The Best Bread Bakeries in America | March 2020
From standout sourdough to rustic rye to crackly baguettes, here’s where to score loaves from the best bread bakeries from coast to coast.
Seven Stars Bakery (Providence, Rhode Island)
Since Seven Stars Bakery opened in Providence in 2001, its mission has been simple: Bake great stuff. For head baker Sarah Williams, that means using flavorful, freshly milled flour. Since 2015, all flours are stone milled in-house from grains sourced from Maine Grains, including Glenn (a hard-red spring wheat), rye, spelt and oats — to the tune of 2,500 pounds of flour a week. Additionally, Williams opts not to sift any of the bran off the whole grain flour, yielding flours that are 100% whole grain. Each loaf of bread starts with over 50% freshly milled whole wheat flour and/or a 100% whole rye starter, before undergoing a slow fermentation process. It takes three days for a loaf to reach the bakery shelf, and those slow fermenting starters are what imbue the breads with deep flavor and a hint of natural sweetness, not to mention superior texture and a longer shelf life. Try the signature country bread, a rustic, savory sourdough made from a blend of Glenn and rye flours that has a balanced buttery-earthy-tangy flavor profile. In addition to its Providence outposts, Seven Stars also counts locations in Cranston and Pawtucket, and supplies bread to dozens of local restaurants and Rhode Island universities such as Johnson & Wales and Brown.