The aroma of freshly baked bread is one of life’s simple pleasures, matched only by the taste of freshly baked bread. So finding an excellent local bakery, or stumbling across one on your travels, always feels special. We’ve searched across the US to pick out where to find the best bread in every state, from longstanding Jewish bakeries with incredible bagels to places that make baguettes as good as you’ll find in France. Read on to see where to find the best thing since (and sometimes including) sliced bread. 

Birmingham Breadworks makes a range of breads including French, multi-grain, sourdough, pumpernickel (a heavy, sweet rye bread), ciabatta, garlic, Parmesan and olive, all baked fresh each day. Customers particularly like the sourdough, although everything is pretty spot-on. The bakery is the chosen supplier for several local restaurants too.

The family-run Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop, with two outposts in Anchorage, is the place to come for fancy bread and pastries. The bakery uses organic flour and a sourdough starter culture to give its baked goods a complex, tangy flavor. There’s plenty to try, from German vollkornbrot (brown bread) and Jewish challah (an enriched, braided bread) to onion poppy-seed rolls, focaccia, and a purple beetroot sourdough (pictured).

The challah at Lior the Baker in Scottsdale is simply not to be missed. The shop bakes a number of different kinds including a white Jerusalem challah (made with fewer eggs), one topped with sesame seeds, an almond one, and a much-lauded plain. Babka is another speciality here – the twisted, sweet bread comes in different flavors including chocolate or halva, the latter reminiscent of the sesame-based treat.

Stone Mill Bread Co. specializes in freshly baked, soft-crust bread made with stone-ground whole wheat flour and unbleached white flour. The bakery, with locations across Arkansas, also turns out unusual breads like the soft, dense, and delicious cranberry pecan loaf, a spinach and feta bread, and a special eggnog bread for the festive season.

From olive to walnut, the loaves at Bread Lounge, a small European-style bakery in LA’s Arts District, are so good they tend to sell out fast – so get there early. Other favorites include the Jerusalem bagels, potato and rosemary bread, and sourdough baguettes, and there’s also the usual whole wheat, multi-grain and country loaves, ciabatta, brioche, and challah, with everything leavened using natural yeast.

Moxie Bread Co is the place to go for gluten-free and organic, heirloom bread, made with ancient wheat varieties that are lower in gluten. The company, which has locations in Boulder, Louisville, and Lyons, stocks a broad range of delicious breads like sourdough baguettes, whole wheat loaves, challah, raisin and cinnamon bread, and olive ciabatta.

A charming bakery in northwest Connecticut, Bantam Bread Company is where hungry locals head for great bread. The bakery is filled with the aromas of a broad range of breads from semolina batards and Irish soda bread to olive sourdough and cinnamon and raisin bread. The service is warm and friendly and everything is impeccably baked, although for many it’s the plain sourdough that really hits the mark.

Visitors to Bread & Buttercream describe it as simply the best bakery ever. It has freshly baked hoagie rolls and sourdough loaves laced with cinnamon and raisin or cranberry and flaxseed. The French bread is some of the best you’ll find anywhere and the crusty Italian bread (pictured) is pretty special too. Aside from the wonderful bread, the cupcakes, croissants, pastries, and savory tomato pies are also worth a try.

Once you visit this beautiful French bakery in Sunset Harbor it will be the only place you want to buy bread. It has a wonderful array of sweet and savory options including babka, brioche, ciabatta, challah, and cheese bread. Don’t miss the olive bread, focaccia, and honey and oatmeal loaves. The latter is soft with a delicious crust and a hint of sweetness – perfect for sandwiches and toast.

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From baguettes to buns, the naturally leavened bread baked daily at Auspicious Baking Co. is just incredible, so much so that the bakery supplies its goodies to many Savannah restaurants. Regulars recommend pretty much everything, although the wheat bread and rolls are particularly good. They also suggest pre-ordering or getting here as early as possible, because loaves this lovely tend to sell out fast. The pastries, including croissants and cinnamon buns, are also delicious.

The best hand-crafted loaves in Hawaii can be found at Breadshop in Honolulu. The small, locally owned bakery offers a variety including sourdough, olive ciabatta, flatbreads, baguettes, focaccia, plus smaller items like brioche, pastries, and tarts. Bestsellers include the to-die-for focaccia, which is crisp and golden on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside, and the honey walnut rye bread – delicious toasted with butter.

This small bakery in Boise may be mostly pastries but the bread it offers is equally impressive. It’s made with Idaho wheat that’s milled into flour, keeping the bran and germ for flavor and nutrients. The country bread (a rustic, open-textured loaf), Idaho wheat bread (made with 100% local wheat), and sourdough are all said to have a great crust and chewy texture, while the brioche makes amazing French toast.

At Pan Artesanal you’ll find a huge range of both European and Mexican treats. Alongside baguettes, sourdough, and rye bread, there’s pan de leche quemada (burnt milk bread), pan de dos quesos (Mexican cheese bread), and concha monarca (sweet bread with a sugar topping), plus sandwiches served on the best bread. Another speciality is the pan de elote, a cornbread muffin.

Visit Amelia’s for a great selection of loaves including country, cranberry and walnut, focaccia, white sandwich bread, semolina, Francese (a rustic baguette), and Pugliese (like ciabatta). The bakery has two Indianapolis locations and supplies many of Indiana’s restaurants and grocery stores, with the quality of its handcrafted breads winning fans across the state. The focaccia (pictured) with rosemary, sage, oregano, garlic, and Parmesan is a customer favorite.

This historic Czech bakery and café has been serving Bohemian rye bread, houska (a slightly sweet bread roll), kolaches, and kolacky (both fruity pastries) to locals since 1903. People love that it’s family-owned and a cozy, nostalgic spot. You can come here for lunch and dinner, but be sure to leave with its famous rye bread, made with a blend of four flours and caraway seeds.

Attached to the beautiful Black Dog Coffeehouse, Ibis Bakery serves different varieties of organic sourdough made only with local flour, water, sea salt, and fresh natural yeast, and customers reckon it’s the best anywhere. The leading loaves are the orchard bread (pictured), packed with apricots, apples, raisins, and toasted walnuts, and the cheese slipper, a ciabatta stuffed with herby cheese curds plus smoked and mild Cheddar. 

The bread at friendly neighborhood bakery Bluegrass Baking Company is a real hit with the people of Lexington. They rave about the trail bread (raisin and walnut), garlic loaves, seven-grain bread, and amazing cheese bagels. It also sells European goodies such as rye bread, baguettes, challah, focaccia, semolina buns, and pumpernickel.

This vegan café and bakery offers beautiful bread, sandwiches, quiches, and pastries. All the loaves are organic, long-fermentation sourdoughs and include seeded multi-grain, olive, and pecan and raisin bread. The bakery is most famous for its brioche. The loaves come in flavors such as croque monsieur, chocolate, blueberry, and Boston cream pie.

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Family-owned Standard Baking Co. is known for its fresh, artisan breads, which are all organic and naturally leavened. Expect to find crusty baguettes that rival those in France, focaccia, vollkornbrot (German brown bread), and specials like Cheddar ale loaf and challah. The bakery’s many fans say it’s some of the best bread they’ve tried, with some buying in bulk then stockpiling their freezers so they always have the perfect loaf to hand.

Bread Corner sells a huge assortment of Chinese, Portuguese, and European-style baked goods to satisfy every craving. It has soft loaves (white, whole wheat and milk) for sandwiches, alongside little sweet and savory buns (pictured), including pineapple, taro, shredded pork, and red bean paste. Customers praise the excellent quality and great prices.

Locals adore Iggy’s Bread but it’s worth the trip even if you don’t live nearby because everything is just delicious. The tempting array of baked goods includes naturally leavened and unbleached bagels, brioche, breadsticks (lighter and puffier than those you may be used to), and whole wheat loaves. The top choices are the Francese (French bread), cranberry and pecan rolls, and focaccia, the latter made with olive oil, rosemary, and roasted onions.

In downtown Detroit, Avalon has a great range of sourdoughs with charming names including wheat wheat, a sweet and nutty, whole-grain loaf; motown multi-grain – packed with oats, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and flaxseeds; and poletown rye, with wheat and flours. Regulars insist a visit to one of its three cafés isn’t complete without taking home a loaf of farm bread.

Visitors to German-style bakery Aki’s BreadHaus quickly become devotees. It sells boules – round loaves of white or dark sourdough, walnut bread, and whole wheat – plus bagels, pretzels, and pretzel sticks. The bread is baked perfectly with a crisp crust, yet never tough or dry, and the prices are great too.

Head to Georgia Blue Bakery for brunch and leave laden with pastries, muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls, brownies, and fresh bread for the week. Everything is made fresh and on site at this beautiful bakery and café in downtown Brandon, and pretty much everyone who visits is impressed with what they try.

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Fans of Taiwanese-inspired bakery and teahouse The Foundry Bakery in Maryland Heights love its unusual flavored breads. Among the innovative loaves is the umami burst, made with miso, shiitake mushrooms, and scallions. Customers say it's chewy, fluffy, mild-flavored, and amazing for sandwiches or dipping in soups and stews. The bakery also serves Taiwanese bolo buns – leavened sweet buns with a crunchy crust.

Customers say Park Avenue Bakery in Helena has the best bread, highlighting the ciabatta, pull-apart hard rolls, the naturally leavened sourdough, the chewy potato rolls, and the Norwegian farm bread, packed with pumpkin, sunflower, flax, and sesame seeds. There are also some unique options like Blackfoot, a bread which includes beer-making extracts from Blackfoot Brewery.

A neighborhood business that has been around since 1921, Rotella’s is now a hugely successful commercial supplier in the Midwest, yet, you can still stop by its retail location for fresh bread at discounted prices. There's a huge range of baked goods that would cost significantly more at most artisan bakeries, with ciabatta rolls, Vienna bread, burger buns, and cinnamon and raisin bread among the treats on offer.

There are so many options at House of Bread in Reno that it offers samples of its more unusual bakes, which customers really appreciate. Not that you can go wrong with any of the loaves here. Favorites include the sourdough with garlic and Cheddar (pictured), and the sourdough with pepper. The dense dark breads are said to make great sandwiches and the jalapeño and cheese bagels are amazing toasted and eaten with butter.

Buckley’s Bakery sells French baguettes, English muffins, multi-grain sourdough, and speciality breads, such as potato and rosemary, plus muffins, scones, pies, and pastries. It’s also a café and deli, serving a range of prepared dishes and incredible sandwiches. Everything is well-made and tastes delicious, while the service is warm and friendly too. There are two New Hampshire locations, in Hollis and Merrimack.

A taste of Germany in New Jersey, Old German Bakery sells a range of dark, crusty breads from aromatic rye to rich and hearty pumpernickel. The bread rolls are a speciality and there are plenty to choose from here, including pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, multi-grain with poppy and sesame seeds, and classic crusty white. Arrive early – bread this good tends to sell out fast.

The naturally leavened, slow-fermented bread at industrial-style Sage Bakehouse is often described as amazing with a perfectly crisp crust and fluffy inside that melts in your mouth. Standouts include the crusty, chewy rye bread and the pecan and raisin bread, while the café’s dine-in and takeout menu of tartines and panini is small but perfectly formed.

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The chocolate babka is recommended by nearly everyone who visits Breads Bakery. It’s described as rich, moist, and satisfying. Other baked goods also come highly recommended, including the warm and fluffy cheese focaccia, addictive cheese sticks, and Parmesan and olive baguettes. Looking for something healthier? There’s also a range of hearty, whole-grain, slow-proofed loaves.

Yellow Dog Bread Co. is a real local favorite, so don’t be surprised if you arrive to find a line snaking out the door. Tempting bakes include the standard baguette and sourdough along with more unusual options including the vegetable focaccia, summer squash brioche, Cheddar mini biscuits, and rosemary and Cheddar scones. It’s the sort of place where you pop in for a coffee and a pastry and leave laden with loaves.

Head to café and bakery Minot’s Daily Bread for a loaf of artisan sourdough. The plain is perfect, although you can also try loaves made with rye or multi-grain flour, fragranced with cinnamon and raisin, studded with olives or given a savory twist with Cheddar and jalapeño. These are baked on rotation, so check the website for the schedule. The challah, with its thin crust and pillowy insides, is among the most popular breads sold.

Bread snobs, pastry snobs, sandwich snobs… all are won over by the baked goods sold at Allez Bakery. Everything is good, although the focaccia – just crisp enough and with beautifully balanced flavors – is particularly good. Grab a sandwich and a loaf or two as well. It’s all freshly baked on site, with at least half a dozen options daily from varieties of sourdough to honey whole wheat.

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You know the bread at Big Sky is fresh because you can see it being kneaded and baked, and the whole shop is thick with the wonderful, warm aromas of just-baked loaves. The rotating range includes such delights as jalapeño cornbread, Irish soda bread, spinach and feta bread, beer bread, and black olive and garlic bread (pictured). The classic German rye is a popular loaf and is apparently perfect for a mean grilled cheese.

Little T American Baker makes baguettes that wouldn’t be out of place at a top French boulangerie. That’s what customers reckon, anyway, with fans consistently describing the loaves here as among the best around. Its modest range also includes a pretzel roll, herb slab (a focaccia-like flatbread), and pan de agua (a rustic Spanish bread). They're often still warm and there’s plenty of seating if you want to tuck straight in.

You can’t go wrong with any of the options at Five Points Artisan Bakeshop. Customers recommended the olive sourdough, sunflower flaxseed sourdough, multi-grain sourdough, and French baguettes. However, those with a sweet tooth will love the cardamom buns, lemon poppy-seed Danish pastries, and rustic apple tarts too.

Running for nearly two decades, Seven Stars Bakery has gained a loyal fanbase in Providence and expanded to four stores. It uses unbleached flour, local whole grains, and sourdough starter cultures to produce its loaves. Customers of the West Side store compliment the olive bread made with Kalamata and Moroccan oil-cured olives, the tomato focaccia, and the seedless French rye. 

The owner’s French training shows in the wonderful baguettes, petit pains (mini baguettes), and other loaves turned out daily at this small Charleston bakery. The repertoire extends to other styles of bread and bakes, although with bagels, Irish soda bread, loaded pretzels, New England–style hot dog buns, rye, and batards. Customers recommend staying for one of the fabulous breakfast sandwiches too.

A cross between a bakery and a retro diner, Baker’s Bakery stands out from the crowd by serving its excellent breakfasts accompanied by handmade breads and other baked goods, even the burgers are served on buns that have been freshly made in-house. It’s the amazing house-made breads – and perhaps the cheeky sign that promises “You’ll love our buns!” – that has people raving about this place and coming back for more.

Residents of Knoxville have fallen in love with Paysan Bread & Bagels, which started out as a farmers' market stall before opening a permanent location in 2018. They adore the smell, the high-quality loaves, and perfectly made bagels. You can also pick up sourdough bread, baguettes, challah, country loaves, English muffins, and pizza focaccia. The pumpernickel, sesame, Asiago cheese, and blueberry bagels can also be toasted and filled to order.

The huge air pockets, chewy texture and perfectly thick crust of the sourdough at ThoroughBread are just a few of the things that keep customers coming back. There are several varieties of the loaves including white, wheat, rye, and olive, sold alongside traditional sandwich bread. While it's not a budget option, customers say they're happy to pay for this level of quality, and the loaves tend to be on the larger side too. Be sure to check out the burridoughs, like burritos but made of dough.

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Inside an old warehouse building, Vosen’s Bread Paradise is a one-stop shop for European breads and imported groceries. Here, you’ll find marbled rye, apple bread, and poppy kaiser rolls alongside pretzels, Berliners (German donuts) and streusel. The challah and brauenbrot(white flour and rye) are particularly good. The friendly staff will happily slice any of the loaves for you too.

Red Hen turns out roughly 2,200 freshly baked loaves each day, delivering to local stores and restaurants, as well as stocking the shelves of the bakery and café. The shop offers crusty French baguettes, creamy and light polenta bread, heavy pumpernickel, whole wheat, and the occasional fancy fougasse (a flatbread). Whether you stop by for a sandwich or take home a loaf (or both), fans reckon this is some of the best bread you’ll try.

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Each of the three Firehook locations – in Alexandria, Chantilly and Washington DC – exudes the coziness and personality of an independent café and bakery. There’s a good range of different loaves including black olive boules, ciabatta, and chocolate brioche, with the challah one of the standouts. The prices are so reasonable that people often leave with a range of goodies.

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Many visitors say French bakery Le Panier, in Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market, is the best they’ve ever been to. It has been here since 1983, selling baguettes, miche (a large, round loaf), and sandwiches worth traveling for. The bakery is helmed by a baker and pastry chef from Normandy, and everything is handmade to traditional French recipes and using classic techniques. Don’t miss the incredible croissants and sweet treats like brioche framboise, filled with raspberry jelly.

They might not be the fanciest or in keeping with trends towards natural yeasts and artisan loaves, but the pepperoni rolls at Country Club Bakery are quite simply the best. They were invented in the 1920s by the bakery’s founder Giuseppe Argiro, who decided baking pepperoni inside soft, white Italian bread would be more convenient than making up sandwiches. They’re freshly made throughout the day and are best devoured warm.

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Stella’s Bakery makes artisan crusty breads, baguettes, pretzels, pastries, and scones, but what people really go for is the hot & spicy cheese bread. This marvelous loaf is a buttery blend of red pepper, chives, provolone (semi-hard Italian cheese), Monterey Jack, and sweet dough. It's huge, and best served hot and gooey. Be warned: it's as moreish as it sounds.

In the heart of Torrington, The Bread Doctor serves up loaves and baked goods that rival bakeries in bigger cities. Here, you can find garlic sourdough, Italian cherry sourdough (pictured), English muffins, jalapeño cornbread, challah, babka, bagels, brioche knots, and bread that's baked with spelt grown in Wyoming. The selection varies from day-to-day, but it hardly matters, because everything is incredible.

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