Best bread in Baltimore?

Submitted by LaraineAgain t3_zqnhov in baltimore

I need to buy delicious rustic-type bread for upcoming dinners. Preferably olive bread. Can you all share w me your favorite bread bakeries? I haven’t been to any farmers markets in ages so I’m not familiar anymore w the Bmore bread “scene” and I’m worried the cold weather will keep some away from Waverly on the 24th.

Edit — thank you all so much — I am putting Ovenbird and Motzi on my lists for the New Year (resolution— eat more good bread). I missed ordering deadlines so I am trying Pekara Bakery (Coldspring across from Ms Shirley’s) - which has baguettes, Italian, and mountain rye, and I was able to order today for pick up on Xmas eve — nice and easy! Plus they have amazing pastries. So I’ve had a few of those this week, too…

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Greedy-Mushroom4890 t1_j0ytr46 wrote

Ovenbird in Little Italy. (They have bagels too)

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YoYoMoMa t1_j0z0gv2 wrote

Warning about the bagels. They are great consistency but they burn the shit out of their seasoning. Get plain.

Also, the Cunninghams bread they sell at the wine source is great as well.

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jwseagles t1_j0z1na2 wrote

I love ovenbird for the bread. Agree on the bagels, not a fan.

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TitsMageesVacation t1_j13jdty wrote

I love the bagels, especially the spicy fennel. Now I may hav to go get one…

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ibrahimsafah t1_j0z4ox4 wrote

Great bread. Awesome challah when they sell it (Fridays). Their bagels are bad though, they aren't much better than supermarket bagels.

Edit: Just to add details, when I was into bagel making I did some market research. Their bagels are TINY, like 80 grams, weren't boiled like real bagels (lacked the shiny exterior), and cost a whopping $2.80. For references the ones you'll get in NYC are around 180grams and sell for like $1.50. And they actually taste good.

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mixolydienne t1_j104tr9 wrote

Those baguettes at the wine source are the best I've found in the city. The sourdough is very good as well.

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YoYoMoMa t1_j10ce7m wrote

Try the tre semi boulle toasted with some olive oil and salt. Or put eggs on it in the morning. Incredible.

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rayray52 t1_j12tpjb wrote

It always feel like it’s my lucky day whenever I catch them giving away the remainder of their stock like 10-20 min before close.

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thesnowdog t1_j0yx9tv wrote

https://www.motzibread.com/

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lazzarone t1_j0z90uj wrote

Am I the only one who thinks that Motzi is just not that great? Everything seems to be a minor variation on the same basic whole-grain recipe, which means that everything tastes basically the same. I had a subscription for about six months and tried pretty much every bread they make. The baguettes are ok, some of the rye is pretty good, but beyond that everything is rather meh. I love them to death for working hard and being incredibly sincere, but better bread can be found elsewhere.

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mixolydienne t1_j0zw2lb wrote

Agree, I was excited to have them in the neighborhood and joined their bread share to support them getting started, but the bread just wasn't very good :/ Everything was so flat it was mostly crust, and gummy in the middle.

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xiu92 t1_j103urr wrote

It’s too healthy for my liking 😆

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AndieIsOnline t1_j1059jx wrote

I agree that they're pretty good but I wish they had more variety too.

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ComradeMilton t1_j10hf1p wrote

motzi rules! honestly some of the best bread i've ever eaten. incredible pastries as well.

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angryears923 t1_j0yvvi7 wrote

Trinacria has delicious olive bread! Haven’t been there since the pandemic, sadly, so can’t vouch for if they still make it

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Oldladyweirdo t1_j11ziow wrote

Came here to say Trinacria, but really get that prosciutto bread! Soooooo good!

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Fitzwashere t1_j0yu0ng wrote

Ovenbird in Little Italy is my favorite. I don’t think olive bread is on their regular menu but I feel like I’ve seen it there before on occasion.

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LtThunderpants t1_j0ytnq3 wrote

Can I expand this question to bagels? New to the area, and bagels/pizza are tricky sometimes.

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IThinkThere4ImSad t1_j0yyyug wrote

New Yorker here that moved to Baltimore City about a year ago— best bagels I’ve found thus far are at Goldberg’s on Reisterstown Rd. Easily. I also really liked the rosemary salt bagel at Über Bagels out in Timonium, but don’t know that I would compare it to a NY bagel. I did not enjoy THB.

As far as pizza goes, I personally don’t think you’ll find a cheap slice that’s truly comparable to a NY slice (idk if that’s what you’re looking for, but it’s my area of expertise). A lot of people in this sub mention places like Tutti Gusti, Pasta Mista, and Ribaldi’s in Hampden for the classic “bad but SO good” type pizza. I honestly think the best way to approach pizza here is to embrace artisanal. Arthouse, Birroteca, and Paulie Gee’s have some of the best pizzas I’ve had in the city.

Honorable mentions to Angeli’s and Zella’s.

I would search the sub for this question though, as it’s been answered many a time. Happy eating, my friend. :)

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angryears923 t1_j0yz5j8 wrote

The rosemary bagels from Über are 🔥🔥🔥

Def not a NY bagel though. I agree with you on Goldberg’s

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Greedy-Mushroom4890 t1_j0z1pwz wrote

I'm from New York and I definitely agree about the pizza! I also like Matthew's, Noona's, Joe Squared, etc. Joe Benny's has amazing foccacia as well.

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IThinkThere4ImSad t1_j0z3q9m wrote

I haven’t tried any of the ones you mentioned, but I’ll make it a point to! I’ve heard good things of Matthew’s, although I’ve also heard it’s kind of a Chicago-leaning hybrid pizza that is uniquely its own thing. I’m not a huge fan of a saucy pie (or really a pie that’s unbalanced toward any one ingredient), so I tend to stay away from a deeper dish. Thanks for the recs, friend :)

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Greedy-Mushroom4890 t1_j0z5cue wrote

🙂 It's more like a "sicilian" pizza - so definitely a thicker crust but not a super deep dish (as I don't like that either).

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jabbadarth t1_j0zr3i1 wrote

Matthew's isn't particularly saucy it's just like a pan pizza with a thicker crust. You can get the same pizza at barflys as well. Somehow years ago ownership split up and barflys has the same crust recipe.

It's definitely it's own thing but one of my favorite pizzas in the city.

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TheSchneid t1_j0zja3u wrote

Had noonas for the first time recently and was very impressed with their pizza.

Skip the wings though, they fucking sucked. They were those huge watery hormone filled wings with no flavor. Also they weren't fried nearly hard enough and we're super rubbery. Pizza was great though.

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aduirne t1_j10m6dv wrote

THB is not that good but people here don't know any better so the place is always packed.

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fijimermaidsg t1_j10b7mf wrote

Goldberg's has bialys too, and flagels!! I love the fact that you can see 'em making the bagels. I like the plain ones best - they have that nice shiny crust that comes from boiling the bagels.

Isabella's Brick Oven has a great variety of pizzas + generous with toppings.

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NikkiRocker t1_j10k3dk wrote

Have you tried Johnny Rad’s? Not New York, but good enough for Guy…

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Few-Tangerine-996 t1_j13cs0k wrote

Also a New Yorker who is living in Baltimore now. THB is the closest thing I’ve found but I haven’t travelled outside of downtown/fells/canton area. The Daily Grind in Fells makes a decent bagel sandwich and id recommend their Asiago bagel

Pizza…good. Luck. 😂

99 cent slices in the City are better than anything down here. There are hardly any places that even sell it by the slice. Pasta Mista is decent and likely the closest you can get, but I haven’t found a slice of margherita worth even mentioning.

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sxswnxnw t1_j0zfegs wrote

Imo Rosendorff's challah is the best challah. It's dangerous. Could literally just take a small round loaf and make all meals on Saturdays challah, challah, and challah.

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Aughra72 t1_j12m91s wrote

Co-signing Rosendorff’s! Available is a number of area shops but extra delish when you get it from the little storefront at the main bakery. Also: Bonjour on Falls Rd has the best croissants IMO😋

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Obasan123 t1_j124jh7 wrote

Have to agree on Goldbergs, especially their bagels. It's also a good place to inquire if you have a child who's got allergies. (Or maybe you have them yourself.) Delicious allergy-free sweet treats available on request.

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BrianShupe t1_j0z01xw wrote

The bread at MARTA in XXXXXXXX XXXX Maryland was the best I have ever eaten. They list the bakery in the first line of the menu. Before listing the food. Serious biz….

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FelixandFriends t1_j0zb1hg wrote

I hate to be that guy but MARTA is in Fells Prospect. Kindly ask you put some respect on our name. Just restarted a neighborhood association that has been defunct for a couple years.

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PigtownDesign t1_j0zd0kj wrote

Fells Prospect??? What is that?

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FelixandFriends t1_j11r16j wrote

It’s the neighborhood to the east of Upper fells point, running to the park then south to Boston st.

Our community association restarted recently as we are outside the limit of Upper Fells, Butchers Hill, Canton and Patterson Park. A no mans land.

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essmithsd t1_j14frf5 wrote

Neighborhoods in bmore crack me up. Fuckin things will be 2 blocks square and have their own name

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FelixandFriends t1_j17f50b wrote

Pretty sure it’s a bigger area than both upper fells and butchers hill ftr.

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essmithsd t1_j18rlwl wrote

When you search it, it just shows Upper Fells.

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NikkiRocker t1_j10jprp wrote

OvenBird, hands down. Atwater’s second.

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Apronbootsface t1_j12yohu wrote

If you want to drive just outside the city, The Breadery in Catonsville/Oella has pretty great olive bread. If I recall they only make it on certain days, so double check their website. On Saturdays they make a lemon rosemary sourdough that’s out of this world.

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armourdown t1_j11eacb wrote

Motzi in Charles Village! They source lots of ancient grains and are sooooo delicious & heartening!

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Cold-Yogurtcloset975 t1_j0zv97v wrote

Go to Lidl get the German bread

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LaraineAgain OP t1_j13s67z wrote

Do you mean Stollen? The German Christmas bread? (That’s the one thing I actually make but glad to know I can buy it, too!)

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Cold-Yogurtcloset975 t1_j15ce1b wrote

I know the Lidl on the National Pike and the one in Columbia have fresh baked German stuff .

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Cold-Yogurtcloset975 t1_j15c68a wrote

No they have German sourdough bread farmers bread and German dinner rolls pretzels and do on . It tastes just like from a German bakery. It’s so good . I’m German and I was so glad to see Lidl starting to bake and sell that stuff . You can slice and freeze it. I usually do and take a couple slices Pop them in the microwave or toast them but it’s best when it is fresh . With just butter on it some cheese or cold cuts omg I love it . ( my friends love it too)

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