TRAVEL80 DECEMBER 2020
IFE MAY HAVE BEEN put on pause
this year, but in so many of our
towns and cities, the bakers baked
on. On any given morning in the
Los Angeles suburbs, hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of people would wait in
their cars for curbside pastelitos from Porto’s,
Southern California’s treasured Cuban bakery.
Nor was there any shortage of folks shuffling
in line six feet apart for kringles in Racine,
Wisconsin; for po’boy loaves in New Orleans;
or for pan dulce in San Antonio. ese sim-
ple, attainable things—a crackling baguette,
a square of rosemary-scented focaccia, a loaf
of soft milk bread, a scone slathered in fresh
jam—lent us great comfort in dark times.
Trying to capture America’s baking culture
in epic list form is a project that has pulled me
back and forth across the country over the
course of two years, from the forward-thinking
flour mills of the Pacific Northwest to Florida’s
oldest Cuban bakery, from nearly every Little
Italy in every Northeastern city to the seat of
modern American bread, San Francisco, where
I was fortunate enough to spend a good chunk
of time last year.
While compiling my overall list, I paid a
great deal of attention to newer bakeries while
staying mindful of the greats that got us to
where we are now. But regardless of age or size
of operation, I wanted to feature places that
felt and acted as if they mattered, deeply, to
their regional food heritages and to their com-
munities. On the next pages are my picks for
the 10 most essential bakeries from the entire
list of 100 that I collated. I think it’s the best
of the old and the new, and a glimpse of what
makes America’s wildly diverse baking culture
so exciting. (Catch the other 90 online at
foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/
best-bakeries-in-america.)L
BARRIO BREAD, TUCSON
There are all sorts of fascinating things you may not know
about Arizona, and one of them is that the state has an
heirloom grain tradition going back as far as the 1600s.
Don Guerra, who started out baking in his garage, is lead-
ing a long-overdue revival for these grains; Tucson’s high
priest of pan, he’s creating some of the Southwest’s most
exciting bread. The Locavore loaf (look for Guerra’s signa-
ture saguaro cactus stencil on top) is packed with grains
from BKW Farms, locally owned and operated by the
Wong family for three generations. barriobread.comBIEN CUIT, BROOKLYN
Looking for the very best croissants and baguettes in
New York? For almost a decade, Zachary Golper’s have
been considered top of the list, and for good reason. All
of his breads, from the baguette to the earthy miche, are
excellent, and typically excellent values as well. Come the
holidays, his Bien Cuit bakery will offer a hazelnut-cassis
stollen, its fruit poached in bourbon, and an assorted
holiday cookie collection that includes spiced Belgian
speculoos and brown butter shortbread. Luckily, they ship
(nationwide—hint, hint). biencuit.comCLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
Fig and Manchego
pastries from Sub
Rosa; Avery Ruzicka,
Manresa’s head
baker and founding
partner; Ruzicka’s
chocolate babka
(which ships nation-
wide); Manresa’s
gorgeous Los Gatos
outpostPHOTOGRAPHY: (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) KATE THOMPSON, AUBRIE PICK, ALYSSA TWELKER (2)