Crossword puzzle buffs know that when the clue reads "bakery enticements," the five-letter answer is often "aroma." And the aroma that fills the air and curls into your nostrils at the Great Harvest Bread Co. is most definitely an enticement.

The Centre Park Drive bakery, which opened slightly more than three years ago, has done a great job of enticing a cadre of regulars to its aromatic environs. So much so that owners Pat and Jane Hipsley, along with Jane's sister, Chris Bory, customarily bake some 250 loaves of bread a day.

The varieties they bake are available on a rotating basis. Honey whole wheat and old-fashioned white are the daily classics. But on Tuesday you might also take home some apple crunch bread or foccaccia. On Wednesday, grab some challah or the popular high-five fiber. Or wait until Thursday, when you can pick up a loaf of Mediterranean olive bread, plus some pepperoni and veggie rolls.

These loaves, and plenty more flavors, are the mainstays of the Great Harvest Bread Co., which is a franchise operation with a home base in Dillon, Mont.

According to Bory, it's a rather "free form" type of franchise. That is, the owners learn the Great Harvest methods and use its recipes, but can also do their own thing when it comes to certain products and adjuncts to the Great Harvest basics.

It was in Philadelphia that Pat and Jane Hipsley found the inspiration for their Columbia version of Great Harvest. Actually, it could be said it was the Hipsley's daughter who provided the inspiration. During her student days at Villanova, Pat and Jane would visit frequently, and almost always include a stop at the Great Harvest shop near the school.

When their daughter's four years of college were coming to a close, the Hipsleys decided they didn't want to do without the bakery, so they arranged for one -- their own -- a lot closer to home.

These days, there are about 15 Great Harvest employees. Pa, Jane and Chris share the major responsibilities, but they have a crew of full- and part-timers who also work the ovens and the front of the house five days a week. Great Harvest is closed Sunday and Monday.

Not by bread alone

While the shop dispenses oven-fresh bread, made only with the same ingredients you'd find in your pantry (only probably a bit fresher than what you have), it features plenty more enticements as well.

Step inside and your nostrils wrap around the wonderful scents of working ovens, of yeast, of spices sweet and savory.

If you have the self-control, you can get out of there with a single loaf. Or maybe two. But you may also want to grab a cup of gourmet coffee, whose aroma is also part of the ambience. And while you're at it, just to keep body and soul together, you might have a muffin to go with your liquid pick-me-up.

Did we mention that Great Harvest also makes quick breads? Oh, yeah. These goodies are baked on a rotating basis, too. On Tuesdays, fer instance, you might choose a carrot muffin. Or a blueberry scone. Or some Savannah bars. On Wednesday, you could opt for chocolate chip scones, plus some brownies for an afternoon snack.

Or, say you pop in early on a Saturday. In addition to that nine-grain yeast loaf you want to have in the house, you could grab some chocolate cappuccino muffins for brunch later that morning.

OK, so you're sipping some coffee, or tea, at the little bar-counter area inside the shop. You're deciding which yeast loaves to get. You're maybe savoring a fresh blueberry muffin. You're kind of looking out the bakery's storefront window, and at the same time, noticing displays of "possibilities" to go with the bread you're thinking of buying. Here are gourmet soup mixes, for instance. And packages that inspire you to make your own top-quality oatmeal, pancakes or fudge brownies.

You can get Cafe Pronto brand teas and coffees from Annapolis too. Plus mugs to put them in. Plus sweet little baskets to hold the muffins you buy. And so on. Indeed, Bory says they even have the products of three local potters in case you're seeking a little gift, for a hostess you'll be visiting, say, or for yourself.

Since sliced bread

No coffee this visit? No muffins? Maybe you're thinking about lunch. You're in luck here, too. What better adjunct for a bread-baking business than finding good stuff to go between the slices? The inventive owners and staff have come up with a goodly variety of sandwiches for take-out.

The menu keeps growing. There are the classic ham and swiss, smoked turkey, roast beef, all available with thin-sliced red onion, romaine, tomato, white wine Dijon mustard and your choice of bread.

Signature sandwiches include Buffalo chicken and a Greek club (new this year), as well as tuna salad, California cobb, a powerhouse, and oriental chicken, a Caesar chicken and a classic BLT.

Sandwiches run $6.25. For $10.07 (including tax) you can get a sandwich, a Great Harvest cookie and a bottle of spring water or a soda. Or, spend $9 and get a half a sandwich and a bowl of soup.

If you like to buy in bulk -- for the whole gang at work, for example -- Pat, Jane and Chris will arrange a to-go catered sandwich event.

A visit to the shop is a fun experience. Besides all the enticing aromas, the counter staff is friendly and helpful, should you have trouble making up your mind. And the Great Harvest folks are part of the community, too. For one thing, all their flours are milled locally. For another, if any of the 250 fresh yeast loaves they produce daily aren't sold within 24 hours, they go to local food pantries, like Beans and Bread or to the Elkridge Senior Center, for distribution in the community.

If you're seeking another venue for Great Harvest products, check out the farmers' markets when they open. Jane and Chris bring their goodies to the East Columbia Library market on Thursdays and to Oakland Mills on Sundays.

Jane and Chris participate in local festivals, as well. The Catonsville Festival, the Columbia Festival of the Arts and the "funnest" festival in these parts -- Wine in the Woods -- which is where we first happened upon their fragrant loaves several years ago when they set their festival tent up right next door to ours.

Definitely try the cheese bread.

Wine in the Woods this year is planned for Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17, noon to 6 p.m., in Symphony Woods near the Merriweather Post Pavilion. You'll find Great Harvest (www.greatharvest.com) products just beyond the festival entrance that's nearest the wine-tasting seminar tent.

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