Made in the Valley: Hye Quality Bakery

FRESNO, California (KFSN) -- A behind the scenes look at Hye Quality Bakery in Downtown Fresno, the creators of "Hye Rollers" roll up bread.

The smell of freshly baked Armenian Cracker Bread hits your senses as soon as you walk into Hye Quality Bakery. That smell has been filling the air in Downtown Fresno since 1957.

"In the old days we used to round the dough balls by hand. We used to put them in wooden boxes to rise," said Sammy Ganimian, Hye Quality Bakery.

Sammy Ganimian is the son of the founders, who found themselves making Armenian cracker bread. In the company's early days, they had quite the following.

"I mean Willy Saroyan was in here all the time in the old days. He was in the old bakery. He and Varaz, Sammy... the sculpter," said Ganimian.

The Hye Roller bread was made in Fresno. Sammy's daughter Joy showed us how she makes these world famous snacks.

"You work your hands out and you just keep tightening it as you go," said Joy.

The bakery makes other crackers of different shapes and sizes. However their best seller remains the Hye Roller.

Boxes of Hye Rollers will leave Downtown Fresno, headed for restaurants and food distributors all over California and as far as the East Coast. The bakery employs about 13 people and some have been with them for decades.

For Ganimian he feels a sense of pride knowing he's served generations of customers.

"It's just a matter of satisfaction when people eat the bread and say, 'you guys make the best cracker bread.' And that's what you want to hear. And that's what we try to maintain quality -- in what we had in 57 to what we have today," said Ganimian.

A recipe that kept them a loved snack for 60 years and counting.

------

Click here for more information on Hye Quality Bakery