For a long time the Twin Cities was a Wuollet town and that was about it. That is no longer the situation. The metro now has serious laminated-pastry programs, sourdough bakers with national reputations, a Mexican panaderia that has been doing it for forty years, and at least three doughnut counters worth crossing town for. Carbs are doing fine here.
The South Minneapolis bakery that brought serious French viennoiserie to the Twin Cities. The almond croissant is the introduction. The kouign-amann is what you keep coming back for. The cafe lunch is a separate good reason to be there.
A Linden Hills bakery with one of the most respected bread programs in the country. The miches and ciabattas are the everyday miracles, and the small pastry case usually has whatever you did not think to want. Get there early on weekends.
A small Lyn-Lake bakery doing serious breads, breakfast biscuits, and one of the best chocolate chip cookies in the metro. The breakfast sandwiches on house-baked English muffins are the order most regulars never deviate from.
Michelle Gayer’s pastry program now living in Northeast after years at Midtown Global Market. The signature meringues with passion fruit are the thing. The wedding cakes have a national following. Come in hungry, leave with three things you did not order.
A St. Louis Park bakery that has earned a serious following for sourdough loaves, danishes, and pop-tarts that make the supermarket version feel like a different food category. The cinnamon roll on Saturday is the Saturday move.
A small St. Paul bakery with a careful European pastry program. The kouign-amann is in the conversation for the metro’s best, and the rotating cake menu is always a temptation. Walk-in and take a number.
A St. Paul West Side panaderia turning out conchas, polvorones, empanadas, and bolillos the right way. Grab a tray and tongs at the door, fill it with whatever looks good, and pay at the counter for less than fast food.
A Twin Cities institution running since 1944 with multiple metro locations. Wedding cakes, princess tortes, and the kind of frosted sugar cookies that have shown up at every Twin Cities birthday party for three generations. A nostalgia operation that still makes good cake.
A specialty bakery west of the metro with a strong custom-cake program and one of the better macaron cases around. Worth the drive for a special occasion, or for a dozen macarons to bring home.
A South Minneapolis bakery that has been doing it the same way since the 1980s. Crullers, doughnuts, real cinnamon rolls, and the kind of glass case display you wish more bakeries committed to. Cash only and very much the point.
A small Linden Hills pastry shop using saffron, rose, pistachio, and orange blossom in ways that read different than every other bakery in town. The saffron rice pudding is the standout. Pair with a Persian tea.