What Grocery Stores Have the Best Bakeries? A Bread Hunter’s Guide to the Best Supermarket Bread in the USA and Around the World
There was a time when buying bread at the grocery store meant choosing between a few plastic-wrapped loaves of white, wheat, or rye.
That is definitely no longer the case.
Walk into the right grocery store today and the bakery can feel more like a neighborhood artisan bakery. Sourdough boules, crusty baguettes, seeded multigrain loaves, focaccia, brioche, challah, Cuban bread, pretzel rolls, ciabatta, regional specialties, and breads inspired by baking traditions from around the world are increasingly appearing in supermarket bakeries.
For bread lovers, this raises an important question:
Which grocery stores actually have the best bakeries?
At TheBreadHunter.com, we think finding great bread should be part of the adventure. So we looked at some of the most interesting grocery-store bakeries in the United States and around the world to see what makes them worth visiting.
The answer isn't necessarily one chain. Some stores excel at sourdough. Others specialize in regional breads. And some of the most interesting supermarket bread departments are outside the United States entirely.
Here are some grocery stores every Bread Hunter should know about.
1. Publix: One of America's Most Serious Supermarket Bakeries
If you live in the Southeast, you probably already know that Publix takes its bakery seriously.
Publix says its bakery dates to 1957 and that it still makes more than a dozen varieties of bread from scratch using traditional bread-making techniques.
That alone distinguishes Publix from many supermarkets where much of the "fresh" bread arrives partially baked or frozen.
Some of the breads Publix highlights include:
Italian Five-Grain
Sourdough Round
Cuban Bread
White Mountain Bread
French Bread
Baguettes
Chicago Hard Rolls
Hoagie Rolls
Tutto Pugliese
The Cuban bread is particularly interesting because it reflects the influence of Florida's Cuban-American communities. Meanwhile, the hand-rounded Tutto Pugliese brings a Southern Italian-inspired bread into an everyday American supermarket.
That's exactly the type of discovery we love at The Bread Hunter: regional and international bread traditions hiding inside an ordinary grocery store.
Publix's willingness to maintain a genuine scratch-baking program makes it one of the first supermarkets bread lovers should investigate.
2. Whole Foods Market: The Supermarket for Sourdough Hunters
Whole Foods Market helped make artisan-style bread mainstream in American grocery stores.
Its current bread selection illustrates just how far supermarket bread has evolved. Depending on location, shoppers can find sourdough, organic artisan bread, baguettes, challah, ciabatta, cornbread, brioche buns and numerous breads supplied by regional bakeries.
Whole Foods' own bakery standards also prohibit bleached and bromated flour in its artisan bakery products.
One particularly interesting listing is Mt. Athos Fire Sourdough Bread. Whole Foods locations may also carry regional bakery products, meaning the bread selection can change significantly depending on where you're traveling.
That regional variation is part of the fun.
A Bread Hunter visiting Whole Foods in California may discover something completely different from someone visiting a store in Massachusetts, Texas, or New York.
Instead of thinking of Whole Foods as one bakery, think of it as dozens of regional bakery ecosystems operating under one national grocery brand.
3. Wegmans: A Destination Grocery Store for Bread Lovers
Wegmans has developed an almost cult-like following among grocery shoppers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and its bakery is a major part of the attraction.
Stores frequently feature artisan-style loaves, sourdough, baguettes, Italian breads, multigrain breads, rolls, desserts and seasonal bakery products.
What makes Wegmans particularly interesting to a Bread Hunter is the breadth of the bakery department.
You can walk in looking for a sandwich loaf and leave with something that looks like it belongs on the table at a European café.
Larger Wegmans locations are particularly worth exploring because the bakery experience can be dramatically more extensive than what shoppers expect from a conventional supermarket.
4. Central Market: Texas' Playground for Serious Food Lovers
Texas shoppers looking for interesting bread should put Central Market on their list.
Central Market's stores emphasize specialty and international foods, which makes the bakery a natural place for experimentation.
Rather than simply producing white and wheat bread, stores like Central Market demonstrate what happens when a grocery chain treats bread as part of culinary culture.
That philosophy is important.
Bread shouldn't simply be something holding a sandwich together. A great loaf can be the centerpiece of a meal.
A crusty European-style loaf, olive bread, sourdough or focaccia paired with good cheese, olive oil and wine can completely change dinner—and increasingly, shoppers don't need to visit a specialty bakery to find those breads.
5. H-E-B: Texas Bread Culture Under One Roof
H-E-B is another supermarket Bread Hunters should explore when traveling through Texas.
Texas has an unusual combination of Mexican, German, Czech and Southern food traditions, and grocery stores are one of the best places to see those influences collide.
A good Texas bread hunt might include bolillos and tortillas alongside sandwich breads, rolls and European-inspired bakery products.
This highlights something important about supermarket bakeries:
The most interesting bread isn't always labeled "artisan."
Sometimes the bread worth hunting is simply the bread local families have been buying for generations.
6. Costco: Surprisingly Good Bread at Warehouse Scale
Costco probably isn't the first place people imagine when thinking about artisan bread.
But perhaps it should be considered.
Its bakery operations produce huge quantities of breads, rolls, pastries and desserts, and Costco frequently carries regional or specialty bread products in addition to its standard bakery offerings.
The real advantage is value.
A neighborhood artisan bakery might charge a premium for specialty loaves. Costco's enormous purchasing power can bring surprisingly good bread to consumers at warehouse-store prices.
For families that consume a lot of bread—or anyone hosting a party—the bakery can be worth investigating.
7. Waitrose: British Supermarket Bread Done Right
Travel to the United Kingdom and supermarket bread becomes a different experience.
Waitrose is a particularly interesting example.
Its bakery selection currently includes sourdough, baguettes, rye bread, seeded breads, wholemeal loaves, farmhouse breads, ciabatta and other continental-style products.
One loaf that immediately caught our attention is its No.1 Kalamata & Halkidiki Olive Bread.
That is exactly the kind of supermarket bread The Bread Hunter wants to discover.
Waitrose also promotes freshly baked sourdough from its in-store bakery.
British supermarkets demonstrate how international bread traditions have become part of everyday grocery shopping. French baguettes, Mediterranean olive breads and sourdough can sit alongside traditional British sliced bread.
8. REWE: Germany Shows Why It Is One of the World's Great Bread Countries
If you're serious about bread, Germany deserves a place near the top of your travel list.
German bread culture is legendary, and even ordinary supermarkets can have extraordinary selections compared with what many Americans are accustomed to.
German supermarket chain REWE divides its bread selection into categories including fresh bakery products, mixed wheat breads, multigrain breads, Laugengebäck (pretzel-style baked goods), baguettes, ciabatta and rolls.
One current example is Hauptstadtbrot Bio Dinkelbrot, an organic spelt bread baked fresh daily.
That illustrates an important difference between American and German bread culture.
In America, a seeded whole-grain or spelt loaf might be marketed as a specialty health product. In Germany, hearty grain breads are simply part of everyday bread culture.
For Bread Hunters visiting Germany, don't overlook the grocery store because you're searching for an independent bakery. You may discover remarkable bread in both.
9. Coop Switzerland: A Supermarket Bakery Worth Exploring
Switzerland may be one of the most underrated bread destinations.
Coop's bakery selection provides a fascinating window into Swiss bread culture.
The chain lists breads including farmhouse loaves, brown bread, small rolls, organic breads and tresse, Switzerland's famous braided bread.
There are also Swiss specialties such as Silserkranz and Weggli.
One especially interesting product is Coop's wood-oven-baked white bread, which is partially baked in a wood-fired oven and finished in-store.
Even more impressive, Coop offers a bakery-ordering system where certain breads are freshly baked on the day they are delivered.
For American Bread Hunters accustomed to supermarket bread lasting a week or more, European grocery bread can be an eye-opening experience. Freshness—not shelf life—is often the priority.
10. Grocery Stores May Be the World's Most Overlooked Bread Destinations
One of the goals of TheBreadHunter.com is to rethink where people look for great bread.
Yes, artisan bakeries are wonderful.
But they aren't the only places worth exploring.
Some fascinating breads are sitting inside grocery stores that thousands of people walk through every day without giving the bakery a second thought.
A Publix in Florida might introduce you to Cuban bread.
A Texas supermarket might lead you to a great bolillo.
A Whole Foods in California might carry sourdough from a regional artisan bakery.
A Waitrose in England might have Mediterranean olive bread.
A REWE in Germany might offer freshly baked spelt bread and pretzel rolls.
And a Coop in Switzerland might introduce you to tresse or bread finished in a wood-fired oven.
Bread hunting doesn't have to mean searching for famous bakeries. Sometimes it simply means paying closer attention to the bread aisle wherever you happen to be.
What Makes a Great Grocery Store Bakery?
When visiting a new supermarket, don't judge the bakery simply by how many products it carries.
Look closer.
Ask whether bread is actually baked in the store. Look for sourdough and naturally fermented breads. Check for regional specialties. See whether local bakeries supply the store. Look for breads using unusual grains such as rye, spelt or ancient grains.
Most importantly, look for bread that tells you something about where you are.
The most interesting supermarket bakery in Miami shouldn't necessarily look like the best supermarket bakery in Munich.
Local differences are what make bread hunting interesting.
Help The Bread Hunter Find America's Best Grocery Store Bread
This is where we want the Bread Hunter community to help.
We want to build a crowdsourced guide to the best grocery store bakeries and supermarket breads in America—and eventually around the world.
Have you discovered an incredible sourdough at your neighborhood grocery store?
Is there a supermarket that makes amazing French bread every morning?
Does your local market sell a regional bread that people outside your city probably don't know exists?
Have you discovered an incredible supermarket bakery while traveling internationally?
Tell us about it in the comments.
Include the grocery store, city, state or country, and—most importantly—the exact bread we should hunt for.
Because the world's next great loaf might not be hiding inside a famous bakery.
It might be sitting in the grocery store down the street.
Sources and Research
This article was researched using current bakery information from Publix, Whole Foods Market, Waitrose, REWE and Coop Switzerland. Publix reports more than a dozen scratch-made breads and specifically lists Cuban Bread, Italian Five-Grain, Sourdough Round, White Mountain, Chicago Hard Rolls and other varieties.
Whole Foods currently lists bread categories including sourdough, baguettes, challah, ciabatta and cornbread, as well as products such as Mt. Athos Fire Sourdough. Its artisan bakery listings state that bleached and bromated flours are not allowed.
Waitrose's current selection includes sourdough, rye, farmhouse breads and its No.1 Kalamata & Halkidiki Olive Bread.
REWE's German bakery assortment includes fresh bakery products, mixed wheat breads, multigrain breads, pretzel-style Laugengebäck, baguettes and ciabatta, as well as freshly baked organic spelt bread.
Coop Switzerland lists hundreds of bread and baked-goods products, including Swiss favorites such as tresse, Weggli and Silserkranz. Coop also offers bakery products baked on the day of delivery and a white bread partially baked in a wood-fired oven and finished in-store.
