The Large Corporation That Makes The Cheesecake Factory's Famous Brown Bread

One of The Cheesecake Factory's signature moves (other than the cheesecake, that is) is serving you those warm loaves of bread every time you dine in. The bread is famously loved by diners, and in fact, it's so popular that you can even purchase the officially-branded bread (the dark wheat baguettes with the rolled oats on top) at the grocery store through its retail line.

They're manufactured by a the world's largest baked goods corporation, Bimbo. While the brand's imprint shows up mainly on Mexican goods (since the company is based in Mexico) it's also responsible for producing American household name product lines from brands like Sara Lee, Entenmann's, Boboli, and more. Even though The Cheesecake Factory's bread is something you can get at the grocery store (sometimes retail versions don't quite taste the same), The Cheesecake Factory's chief marketing officer assured Thrillist in 2018 that you can expect it to taste exactly the same as something you'd get while dining in. 

I tried contacting a Bimbo representative to see if the company also bakes the bread for the brick-and-mortar locations, but haven't received a response as of the time of this writing, so whether or not Bimbo supplies the restaurant chain too is a bit murky for now.

The original Cheesecake Factory bread recipe is based off a bread recipe for something called "squaw bread." It's important to note that the term "squaw" is no longer used in common language, and is considered antiquated and derogatory towards Native American women, but recipes for this type of bread are still easy to find online. The recipe includes ingredients like molasses and rye flour, which contributes to its dark color and sweet flavor. The Cheesecake Factory makes no mention of the term — there, it's just a popular free starter.

But if you're one of those people who can't get enough, the grocery store version is meant to taste exactly like the real thing, so you can indeed get what's close to (if not) the real deal and not a ballpark facsimile of the in-store experience. While you can't ask a server for constant refills of the bread at home, you can buy a few extra loaves in case you want to role play being at the restaurant with the famously enormous menu. Just make sure you serve them warm.