Shurfine bread used to be among the freshest, softest, most pliable lower priced breads on the shelf. Our family used it for many years. Then one day, it became very dry and would fall apart just taking a slice out of the bag. Our local grocery store manager got so many complaints that he discarded an entire shipment of it into the dumpster TWICE. Something happened at the Tri-State Bakery in Amarillo, TX. Neither Tri-State Bakery or Shurfine actually have ways of contacting them except for a phone call so I called the bakery twice several months apart and they seemed clueless. This quality issue has been going on now for 4 or 5 years. In the last year or so, Shurfine and Tender-Crust (made by Tri-State), changed their packaging. It now has a large area of white and you can't actually see the bread in the package anymore.
Dollar General's Clover Valley bread has also had the same problem in the past but at this time, their bread is very soft and fresh, the way Shurfine bread used to be. It is currently $1.25 a loaf. I've heard countless people say that Mrs. Baird's bread also has quality problems since it was purchased by Bimbo. I've purchased only two loaves of Mrs. Baird's in the past 10 years and it was rather dry.