The Best Sourdough In SF

There’s no bread as synonymous with San Francisco as sourdough. The city is known for its beloved fermented loaves, from old-school bread bowls at Boudin to the iconic country loaves coming out of the ovens at Tartine Bakery . While there are tons of bakeries around town doing solid renditions, only the crustiest, tangiest boules made this guide.

THE SPOTS

Tartine Bakery

At this point, even your cousin’s cousin who knows a guy has heard about Tartine. It’s nearly impossible to talk about bread without bringing up the Mission bakery, which has been churning out the spongiest, crustiest loaves in the city since 2002. Yes, this place does open-faced tartines and sourdough pizzas at their manufactory spin-off, but there’s nothing like keeping it simple with a freshly baked loaf. Bring one to nearby Dolores Park and do your best impression of a ravenous coyote while you tear in.

Jane The Bakery

Jane has locations across town, including a constantly packed cafe on Fillmore, a smaller outpost in the Tenderloin, and a dessert shop in the Richmond . Their main production facility on Geary, though, is where serious bread-heads should go. It’s a to-go operation, with trays of just-out-of-the-oven pastries and cookies. Swing by for the classic sourdough, which is sharp and deliciously chewy, or for a more unconventional version like the chocolate hazelnut.

Day Moon

This Sunset spot is a haven for all things baked. The sourdough baguette, which is wrapped in a brown paper bag and often still warm, is the overachieving class valedictorian. The insides are squishy and fragrant, and slicing into one elicits an audible crackle and an avalanche of crumbs. They’re also available in sandwich form, with rotating fillings like roasted broccolini or white bean hummus.

Outerlands

Outerlands in the Sunset is typically a brunch destination for dutch pancakes, face-sized sticky buns, and egg plates. Those in the know (that includes anyone reading this guide) also come here for their sourdough sandwich loaves, which you can order to-go until they sell out. They’re a tang-palooza and baked until dark brown for an extra snappy crust. Snag one on the way out as a favor to your future self.

The Mill

The sourdough at The Mill (by Josey Baker Bread) is whole grain, so there’s a subtle, nutty taste to each loaf. And while the bread is excellent in toasted inch-thick form, we’re also fans of ripping off hunks straight out of the bag. The toasts here are topped with avocado, cinnamon sugar, and gooey eggs, and on multiple occasions, we’ve seen people demolish their crisped-up slice in seconds, hop back in line, and purchase a loaf from the shelf to-go. And by people, we mean us.

Thorough Bread and Pastry

There are a lot of difficult choices to make at Thorough Bread. Always beckoning you from behind the display case are slices of cheesecake, chocolate-drizzled cream puffs, and of course loaves of the country sourdough. The latter, you must get. Each boule at this French-style bakery-cafe in the Castro has built-in ridges on the outside that almost require ear plugs when you make a slice. While it may be difficult, resist the urge to sprint home to have your first piece and consider spending a quiet moment on the back patio with a café au lait and blueberry scone.

Arizmendi Bakery

This worker-owned bakery incorporates sourdough into a lot of their menu items, from the daily-changing vegetarian pizzas to the whole loaves, breadsticks, and chocolate croissants. They also have the occasional special, like a gochujang sourdough loaf dotted with sesame seeds and scallions. The Sunset spot (with another location in the Mission) is a self-serve situation. Head in, fill a bag, and eat it from the comfort of your home—or more realistically, on the sidewalk, because you probably can’t wait until then.

Vive La Tarte

Once famed for their taco-croissant fusion pastry, aptly named, “The Tacro,” (which you can still order) Vive La Tarte’s less cross-bred creations are why you should visit this Noe Valley bakery and cafe, especially their loaves of sourdough. They have a milder zing than others on this list, but the light and chewy texture makes it easy to tear this loaf apart by hand and eat it by the fistful.

Acme Bread Company

Opened in 1983, Acme Bread Co. has had years to perfect their sourdough and it shows. Expect a thin crackly crust and a just-sour-enough airy interior—and that applies to every shape and form served at this Ferry Building bakery from rounds, loaves, batards, baguettes (the baguettes are especially sour, almost acidic). Our favorite thing to do with these cultured carbs is to carve into them as soon as we get home and stuff them with our preferred sandwich fixings. If you’re lacking the patience, some of the food trucks at the Saturday Ferry Building Farmers Market use Acme sourdough for sandwiches.

Rize Up

Rize Up started as an at-home bakery and you can now find their bread at countless farmers markets, restaurants, and grocery stores throughout the Bay. Their sourdough loaves are plump and satisfyingly round, with an exterior that’s crusty without tearing up the roof of your mouth. They also go beyond a plain loaf—when you’re in the mood for a sweet-leaning ube or going savory with jalapeño, bacon chunks, and cheddar, you’ll find it here.