The Best Bread in Toronto
Bread is one of the most concise and versatile film props. It was bread that finally drove Sam and Frodo apart. Yet when a film needs to look idyllic, the art director can still just pop a baguette in the scene (preferrably sticking jauntily out of a bike basket) and take the rest of the day off.
Toronto's taste in bread is growing up. We're getting away from the "how many grains can you fit in a loaf" game, which, while fun, isn't all that bread has to offer. These days we're favouring artisanal loaves, and we won't settle for any bread without a crust sturdy enough knock a man out at a thousand paces.
Bread can make or break a sandwich. Making bread is one of the first (and best) things we learned to do with our opposable thumbs. Sweet, savory, leavened or flat. It's an excuse to eat jam, and it's how you mop up the brie that goes with your wine (see: other items in the bike basket).
The bakeries listed below all have what set good bakers apart -- nearly empty bins at the end of the day. Sure, at 6pm you may still be able to score the last of the sourdoughs baked fresh that morning, but why tempt fate?
Photos of Harbord bakery (diorama above left, and thumbnail below), Alcoa Bakery (bread above right, and thumbnail below) and Tre Mari Bakery courtesy of Patrick Smith.
Harbord Bakery
There are two camps about how to shop at Harbord Bakery -- try and safeguard against further temptation by bringing (and sticking to) a strict list, or just give in and let your eyes do the shopping. I say that the ratio of deliciousness of an impromptu rugula to slipping down a few fiery circles is completely worth it. Harbord has well-rounded selection of basics, liberally mixed with specialties like their famous challah. More...
Brick Street Bakery
The walled city that is the Distillery District comes with its own, very able, bakery. Walnut sourdough, Ruecht bread, organic French country white, farmer's white, baguettes, fougasse olive, organic Moroccan olive. And that's just the bread. (Try the addiction-inducing sausage rolls as well.) Open at 10 every day but Mondays. More...
My Market Bakery
Kensington still has bragging rights for the densest selection of "best of" Toronto food. Including bread. My Market Bakery is a local favourite, but they also pull in bread commuters from further away. Try the potato breads, any of their other savouries, and chase it with one of their amazing sweet pastries. More...
St. John's Bakery
A bakery with a backstory and a conscience, St. John's Bakery got its start through proximity and neighbourliness. The St. John's drop-in centre was in the same strip mall as Joe Link's bakery, and Joe would often drop off baked goods. Situations changed, and Joe and St John's began selling his bread out of the drop-in. Joe has since passed away, but St John's now operates a full bakery on Broadview Avenue, making simple, delicious breads, and continuing to build community through social enterprise. More...
Bakery Thuet
Marc Thuet is something of a Toronto bread rockstar. When you get to the point in your field where "Thuet bread sold here" is followed by an exclamation mark, it's pretty much the closest approximation of people passing out at your concerts. Many people living downtown already look for Thuet baguettes and loaves on menus, but it's worth a trip to the King Street bakery to see the selection firsthand. More...
Le Comptoir de Celestin
Le Comptoir de Celestin is doing well up on Mount Pleasant just south of Eglinton. So well that they'll shortly be expanding into the space next door. There's a neighbourhood familiarity here, with people who work up and down the street coming in regularly to the cafe as well as the bakery, which offers a classic selection of French breads. More...
Epi Breads
A pain epi is French bread where rolls are left interconnected on a long loaf, styled to resemble a stalk of wheat ("epi" is french for the wheat flower). With a conical peaked roof, prominently on the corner of Bayview and Millwood, Epi Breads is styled to look like a slightly upscale small-town European bakery. They do reference their actual location though in their "Leaside white dinner rolls", but if you want to try their specialty, go for the pecan fruit loaf. More...
Alcoa Bakery
Alcoa is on that quirky stretch of Davenport that's right on the verge of being a destination strip. With an independent sandwich shop opening soon a few doors down, a health food store next door, and the landmark "A Guy in A Store That Fixes Leather" a half a block away, Alcoa feels like what it is -- a big neighbourhood catch-all bakery. A large open seating area is flanked by beautiful loaves, lady fingers, and to-go foods. More...
Serano Bakery
In the middle of Greektown, Serano is a full-service bakery with a few Greek flourishes. Everything is made onsite and fresh daily. Tending towards a doughier consistency rather than the airy french breads, Serano bakes a complete selection, including their specialty breads like Koulouria (Greek bagels). More...
Stonemill Bakehouse
Nestled in the lower-level of St Lawrence Market, Stonemill is known, in my husband's case, for their cookies. Other less cookie-centric people know Stonemill are best known for their breads. Breads like artisan cranberry pumpkin, Swiss muesli or California walnut, pre-sliced, garlic bread, baguettes and more. If you're really keen (and a little obsessed), you can shop there as early as 5am on Saturdays. More...
Tre Mari Bakery
It's worth braving the St Clair construction obstacle course to get to Tre Mari. Head in and go left for the bins and bins of freshly baked ciabattas (including kalamata olive ciabattas), baguettes, pitas and unbelievably good kaiser rolls. Well, maybe dally in front of the tarts and pastries first, and then go left... More...
Future Bakery
The "s" is silent (and invisible) but you can still properly refer to Future Bakery as "Futures". Futures are reliably well-situated all around the city and they keep great before- and after-the-movie hours. If you went to school in Toronto, there's a good chance you started going to Futures while you were a student, and then never stopped. More...
Comments (21)
I really like the breads available in bloor west village at Sunglow and Bread & Roses. Definitely a great option if you're in the area.
frank: Sunglow definitely rocks. I grew up eating their bread. Also, really good chocolate chunk cookies.
I hate to say this, but My Market Bakery really shouldn't be on this list. It used to be fabulous a year or two ago but something changed in that time and I've found that the quality of its breads are slipping. Several months ago, over the span of about two weeks, I bought several baguettes. All of them were woefully undercooked and just a general abomination to bread making. One of them was still basically raw in the middle. I continued buying baguettes there for a while but after so many disappointments, I just gave up.
Now, I know this is just one particular product, but to continue selling a product so obviously flawed shows sloppiness and inattention to detail. I continue to buy bagels there, and so far those have remained great, but I'm definitely done buying other breads at My Market.
My Market Bakery also usually has a conditional pass. They aren't on the list because of quality, it's because the list is voted by readers. They owe their popularity to their fantastic location.
Before clicking through I said to myself, "if Harbord Bakery isn't on that list, I'm dismissing the entire post as rubbish."
Yep, to confirm what Ben said -- this 'Best Of' list is based on reader votes. If there's a great bread place you'd like to see on here next time (e.g. Sunglow) definitely speak up.
The Alcoa Bakery always makes me scared I'm gonna catch Alzheimers from their aluminum-laced fare.
Good thing there ain't a bakery named "Monsanto"...
I can't believe you don't have COBS Bread in that list! They've won so many awards and their bread is just fantastic! Their Flax Seed, Cape Seed, and Apricot loaves are all recommended highly! Check it out: http://www.cobsbread.ca/ **My fav. location is in Kensington Market on Baldwin street - especially so because it's not in direct competition with Market Bakery - which is also good, just not for bread**
Really don't understand why it's not on the list... Clafouti trumps all bread available in the Tdot. Their batarde baguettes especially. They are always sold out! It's beyond words how good...
St. John's Bakery is the BEST! It's the only bread my family eats. The Whole Wheat Sourdough is awesome.
The city's best bread is still Ace Bakery (by far). I've tried them all. An up and comer is EPI breads, they have a decent french baguette. Still, nothing compares to Ace Bakery. Sorry everyone else.
Market Bakery does not belong on this list, neither does Tre Mari or Serrano. Where the hell is Ace Bakery? It's the best in the city by far.
Real french baguettes and a delicious portuguese cornbread (on the weekends only) at Brick Street Bakery at the Distillery District or on Logan Ave just north of Queen Street. The Bread is so good! and they use organic flour grown and milled in ONTARIO! What could be better!
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