Iggy’s Bread is all about natural leavening and fermentation methods. Husband-and-wife team Ludmilla and Igor Ivanovich opened the bakery in 1994 and have been supplying Boston with internationally acclaimed bread ever since. Visit Iggy’s flagship location in Cambridge to try their ancient grain loaves, bagels, or one of their flaky sourdough croissants, or pick up a ciabatta, brioche buns, or a baguette at local Roche Brothers’ or Whole Foods outlets. You can also catch them at the Union Square Farmers Market, and at their summer pop-up on Martha’s Vineyard.

Owner Soheil Fathi founded La Saison Bakery in Tehran, Iran in 2007. When the United States toughened economic sanctions against Iran a decade ago, Fathi didn’t know how his business would survive. So he decided to move to the U.S. and bring La Saison with him. After working as a pastry chef at Flour, he finally reopened the Iranian-born shop in 2020. Six years later, La Saison continues to bring a taste of Iran to Cambridge, and Fathi has built a fanbase for his exceptional pastries, brownies, and sourdough loaves. Be sure to try new menu items, too, like their croissant with roasted pistachios and saffron mascarpone.  

Lolly’s Bakery is an East Boston staple that opened in 1997. Operated by Patty Guzman, this Latin American bake shop is known throughout the neighborhood for its array of Mexican, Colombian, and Guatemalan pastries. Look no further than Lolly’s for some of the best conchas and guava-filled pan dulce the city has to offer. Lolly’s is also famous for its custom wedding and birthday cakes, which come in flavors like tres leches, flan, and mille-feuille, which is made with vanilla cream in between layers of puff pastry. The bakery has a second location in Lynn.

Bova’s is nothing short of a Boston tradition. Founded in 1926 by Antonio Bova, the bakery continues to operate as a family-owned business in the North End nearly a century later. With a selection of breads, cookies, and prepared foods like arancini and stromboli, Bova’s is Boston’s go-to for Italian bakes. Stop in for their famous chocolate mousse brick (an extremely popular menu item at Bova’s, the bricks are large square-shaped slices of cake that come in a variety of flavors), lobster tails, and sfogliatelle. You can also make Bova’s the last stop to cap off a night out in the North End — the bakery is famously open 24/7.

Located in the heart of Boston’s Chinatown, Bao Bao Bakery & Cafe serves a playful variety of pan-Asian sweets, breads, custom cakes, as well as bubble tea. Founded in 2005 by the Chin family, Bao Bao is now owned and operated by sisters Emily and Gloria Chin. The menu at Bao Bao is chaos cooking unleashed, with savory offerings such as their pork sung bun, sweet treats like the ube crepe cake (which has an ube-flavored boba topping), and spins on dim sum classics like nutella-filled sesame buns. The menu at Bao Bao is constantly changing; right now, you can find Thai tea boba-filled mochi and Dierdre’s almond cookies, which are inspired by the film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Looking for more than dessert? The adjacent Double Chin, Bao Bao’s sister restaurant, serves a similar array of inventive pan-Asian fare such as the Hong Kong hot chicken katsu “boluobao-wich,” served on a  pineapple bun.

Flour started out as a single shop in the South End in 2000, and has now expanded to nine locations in Boston and Cambridge, all headed by decorated pastry chef, author, and local celebrity Joanne Chang. Whether you’re a long-time resident or just visiting Boston for a few days, Flour should be on your list of spots to hit for breakfast, lunch, or a decadent honey-flavored sticky bun. While sweet and savory pastries are the star here, Flour does not fall short on their breakfast and lunch meals, including salads, bowls, and sandwiches like the chicken tikka masala naan sandwich, and smoked salmon and potato bowl. Each of the cafes stock vegan and gluten-free options, too.

Hidden in a tiny basement in Newton’s Piccadilly Square, Rosenfeld’s is a Jewish bakery paradise. Bagels by the dozen, chocolate and cinnamon babka, challah, and copious amounts of smoked fish and schmear, Rosenfeld’s has been doing it all in the same tradition for 50 years. (So, no, you won’t find jalapeño bagels here.) The bakery was opened in 1973 by Marc Rosenfeld, and is now owned and operated by Mike Lombardo. Rosenfeld’s continues to produce freshly boiled bagels with a perfectly chewy interior in all the classic varieties like marble rye, sesame, and potato. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Rosenfeld’s is known for their famous whole wheat challah, bialys, and specialties such as hamantaschen and round challahs during the high holidays. 

Known across the city for exceptional Montserratian fare, Auntie Vie’s is a family-owned restaurant and bakery in the heart of Dorchester. Violet Francis, known to friends and family by the nickname Auntie Vie, opened the restaurant in 2013 after running her own catering business for years. While the restaurant is known for savory entrees like their goat curry and jerk chicken, Auntie Vie’s also has a selection of house-made meat patties, not to mention an eye-catching lineup of dessert items like the pineapple turnovers, potato pudding, and Black Cake, a popular Caribbean dessert made with dried fruits that have been soaked in rum and red wine. Keep an eye out on their Instagram account for their special bake sales around Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving.

Third Cliff Bakery started out as a pop-up cart (aka the “Third Cliff Trike”) at the Egleston Farmers Market in 2015. The bakery only opened in its sunny, permanent corner spot in Jamaica Plain in 2020, but has quickly established itself as a neighborhood staple. Third Cliff, which is owned by Meg Crowly, is known for its ever-changing menu and unique spins on classic French pastries such as the kimchi cheddar croissants and lavender kouign amann. They even have vegan laminated pastry offerings, like the orange and cardamom morning bun. The espresso drinks are exceptional.  

At Fornax in Roslindale, bread is the star. Kim and Chris Fallon opened Fornax — named after the Roman goddess of baking — in 1997, and have been providing their community with high-quality breads and pastry ever since. A few menu highlights include the English muffins, or any of their loaves such as the sfilatino or rye. If you’re in the mood for a sandwich, be sure to try the unbeatable salami and onion, which can be ordered on your choice of their house-made breads. Catch them at the Roslindale Farmers’ Market or at one of their many restaurant wholesale partners like Sophia’s Grotto in Roslindale or Antonio’s Bacari in Hyde Park.

Greenhills Irish Bakery of Dorchester was opened by Dermot Quinn in 1993, and soon became known as Boston’s staple for Irish bakes. After emigrating from Ireland, Quinn founded the bakery to bring a taste of his hometown to Dorchester. Now, 30 years later, he continues to offer Irish breads and treats that his grandmother made back home, like her brown bread. Greenhills churns out four types of soda bread, Irish barmbrak (a slightly sweetened yeasted bread made with raisins that is particularly popular in Ireland around Halloween), and Irish biscuit cake, as well as a variety of sweets, sandwiches, and soups made in-house daily. They also offer Christmas specials during the holiday season, so keep an eye out for their Christmas pudding and Christmas cake.