Like many outstanding American businesses, The Bread Basket literally has its roots in hearth, home, and friends. Here is how it all began, in the words of founder, Marie Hyde.

"It started so simply... a loaf of sourdough bread given as a house-warming gift from a welcoming neighbor.

It was a cold February day, and the movers had just left. Dinner was in the oven, when our doorbell rang. Standing there, in the semi-darkness, were our neighbors from ?across the field? with their smiles of welcome and a beautiful loaf of homemade bread. What a wonderful greeting! The timing was perfect, and our family made short work of the delicious loaf of bread at supper.

I had always enjoyed baking, and when I was given the recipe for the bread, I had no idea how our lives were about to change.

Made from a natural liquid starter, the recipe yielded three loaves at a time. I decided to be creative, so I stopped by our local orchard and purchased some apples to use in the bread. My experiments were successful, and I took a loaf by for the folks at the orchard to enjoy. And enjoy they did! We were invited to sell my ?apple bread? at the orchard during the fall. We proudly displayed it in ?bread baskets? on bales of hay, surrounded by ripe red and green apples. The customers loved it! From that point on, it became a family project, with my husband and children helping bake, package, and sell the bread every weekend."

In 1989, we expanded our business by moving from our kitchen to a small shop nearby. In 1993, we built and relocated to our main facility, a beautiful 6,000 square foot building on Signal Mountain in Tennessee. It was then that my husband, Charlie, left his job, as a corporate executive, to help manage the business. Under his guidance, The Bread Basket is a thriving company, with two locations in the Chattanooga area. We deliver our gift baskets locally and ship nationwide.