The article examines the role of small business in the development of rural areas by the example of bakery production. Moreover, it demonstrates the need for the interaction of small bakery businesses with large enterprises of the industry and grain processors. The article reveals the development trends of small bakery production in rural areas. The conditions for the participation of small bakery businesses in rural areas in the development of the production of functional and specialized bread are substantiated. The article proposes the directions and mechanisms of support for small bakery production at the level of rural territories. The development of modern methods of redistribution of bakery production in proportion to the living population, measures of state support for small bakery production and expansion of the range of bread products that contribute to improving the health of the population of Russia, is the theme of this study. The object of the research is the development of small bakery production as a condition for improving the quality of life of the population in rural areas. The subject of the research is production and management relations that ensure the development of small bakery production and its impact on the quality of life of the population in rural areas.