A Local's Guide to

The Best Sourdough Bread in San Francisco

The Ferry Building

Started in 1983 by a busboy at Berkeley’s legendary Chez Panisse as a side gig, Acme Bakery now supplies many of the Bay Area’s top restaurants via their fleet of bio-diesel delivery trucks. The company has become synonymous with San Francisco sourdough. Besides the oblong French-style bâtards, round breads, and full loaves, it's their sourdough baguette, with its deliciously oven-caramelized crust and tart lively flavor, that’s really in a league of its own. Pick one up from their stand in the Ferry Building Marketplace; it’s the perfect munchable while exploring the waterfront or taking a boat ride across the bay. 

Dine At Acme

736 Divisadero Street

Sourcing whole grains from local organic farms, freshly milling them on site, and craft-fermenting the dough before popping it all in the oven, Josey Baker has single-handedly raised the bar on San Francisco sourdough. Baker, originally from New York, does an oven-charred crust Dark Mountain Rye sourdough so packed with sunflower, pumpkin, and flax seeds that you could live off it alone. For something on the lighter side, try the “Wonder Bread," a soft and sandwich-friendly whole-grain sourdough that even kids will devour. The Mill, Baker’s cafe and outlet, is right down the street from the famous Painted Ladies of San Francisco and also offers highly-sought after sourdough breadmaking workshops.

Dine At The Mill

1331 Ninth Avenue

Arizmendi is a worker-owned bakery co-operative that is off the radar to many visitors, even though it is just blocks from Golden Gate Park. This Inner Sunset bakery takes San Francisco sourdough bread to new heights with a different special loaf baked fresh every day. From fennel-fig sourdough on Fridays to cherry-chocolate sourdough on Sundays, locals know that some of the best sourdough bread in San Francisco is baked at Arizmendi. Adventurous foodies should try the gochujang sourdough loaf on Tuesdays. This “umami” rich creation is pungent and spicy yet still packs some serious tang. It goes well with a variety of meats, cheeses, and spreads for the perfect afternoon picnic in the park.

Dine At Arizmendi

3249 24th Street

Run out of a part time kitchen rental at a traditional Mexican bakery in the Mission District, Sour Flour’s renown for producing some of best sourdough bread in San Francico comes down to the most basic ingredient: the starter. At the heart of Sour Flour’s magic is their own proprietary bacterial culture, named “Dulce”. This imbues their classic San Francisco sourdough bread loaves, sourdough pretzels, and sourdough bagels with a uniquely complex tangy flavor and a light, airy texture.  You can find Sour Flour all over the city at local cafes and delis, but stop by La Victoria Panaderia for the freshest picks. They serve up free bagels on Mondays. Sour Flour also offers sourdough making and baking workshops regularly.

Dine At Sour Flour

728 Vallejo Street

The organic sourdough ace Pagnotta Italian country bread with rosemary and Italian black cured olives is precisely what it sounds like: a mouthful of goodness. It’s also just the tip of the iceberg at award-winning local chef Tony Gemignani’s new bakery, which also does a sour cherry and dark chocolate stuffed sourdough loaf on the weekends that lines up the locals. Toscano Brothers mill their own grains, including an heirloom spelt that once was a staple of ancient Rome, and serve steaming cups of joe from legendary Caffe Trieste, located just a block away. It’s a welcome addition to San Francisco’s North Beach, which was once home to dozens of small Italian bakeries. Don't miss it!

Dine At Toscano Brothers

1160 Howard Street

San Francisco’s premier Black-owned bakery is also one of the city’s most creative sourdough experimentation labs. Juicy sweet blueberries are baked right into the chewy tart sourdough of the Blueberry Bomb Loaf while the Masala Loaf, co-created with a local Indian chef, bursts with the flavors of curry leaves and serrano peppers. Rize Up has a large bakery facility in SoMa, but it is not open to the public; their wares are sold in local grocery stores. Your best bet for freshly baked sourdough offerings from Rize Up is to hit up a farmer’s market; they have a stand at Ferry Building Marketplace farmer’s market (Tuesday and Saturday) and the North Beach farmer’s market (Friday).

Dine At Rize Up

1881 Geary Boulevard

After successfully opening three different neighborhood cafes in the city, Amanda Michael opened Jane the Bakery to supply herself with high-quality baked goods. The Fillmore bakery is now a hotspot for those looking for everything from a sandwich made with freshly baked sourdough bread to a full round loaf of Jane’s Classic Sourdough. With large airy pockets in the inside and a dense, chewy, oven-toasted crust, it’s easily some of the best sourdough bread in San Francisco. Michael now has seven outposts around the city, including a cafe inside SFMOMA. Jane the Bakery is located near the intersection of Japantown, Pacific Heights and the Fillmore Jazz District, making it an easy visit during a day of urban exploration.

Dine At Jane

500 Florida Street

The team behind Panorama claim to be bread lovers on the most “visceral level”. This is not an overstatement. They have produced some of the best sourdough in San Francisco since they opened their doors back in 1993. Their seeded sourdough boule has the perfect mix of crunchy and chewy crust while the inside is divinely moist and airy. All their sourdough breads have a complex, tangy palate that will light up any table. Panorama does not have a retail outlet; their breads are served at many of the city’s top restaurants, including the Beach Chalet in Golden Gate Park and Coqueta at the Ferry Building Marketplace. Insider tip: You can also nab an oven-fresh loaf at their stand at the Alemany farmer’s market every Saturday morning.

Dine At Panorama

What’s the best time of day to buy fresh sourdough in San Francisco?

In general, bread is baked fresh overnight or in the early morning; so, the earlier you get your hands on it, the better. San Francisco sourdough has a longer shelf life than most baked breads, however. Some people like the way it tastes when it’s a couple of days old and the crust has become harder, more tough, and more chewy.

Why is San Francisco sourdough special?

San Francisco sourdough bread is special not just because of the history behind it but because of the unique bacteria in the starter. Scientists have even given an official name, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, to the specific micro-organism used in true San Francisco sourdough bread. Because the fermentation process also relies on airborne bacteria, the special climate of San Francisco—especially the moist fog—is also thought to contribute to the one-of-a-kind flavor and texture of sourdough from the City by the Bay.

Can I bring San Francisco sourdough through airport security or on a plane?

You can safely pack all the sourdough bread you want into your checked luggage and fly anywhere in the world. Since sourdough bread makes for great in-flight snacking, you might also want to bring some on board with you too. TSA might run it through the scanner, especially if it’s a batard or round, just to make sure something isn’t baked into and hidden inside it; but in general you should be fine. 

Are there gluten-free sourdough options in San Francisco?

Yes, several of the bakeries mentioned, including Jane the Bakery, Arizmendi, and even Boudin keep gluten-free versions of their sourdough. Arise Bakery, based out of Humboldt County in Northern California, specializes in gluten-free sourdough bread. You can find their wares frozen in supermarkets and neighborhood health food stores across San Francisco and the Bay Area.

While San Francisco sourdough tends to steal the spotlight—and for good reason—the City by the Bay is actually a bread lover’s paradise for many different delectable reasons. North Beach, the city’s postcard-perfect Little Italy, still holds several authentic Old World-style bakeries. You must try the focaccia at Liguria Bakery. Made-from-scratch croissants and hand-crafted genuine French baguettes can be found at Le Marais Bakery and Arsicault, while fans of Eastern European dark rye breads will need to check out Cinderella Russian Bakery in the Richmond.

A branch of the Boudin Bakery is located within the San Francisco Airport (Terminal A), making it easy to grab a last-minute loaf of San Francisco sourdough bread for friends and family on your way home!

Besides the sourdough bread-making classes and workshops mentioned here, San Francisco is also home to schools where you can take long or short-term baking courses. The San Francisco Baking Institute offers 3-5 day intensives in baking, plus a multi-level series that focuses on artisan sourdough. The Civic Kitchen, located in the Mission District, allows you to take niche cooking classes, including sourdough making, from some of the city most-loved local chefs.

Sourdough bread goes way back to Ancient Egypt, where it was probably discovered accidentally through a process of “wild fermentation”. It later became a staple of the ancient Romans, especially for the army, because the fermentation allows the bread to keep for days, or even weeks, without going bad. It is this very same quality that made sourdough bread popular among the miners of the famous San Francisco Gold Rush.

While the sourdough “mother” culture starters were brought to San Francisco by Europeans, notably by French and Belgian immigrants, the city’s unique climate and the special needs of the miners contributed to the creation of an entirely new form of sourdough bread. Since then, sourdough has been omnipresent in the history of the city. Since the 1960s, localvore chefs and health food aficionados have intensified interest and experimentation with sourdough’s unique properties and flavors. Now, along with Dungeness crab and the Mission-style burrito, sourdough bread is one of San Francisco’s gastronomical icons.