Where to find good bread in TO.

[banjoman2375]

In general, I am extremely happy that I chose to live in Toronto as opposed to Montreal, but the one thing that Toronto seems to be lacking in to me is Bakeries. In Montreal there is GREAT bread on just about every street corner, but I haven't come across much for bread in TO.

Suggestions?

I will be buying a lot of bread this year, as opposed to last, and I want to find a good place...

p.s. I live at Bay and Bloor.

[lchow4983]

Stonemill Bakery carries a good selection of breads, pastries, etc, Located St. Lawrence Market (south bldg.), in the lower level. Better arrive before noon, as their baked goods get sold quickly after 1:00 in the afternoon.

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St. Lawrence Market
92 Front St E, Toronto, ON M5E, CA

[balthazar]

Yep. There's also a Future Bakery on the top level of St. Lawrence Market.

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St. Lawrence Market
92 Front St E, Toronto, ON M5E, CA

[balthazar]

If you drive, there are some terrific French bakery/patisseries in the Mt. Pleasant/Bayview/Eglinton area (e.g. Jules, Thobor, Rahier, Cigogne).

I second the suggestion by ylsf about Premiere Moisson breads, carried by most Metro stores. They are good. Some supermarkets carry Ace bakery breads too (I've found them at some Loblaws or ValuMarts). Not sure what the ValuMart in Bloor Manulife has by way of bread selection...

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Rahier
1586 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G, CA

Cigogne
1626 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON M4G, CA

Thobors
627 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[Splendid Wine Snob]

Balthazar has it on the money here with the top French Boulangeries/Patisseries in town. Thobor makes an amazing sesame seed baguette and his pain au figues is incredible.

I love Harbord Bakery's challah, but Grodzinski's on Bathurst is pretty darn amazing too.

I always loved Thuet's sourdough. Its the best in town for sure.

I find St John's too expensive in the quality to price ratio, I was never a fan of My Market in Kensington, and Cobb's breads taste like chemical to me.

SWS

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Thuet
609 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1M5, CA

Harbord Bakery
115 Harbord St, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

Thobors
627 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4S, CA

[SweetPeazzz]

Not ALL the bread @ Cobb's is crappy, AND their price point is pretty darn good too! I've gone to their Kensington Market spot later on in the day, only to find out that alot of their goods being sold out. Unlike some other places where I seen 7 bucks for a regular loaf of bread, and NO this bakery wasn't mad, they were located out in Rosedale! Whole Foods used to make to-die-for bread, but recently their quality of baked goods seems to have slipped (but that's just my opinion). Where is this bread everyone keeps mentioning they buy @ Metro? I regularly shop @ the Metro @ College Park, and I've yet to have seen it at all! PS The bread back @ Metro and Loblaws in-store is CRAP! Don't even THINK of buying this over-priced garbage, it's just junky bread like Wonder Bread (YUCK!) is...

[estufarian]

Chiming in here, as I also think that the best value is Moisson. In most Metro's it's at the end of a bread 'stand' and has its own bags, which is similarly coloured to the Compliments house brand (which is not in the same league).
And Moisson seems to be the only brand that includes nut breads (not fruit & nut) - for that alone I'd support them.

[balthazar]

Good call, estufarian. Those Moisson breads are great value and quality and what I look for in Metro (those or Ace bakery breads in ValueMart or Loblaws) when I can't get to the French patisseries. My favourite Premiere Moission breads are the sourdough walnut (so good), olive ciabiatta and the hazelnut raisin. I've been able to find them at the Metro on Front St & Church, and at Bayview & Eglinton on a regular basis. If you get there later in the day (e.g. around dinner hour), however, a lot of the loaves are usually already sold out.

I was so happy a few weeks ago when I wandered into the Loblaws at Don Mills & Eglinton, and found out they carry an amazing challah bread from Open Window health bread bakery. Fluffy, eggy, lightly sweet deliciousness. Open Window has its own locations (I never get to these):

http://www.owbakery.com/index.htm

There's also this past CW on where to find egg bread:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/574327

[Herb]

Harbord Bakery

St. John's Bakery (sold all over)

My Market Bakery in Kensington

Future Bakery on Bloor

Ace Bakery (sold everywhere)

or just go to Pusateri's or Whole Foods and pay double.

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My Market Bakery
184 Baldwin St, Toronto, ON M5T, CA

Harbord Bakery
115 Harbord St, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[ylsf]

Petite Thuet is one option (although a little pricey at times).

http://www.petitethuet.com/

Another is that most Metro stores sell Premiere Moisson. They also sell some of their bread pre-sliced at Costco.

Another bakery around your area is Le Pain Quotidien... again on the pricey side.

http://www.lepainquotidien.ca/

I like the stuff they have at Cobb's for a regular daily bread.

http://www.cobsbread.com/home/

They have several locations

[Piggy Smalls]

le pain quotidien and cobbs are my 2 picks.

LPQ is at yonge/bloor slightly north of yonge - the baguettes are amazing.