10 Best Bakeries in San Leandro

“Shopping at Monterey Market just before closing on Thusday, I found that there was a new kind of bread in town. Always excited to try goods from a new bakery, I picked up a loaf, tucked it under my arm, and ducked and dived along a socially distant path to the checkout. Actually it was almost the only loaf of bread left in the entire store, so I feel double-blessed to have found it. The Loaf: spelt walnut, weighing in at an impressive 910 grams and costing $7.69 at Monterey Market – bear in mind that it’s almost three times the weight of a 12 oz Semifreddies loaf. The Bakery: As Kneaded Bakery (AKB) in San Leandro, recently picked by Sunset magazine as one of the 23 best bakeries in the West and recently listed as one of the top 100 bakeries in America by Food & Wine magazine. I’ve started to gravitate towards walnut bread and have found a few that are very good – most notably the sourdough levain with walnuts from Fournée Bakery. I got a sense from the nicely designed paper bag that the As Kneaded loaf was also going to be good. It was. It had a nice crust that was, for lack of a more accurate word, crusty, but not too charred or tough. It had a good texture inside too – plenty of holes but it held together after being loaded with avocado and tomato. I think my liking for the bread crept up on me because I had it for breakfast (one slice with avocado and tomato, the other with banana and salt) and then for lunch decided to have the exact same thing! Lockdown life, eh? By the way, try the banana and salt combo – it’s really good on a hearty bread like this one and it may sound pedestrian but the salt makes all the difference. One banana, one avocado, one small heirloom tomato + 4 slices of spelt walnut = two of my meals covered. Along with the regular rating, I think that the As Kneaded deserves 4/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, based on these factors: • AKB is a woman-owned business and also wants to support other woman-owned businesses • Providing good bread to the residents of San Leandro, where good bakeries were scarce before AKB came along • Their main flour is not organic but most of the other flours (whole spelt, whole wheat, rye) are organic • My loaf was made with local walnuts. Could do with a bit more info on sourcing in general • AKB recently ran a fundraiser for The East Oakland Collective to support racial and economic equality • Their bags are made from post-consumer recycled paper and printed with water-based inks. • Most of their breads are vegan and most of the rest of their menu is vegetarian.“

“Pineapple Bun with Butter is a MUST try here! I have been searching for pineapple bun with butter in Bay Area for years! Either can’t find it in bakery or the quality is terrible. But this one, you definitely should come and wouldn’t regret. As a person spent 8 years live in Hong Kong, I am very picky on this tastes of pineapple bun and milk tea. Pineapple should be crispy for the outside and milk tea should have more Ceylon tea smell. This bakery makes those correctly! What makes this Bakery a bonus is they have dim sum. Especially if you live around this area, order bakeries and dim sum will make your day. Highly recommended for this Pineapple Bun with butter and milk tea.“

“Love the food and drinks. Like the caramel machiato, it's strong on caffeine and just sweet enough. It's perfect, at least for me.
The cakes are good. the chocolate mousse cake is like dark chocolate, so if you are not into that, dont get it. Just try everything it's good in its own way.

Kid-friendliness: Like any place, kids are welcome, and there are seats , but make sure your kids know how to behave or respect the place .“

“Baby Bean Pie LLC creates such a rich, unique tasting bean pie and their customer service is excellent. Highly recommended ✨“

“Too delicious... my cami loves them !!“

“This place is so good!! I ordered a custom strawberries and cream cake for my 10-year anniversary and gave some very vague requests for fresh fruit and flowers and they really came through for me. It’s so gorgeous AND delicious. So much lighter than most cakes and not overly sweet. Super easy process to order and pick it up.“

“I love them and have for decades!“

“Tasty cookies that pair well with hot tea or coffee. They are a little sweet, so it's good to have them with a hot beverage. Had the almond cookies from a friend's aunt who bought them for us from the West Coast, to the East Coast.“

“Dennis, the owner, is awesome. Great selection of bakery pastries like scones, cinnamon rolls, etc. He also has freshly baked French bread and dinner rolls. I personally go there for some coffee and a breakfast croissant, along with some French bread for dinner. Prices are way more affordable than the lee’s next door. Glad to give small business owners like Dennis my business.“

“A small place. If you don't mind eating with a lot of people around your table, you'll like the food. It's good... and the sweet bread is very delicious, although I haven't eaten them all, the ones I ate seemed delicious to me.“