Top 5: Best Sourdough Bread in the San Francisco Bay Area

Sourdough bread is a San Francisco staple, dating back to Gold Rush days when using a sour starter was the only way the Forty Niners could produce a reliable supply of fresh leavened bread. The lacto bacillus San Francisco ingredient gives the bread its distinctive sour taste, with each loaf tasting different depending on weather conditions. The indigenous yeasts in the air, the temperature, the humidity and the water in the San Francisco Bay Area are regarded to produce some of the best sourdough bread in the world.

Here are five popular spots in the San Francisco Bay Area offering renowned sourdough bread.

© Rachel Hathaway | Flickr

Boudin Bakery

Founded in 1849, Boudin Bakery holds the record for San Francisco’s oldest continuously running company. The company started off as a tiny family operation and has since transformed into a popular attraction on the city’s tourist trail, located on Fisherman’s Wharf. Visitors can find several locations throughout the city as well as museums and bakery tours. Boudin’s sourdough is renowned for its signature tangy flavor.

Josey Baker Bread

Josey Baker is a former science teacher from New England turned San Francisco baking sensation. In addition to his delicious, easy-to-chew sourdough bread, fans can find his other baked creations at The Mill, a joint venture between Four Barrel Coffee and Josey Baker Bread, around the corner from Alamo Square Park.

© Neil Conway | Flickr

Acme Bread Company

Acme Bread Company is one of the Bay Area’s premier bread destinations, baking delicious creations like baguettes, rolls, pastries and croutons. The bakery’s picture-perfect sourdough breads can be found in a variety of retail locations as well as farmers markets and grocery stores in the Bay Area like Whole Food’s and Mollie Stone’s.

Della Fattoria

Bread lovers will discover whole grain and oat-y flavors while enjoying a loaf of Della Fattoria’s sourdough bread. Its creations are made with all organic flours, local sea salts and olive oils as well as a brick oven that burns for 12 hours before the loaves bake. Della Fattoria’s internationally acclaimed artisan breads are found in fine restaurants and groceries in Napa and Sonoma counties and in San Francisco. Find them at the San Francisco Farmers Market in the Ferry Building on Saturdays.

© Breville USA | Flickr

Tartine Bakery

San Francisco’s beloved Tartine Bakery is known for the long lines of carb enthusiasts who wait and wait for a loaf of its dark-baked sourdough breads, featuring a thin crust and tender, fluffy crumb.