Like something out of a fairy tale, Dianne Reinhardt bakes her magical bread in a big brick oven in the middle of the woods.

Working from her forested homestead, located down a winding rock path in Sutallee, Reinhardt (yes, she's related to the founding Reinhardts of the Waleska college) and her partner Matt Little established Magnolia Bread Company last June.

An emergency room nurse for many years, Reinhardt said it was a book about oven building that made her decide to turn her nurturing skills in a completely different direction.

"I've always made bread for myself," said Reinhardt. "But I read this book by Alan Scott, and it was just fascinating to me. I read it once, then I read it again."

Magnolia Bread Company bakes artisan breads — breads that are hand-crafted, naturally leavened, and made from flour derived from certified organic grains.

Each loaf is baked in the eight-foot-by-11-foot handmade brick oven in Reinhardt's basement.

The company's menu includes multi-grain, whole-wheat and whole-rye breads; focaccia; cinnamon raisin walnut; garlic cheddar and jalapeño cheddar; baguettes; oven-roasted granola in four flavors, and seasonal specialty items.

"We can really bake anything," said Reinhardt.

Currently, Reinhardt and Little make all the bread served in Downtown Kitchen restaurant in Canton.

Magnolia Breads also are available in the Swheat Market in Cartersville.

Special orders can be made by phone and picked up at Malia's Mug coffee house in Canton.

Reinhardt is looking to expand sales to other retail outlets and markets in Cherokee County.

Before Reinhardt began making bread as a business, she trained in Vermont with Jeffrey Hammelman, a well-known baker and author of "Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes."

Hammelman also trains Team USA Bakers for international competition.

In addition to being a registered nurse, Reinhardt also has a master's degree in business.

But she followed her heart, not her head, when she established Magnolia Bread Company, she said.

"I actually built the oven before I went to bread school," she said with a smile. "And I built it really big — I didn't start small. Then I got really scared; what if I didn't like doing this, what if this business isn't a good match for me?"

But it turned out to be just a garden variety case of cold feet.

"I loved the school," said Reinhardt. "Working with dough just felt so familiar to me."

For now, she's happy that the business is self-sustaining. As to what the future holds?

"I don't have visions of an enormous business," she said. "However, I've talked with a guy who started like this, and now he has five wholesale bakeries all over the country. So, sometimes these things just grow, even if they're not intended. ... For me, this really comes from the heart. It was kind of only vaguely intended as a business."