Bakeries in Atlanta: Pastries, Bread and Doughnuts

Bakeries in Atlanta cover croissants, sourdough loaves and hot doughnuts, and five places that recent coverage returns to are The Little Tart Bakeshop, Colette Bread & Bakeshop, Evergreen Butcher + Baker, Revolution Doughnuts and Dandy Donuts. Here is what each is known for and how to plan a morning around them.

What kinds of bakeries in Atlanta should you know?

Atlanta bakeries fall into a few types, and knowing which one you want saves a wasted drive.

• Pastry bakeries make croissants, tarts, eclairs and cakes. Go early, because the best items sell out.
• Bread bakeries are built around sourdough and long-fermented loaves, and many sell by the loaf.
• Doughnut shops make yeast or cake doughnuts daily, often only until they sell out.
• Cultural bakeries bring in a tradition: Japanese milk bread, Hong Kong buns, German apple cake.

Which Atlanta pastries and bakeries do people go to?

Each of these appears in at least two independent outlets, one of them a recent guide.

The Little Tart Bakeshop. The Infatuation's bakery guide lists it for large fruit tarts and savory quiches. Atlanta Magazine's chef guide has one chef recommending the croissant and chocolate eclair and another calling its breakfast sandwich the best in town.

Colette Bread & Bakeshop. In Poncey-Highland, The Infatuation points to its breads and cinnamon rolls with sour cream icing. Atlanta Magazine's sourdough guide features it for its pain au levain and its baking classes.

Evergreen Butcher + Baker. The Kirkwood shop is listed by The Infatuation for Oma's apple cake, savory danish and sourdough bagels. Atlanta Magazine's sourdough guide describes its seeded spelt loaf, and a chef recommended its baked goods.

Where can you find Atlanta doughnuts?

The AJC's doughnut roundup is the most recent guide, and it names two shops that Atlanta Magazine had also written about.

Revolution Doughnuts. The AJC says it has been making creatively topped doughnuts, with shops in Decatur and Inman Park and vegan and gluten-free options. Atlanta Magazine's list likewise notes unusual toppings and gluten-free and vegan choices.

Dandy Donuts. In Chamblee, the AJC describes a honey-glazed yeast doughnut, a strawberry glaze and a Boston cream, and Atlanta Magazine's older list also mentions its honey-dipped doughnut.

Gold Bunny Donuts in Duluth, Atlanta Donuts and Bloom Roadside in Milton are in the AJC list as well, but each has only the one source here, so they are not recommended on this page.

How do you plan an Atlanta bakery crawl?

Pick a single part of town and keep the list short. Two or three stops is plenty before the cakes stop being fun.

1. Start early. Bakeries sell out, and the doughnut you wanted at eight may be gone by ten.
2. Order one thing to eat there and one to take home. A croissant warm from the case tastes different from the same croissant an hour later.
3. Share. Four people can taste six items without anyone feeling ill.
4. Carry cash or a card, a bag for loaves and napkins.

If you want a savory start first, the Atlanta breakfast guide covers biscuits and grits, and the coffee shops guide covers where to get a cup between stops.

How do you judge a pastry or loaf?

Good bakers will tell you what went into the day's bake, so ask. A shop proud of its sourdough can tell you how long the dough rested, and a doughnut shop can tell you whether the glaze is made in house.

For pastry, look at the lamination (the thin layers in a croissant), the filling-to-dough balance and whether it was baked through. For bread, look at the crust, the crumb and the tang of the sourdough. For a doughnut, look at the freshness and whether the glaze is the right thickness.

Rate the item, not the bakery. A cinnamon roll and a loaf of sourdough from the same shop can deserve different stars.

It also helps to taste the same kind of item across shops. Compare two croissants, two cinnamon rolls or two glazed doughnuts and your ratings start to carry real information. If you are buying for a crowd, ask how far ahead the shop wants an order for a cake, and do not assume it will have a custom cake ready on the day.

How can you rate and keep Atlanta bakeries in Mosey?

Mosey is a food app, and a bakery crawl fits it well. Only a place and stars are needed for a rating, but you can rate each item by name, add tags such as Bakery or Pastries, and attach a photo. The ratings page shows how.

For an evening that ends on something sweet, the date night guide has a dessert room. Make a list called Atlanta bakeries, write a line on why each belongs (the croissant, the apple cake, the sour cream icing) and send the invite link to the friend who will share the crawl. If you tag the people you were with, they can add their own rating of the same morning. Rate while the pastry is fresh in your mind: ten seconds of notes beats trying to recall the name of a loaf a month later.

For more of the city, see the Atlanta town hub and the US food guides.

Before the sugar wears off, open the Mosey app, rate what you ate by name and add the bakery to a list your friends can build with you.