Since the days of the Roman empire, humanity has been blessed with bakeries. But millenia later, the art of baking has advanced well beyond the most decadent dreams of Caligula himself, with culinary artists bending tradition to new heights of high-heat brilliance. The bakeries on this list vary wildly in style and influence, from upscale patisseries and groud-breaking innovators to hearth-based breadmakers and old-school pastry counters. One thing in common? They're all among the best bakeries in America.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Walk down Church Street unknowingly, and you’d simply never discover Arcade Bakery. The name is stamped onto the outside of the office building, but it’s otherwise hidden 300 feet into the building’s lobby, a sleek set-up of counter-service pastries and coffee, with bakers fiddling with dough in the open kitchen. It’s bread that’s founder Roger Gural’s muse — crisp sourdough loaves and towering vanilla pear and buckwheat baguettes — but Arcade showcases a slew of French-influenced pastries (sweet and savory croissants, caramel apple brioches, whiskey-pecan babka) for the many lucky people who work upstairs and rely on warm baked goods rather than chips from the vending machine. Come during lunch hour and pair a flaky croissant with a mightily stacked sandwich or the just-baked pizza, then shout at everyone on Church Street that they’re breezing past one of America’s best bakeries.
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