Pastry chef Shawn McKenzie, who has run some of the Twin Cities’ finest pastry programs, recently garnered a James Beard nomination for her work at Café Cerés. Her chocolate zephyr cookies, made with rye flour, have a subtle malty bite; her pistachio croissants strike a perfect balance of airiness and nuttiness; and her pillowy Turkish bagels — a.k.a. simit — are lovely with a cool smear of labneh and za’atar. The lunch menu complements the pastry selection with Muffulettas, falafel bowls, and Turkish egg tartines drizzled with chili oil.

Kentucky-native, London-trained pastry chef John Kraus is several things — lauded chocolatier, former instructor at the French Pastry School in Chicago, and a one-time team captain representing the United States at the Coupe Du Monde de la Patisserie, the famed Olympics of pastry competitions. But he’s a baker at heart. Now, he presides over the Bread Lab, a production and training facility, while running both Patisserie 46 and its newer outpost, Rose Street, with his wife Elizabeth. All a roundabout way of saying that his breads — like a stellar miche and a unique baguette, made with a combination of rye and wheat flour — are flawlessly constructed. As are the kaleidoscope of cakes and confections on offer. 

Although Solveig Tofte’s baking experience has spanned the world, her Minneapolis shop focuses on imbuing a distinctly American vibe with breads and pastries she crafts from scratch — like a pan loaf homage to the flax, durum, and potatoes grown in the Red River Valley, a farming region in Northwest Minnesota; a rustic, country-style loaf made from local cornmeal; or croissants finished like soft pretzels, which yield a distinctly rich and nutty taste. More ‘traditional’ pastries from Tofte’s heritage are also offered, such as fyrstekake, a type of shortbread cake filled with chopped almonds and cardamom.

Stepping into Marissa’s Bakery feels a bit like stepping into another world, one where a wood-fired brick oven churns out filled fluffy conchas, sopapillas, and crackly bolillos all day long. Marissa’s breads and pastries are equally good — they all have a melt-in-your-mouth effect — and the adjoining cafe serves juicy birria tacos, enchiladas, and other Mexican dishes.

Grab a tray and wind your way through Panaderia San Miguel, owned by Beatriz and Miguel Rubio, one of Lake Street’s standout destinations for Mexican pan dulces and pasteles. Favorites here are the conchas (crackly, delicately sweet, and puffed to the size of grapefruits), the fluffy raised doughnuts stuffed with a subtly sweet rice pudding, and the tres leches. Pastries here are baked daily and tend to sell out.

Thirsty Whale was on the brink of closure in late 2023 when Alise and Luke McGregor, owners of Minnetonka’s YoYo Donuts, announced they’d purchased the bakery and planned to reopen it. Thirsty Whale co-founder Kyle Baker is still churning out the pastries, cakes, and cupcakes the bakery is known for — doughnuts, especially, are a hit here, from the classis (vanilla sprinkle, glazed raised) to the unexpected (orange cream Old Fashioneds, Bismarcks stuffed with raspberry cream cheese and topped with salty pretzel crunch.)

A classic, no-frills bakery on Central Avenue, Heights Bakery dishes up glazed doughnuts, buttery apple fritters, and chocolate-sprinkle Long Johns day in and day out. For a savory bite, try the ten-grain bread or an onion roll.

Veronica Anczarski’s New Brighton bakery sells mostly wholesale, but the counter is stocked with a selection of grab-and-go pastries every day that the bakery is open. Anczarski specializes in African and Caribbean-style breads, like sweet tennis rolls with a hint of lemon; pillowy, brioche-like agege bread; and others, and she bakes buttery croissants, peppery gingersnaps, and glazed doughnuts with an equally skilled hand. Solomon’s is a cornerstone of the Mill City Farmers Market, too; market pre-orders can be placed here.

Paris-trained (at a 300-year old patisserie) Marc Heu, who is of Hmong descent, left France for St. Paul, where he started his namesake bakery and brought over the kind of intricate wizardry commonly found in only the most storied of pastry ateliers. Some of his finest creations, such as vanilla Saint Honoré, are sculpted with an accordion-like symmetry; others, such as isaphan (a nod to Heu’s idol, Pierre Hermé) and several of his viennoiseries, are appealingly furled. Even his “craggier” offerings, like a rich and eggy flan, are not to be missed.

Few places can make a name with both croissants and old-fashioned doughnuts — but La Boulangerie Marguerite can. Francois and Melissa Kiemde raised the bar on an already solid pastry program with an ample array of new patisseries, viennoiseries, and cakes when they rebranded the bakery from P.J. Murphy’s, which had a more homespun vibe. This classic croissant, based on a 30-year old recipe, remains a standout for its denser-than-expected, but still delightfully flaky, quality. 

Brake Bread may be best known for hiking its subscription loaves and pastries all across St. Paul, via bike. But co-owners Micah Taylor and Nate Houge also operate a sunny retail spot on St. Paul’s West Seventh Street. Swing by to grab a luscious oat porridge loaf or a cheddar sourdough studded with jalapenos — Brake Bread sources its wheat from farms around Minnesota and North Dakota. The bakery serves pastries too, like cardamon spinners and brioche buns oozing raspberry pastry cream.