake more.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.