Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere next year. Read More Next
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More Next
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See all Food

    Lost Cakes of the South

    These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See all Holidays & Entertaining

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See all Home & Garden

    7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020

    ā€˜Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See all Style & Culture

    50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

    Curl up with a classic!
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow us

  1. Southern Living
  2. travel
  3. The South's Best Bakeries

The South's Best Bakeries

By Bill Addison
January 27, 2012
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Chris M. Rogers
We sent Bill Addison, Atlanta restaurant critic and former pastry chef, in search of the best cakes, cookies, breads, pastries, and pies. A whopping 80,000 calories later, here are the bakeries that sated his sweet tooth.
Start Slideshow

1 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Best Cakes

Credit: Chris M. Rogers

Oh, the beauty of a statuesque layer cake, always the belle on a buffet of Southern desserts. The cakes I love from these five bakeries possess professional twists—a finesse to the presentation or a unique flavor combination that would make it darn tricky to pass off as your own at an office party or family reunion.

  • Alpine Bakery & Trattoria; Atlanta, GA
  • Honey Bee Bakery; Oxford, MS
  • Maxie B's; Greensboro, NC
  • Sugar Bakeshop; Charleston, SC
  • Sweet Art by Lucila; Miami, FL

Find out why we are sweet on these bakeries!

1 of 4

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Best Breads & Pastries

Credit: Photo: Gary Clark

In the South, bakeries that excel in artisan breads and pastries are scarce. We tend to grow up on plain ol' white bread—an appreciation for rustic loaves can be an acquired taste. And as someone who used to labor over meringues and mousses to construct picture-perfect pastries, I still feel awe for chefs who forge stunners equally pleasing to the eye and palate.

  • Bluegrass Baking Company; Lexington, KY
  • H&F Bread Co.; Atlanta, GA
  • Poupart Bakery Inc.; Lafayette, LA
  • Upper Crust Bakery; Austin, TX
  • Wildflour Pastry; Charleston, SC

Find out why we are sweet on these bakeries!

2 of 4

3 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Best Cookies

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Davick

One pleasure of adulthood is reaching into the cookie jar again and again without anyone smacking your hand. Sure, cookies are some of the easiest desserts to whip up at home, but a top-notch bakery thrills with its sheer number of choices: chunky, nutty, fudgy, spicy—and hopefully warm from the oven!

  • Fluff Bake Bar; Houston, TX
  • Merridee's Breadbasket; Franklin, TN
  • Muddy's Bake Shop; Memphis, TN
  • Sticky Fingers; Washington, D.C.
  • Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop; Baltimore, MD

Find out why we are sweet on these bakeries!

3 of 4

Advertisement

4 of 4

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Best Pies

Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell

How did the expression "easy as pie" come into being? The popularity of premade crusts among today's home bakers illuminates how daunting it can be to master the art of pie. The best bakeries make their own buttery, flaky crusts, filled with glossy custard or the season's ripest fruit to add homespun distinction to their by-the-slice comforts.

  • A Slice Of Pie; Rolla, MO
  • Mom's Apple Pie Company; Occoquan & Leesburg, VA
  • Pie Lab; Greensboro, AL
  • Pie Shop; Atlanta, GA
  • Scratch; Durham, NC

Find out why we are sweet on these bakeries!

4 of 4

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Bill Addison

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 4 Best Cakes
2 of 4 Best Breads & Pastries
3 of 4 Best Cookies
4 of 4 Best Pies

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Southern Living

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Southern Living
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

View image

The South's Best Bakeries
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.