Breads, Cakes, and Pastries in Charleston: Where to Find the Best

With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s time to bring more pastries, cakes, and breads into your life (and, really, when is it not time for all those wonderful items?). There are some amazing bakeshops to be found all over the Lowcountry landscape — some make seductive sticky buns, while others use heritage grains to bring boules to lust-worthy status. Here are our picks for stocking up on crispy carbohydrates, fanciful cakes, fruity pies, buttery croissants, and chocolatey cookies. Go ahead, let yourself indulge in an extra dessert (or five) this week.

Note: Map points are not listed by rank

Newcomer Root Baking Company is gaining acclaim for its use of heritage Southern grains in hearth breads. The Johns Island-based company sells baguettes, epis, Jimmy Red Corn bread, ryes, and many other varieties of carbs to the Veggie Bin, local restaurants, and the Farmers’ Market.

After studying at the Ecole Française de Boulangerie et de Patisserie d’Aurillac in France, Mike Ray opened Normandy Farms Bakery in Charleston in 1999. Find pastries, croissants, and breads at the long-standing institution.

Every sort of cake, pie, or tart can be found at Luckhaus & Brubaker. The pastry chef duo Robyn Luckhaus and Larry Brubaker specialize in whimsical cakes made to look like anything you can come up with. If you desire a baked good in the shape of an octopus, baseball player, or Elmo, they’ve got what you need.

Tucked-away shop Baguette Magic creates breads and croissants using traditional French methods. Baker Mathieu Richard’s baguettes are often touted as the best in the Lowcountry.

Chef Danetra Richardson puts out stunning wedding cakes, intriguing macaron flavors, delectable cupcakes, and decadent, fudgy, Nutella caramel brownies at her company Swank Desserts. Currently, she receives orders online, but hopes to one day have a storefront — which will make it even easier for you to get your hands on those brownies.

Sugar Bakeshop is a magical place full of cupcakes, tarts, cookies, and pie. It is perhaps the only establishment in Charleston selling the legendary Southern Lady Baltimore cakes. Not only are the treats a joy, but the petite storefront is impeccably styled with dreamy details and vintage flair.

Parisian-style bakery Macaroon Boutique (two Os) sells macarons (one O) and other indulgent creations full of butter and everything good, like salted chocolate cookies, or savory croissants. Visitors to the downtown shop readily sing the praises of pastry chef Fabrice Rizzo’s delightful delicacies and the wonderful scents that waft from the John Street shop.

Even if you’ve never set foot in Wildflour Pastry, you’ve probably sampled baker Lauren Mitterer’s work around town. She supplies many of the local coffee shops with delectable breakfast treats, like blueberry muffins and banana chocolate chip bread. Wildflour’s Sticky Bun Sundays create lines down Spring Street for the once-a-week treat.

Brown’s Court head baker David Schnell and his team not only supply breads to many of the top restaurants in town, but they also put out an array of sweets, pastries, and addictive croissants (Sriracha croissant, anyone?) for customers.

You may know EVO makes great pizza, but you may not know that they create craft breads and pastries at the bakery around the back of the restaurant. Go for danishes, baguettes, boules, and more.