Indulge in a bakery lover's map of America, from Charleston Chewies to San Francisco sourdough.
Dobrina Zhekova is a lifestyle journalist based in Alexandria, Virginia. She has over a decade of editorial experience in print and digital media in Europe and the U.S. Her writing has appeared on Travel+Leisure, InStyle.com, RobbReport, Vogue.com, Elle.com, HarpersBazaar.com, Sunset.com, and many more. Dobrina is an expert on all things luxury travel, art, architecture, and design and is on a constant hunt for the world's best desserts. Dough Sheeting Machine
Baking is an ancient cooking technique, a therapeutic activity, and a creative outlet that nourishes both body and soul, so it’s no wonder that many people turned to it during the COVID-19 pandemic (even causing a yeast and flour shortage) as a way to cope with the stress.
Fortunately, even after the world slowly crawled back to normal, many turned their hobby into a full-time business, transforming the food scenes in small and big cities across the nation by opening bakeries, markets, and coffee shops. And thanks to America's diversity and ingenuity, inspiration has come from many places, from classic baking recipes handed down from generation to generation to distant destinations and pure innovation.
Here are the best U.S. cities for baking, according to our panel of food and travel experts.
New York has always been at the forefront of dining, but since the pandemic, creative new bakeries have sprung up. In Manhattan, see Lysée, run by chefs Matthieu Lobry and 2023 F&W Best New Chef Eunji Lee. Their impeccably designed pastries displayed in a bright, minimalist space, elevate baking to an art form. At Lady Wong Pastry and Kuih, traditional and modern Southeast Asian flavors abound and have garnered both a steady following. In Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood, Radio Bakery has people lining up for twice-baked pistachio croissants and rustic Italian sourdough baguettes.
Not only is San Francisco a carb lover paradise, but the city is home to some of the oldest, most unique, and innovative bakeries in the country. Sourdough is, of course, a local specialty, and no one has done it better — or for a longer time — than Boudin Bakery, which has been using starter dough cultivated 150 years ago. And Loquat, a Jewish cafe and bakery opened in 2022 by Tartine Bakery alumni, has become a local favorite for its Middle Eastern specialties like babkas and bourekas.
MELISSA LYTTLE/The New York Times/Redux
Gusto Bread, a Long Beach panadería specializing in breads and pastries prepared with wild fermented sourdough culture and fresh corn masa, is in the running for a James Beard Award this year. Add to that the city's affinity for high-end dining and culinary creativity, and you get a good idea of LA's diverse baking scene. Food & Wine named Hanna Ziskin a 2023 Best New Chef on the merits of her "slabs" served at Quarter Sheet in the back of a pizza restaurant. They're her brick-shaped cake slices layered with jam, cream, seasonal fruits, cookie crumbles, and whatever else strikes her fancy, and they've earned the ex-Chez Panisse and Tartine baker a rep as a pastry pro to be reckoned with.
We are not sure how many cities have secret baking societies like Chicago, but fortunately, here, you don't have to be a member to enjoy its booming baking scene. With almost 9,000 bakeries, it's clear that the city takes sweets and slices seriously. For proof, look no further than 2019 James Beard Award winner Greg Wade, whose crusty loaves and pastries have been the talk of the town for years now. His bakery, Publican Quality Bread, just opened its second location in Oak Park.
It's not news to anyone that you can find some of the best Portuguese breads and pastries on this side of the Atlantic in Boston, but the bakery scene is expanding to even further corners of the world. Michette, a newly opened French bakeshop in Sommerville, has become a local favorite with its buckwheat chocolate chunk cookies and Basque cheesecake, while in Brighton's Solodko, two sisters hailing from Ukraine craft beautiful pastries, cakes, and farmer's cheese pancakes called syrniki.
Portland may be a city of just 68,000, but its residents take food seriously. That includes baked goods. Walk into any of the city's many coffee shops, and you'll find a shelf of appealing pastries. The city's Zu Bakery is a semi-finalist for a James Beard Award, while Atsuko Fujimoto of Norimoto Bakery nabbed a nomination in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category. One of Portland's most notable bakeries is Belleville, a dream project of husband-wife duo Chris Deutsch and Amy Fuller, who honed their skills in Paris before opening their Munjoy Hill shop, where residents line up for flaky croissants and savory pizzas. And in Onggi, a fermentation market and bakery, patrons enjoy miso scallion scones with chili crisp butter and sourdough chocolate chip cookies.
Ohio's thriving agricultural industry means local chefs can access some of the best and freshest ingredients, and Columbus bakers are definitely taking advantage of it. From desserts and cakes to savory bites and hearty sandwiches with local fruit and vegetables the city is a stellar under-the-radar culinary destination. And you won't just find Midwestern classics; head to Belle's Bread for a loaf of house-made Japanese sweet bread or stop by Dan the Baker for sugar-dusted cruffins or cardamom knots.
Seattle has always had a reputation for being a creative hub, and that definitely includes baking. During the pandemic, with full-service restaurants shut down, the city saw a boom in pop-up bakeries and bake sales, and the trend continues to this day. Even professional fine dining chefs like 2023 F&W Best New Chef Aisha Ibrahim rave about the city's baking scene and can't resist the allure of a goat cheese focaccia from popular Bothell spot T55 Pâtisserie.
From crusty boules to sticky buns and luscious bars, Charleston's culinary scene has no shortage of distinctive bakeshops. Start at Zachary and Hannah Welton's Welton's Tiny Bakeshop with honey pie and benne loaves; explore Danetra Richardson's ever-changing case of brownies, macarons, and ice cream sandwiches at Swank Desserts; and make your way to Nate and Chasity Brown's Daddy’s Girls Bakery for banana pudding and only-in-the-Lowcountry Charleston Chewies.
If you've never sunk your teeth into one of Beilers Doughnuts' decadent peanut butter jelly hand rolled donuts or had an everything Philly Muffin (a square-shaped sourdough English muffin topped with everything seasoning) from Merzbacher's, then you have definitely not discovered all of Philadelphia's national treasures. Isgro Pastries, one of the city's most beloved and longstanding Italian bakeries (they've been around for 120 years), was just nominated for a James Beard Award in the Outstanding Bakery category. At Machine Shop, 2022 F&W Best New Chef Emily Riddell makes her mark as a lamination savant.
We called it a couple of years ago: Indianapolis has become a major force on the national culinary scene, partly thanks to its strong baking tradition, which continues to flourish. From well-established local favorites like Long's Bakery, which for almost 70 years has served some of the best doughnuts in the country, to Leviathan Bakehouse, which has made news with its house-made bread (try the porridge sourdough pan loaf), there's always something exciting proofing in Indy.
Bakery Business Global Tastemakers is a celebration of the best culinary destinations in the U.S. and abroad. We asked more than 180 food and travel journalists to vote on their favorites, including restaurants and bars, cities, hotels, airports, airlines, and cruises. We then entrusted those results to an expert panel of judges to determine each category’s winners. In many categories, we’ve included a Plus One, hand-selected by our expert panel, to shout out more culinary destinations we don’t want our readers to miss. See all the winners at foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.