I’m not sure what it is about bakeries and Bend but our high desert town is hands down one of the best places to live or visit for lovers of hand-crafted pastries.
There must be something in the water but new and innovative bakeries seem to be popping up every 6-months and somehow they keep pushing the envelope with what can be created with a little flour, salt, yeast, butter, and sugar.
As a bakery connoisseur myself let’s take a little trip around town to sample some of the best offerings from bakeries in Bend, Oregon.
Sparrow Bakery
Sparrow is, was, and feels like it always will be, the most popular bakery in Central Oregon if not all of Oregon.
Their delectable Ocean Roll is right up there with Jacobson’s Sea Salt, Boneyard’s RPM IPA, and Juanita’s Tortilla Chips as some of the best and most well-known made-in-Oregon foods.
While the Ocean Roll may take center stage and be first on everyone’s list while they wait in long summer lines at Sparrows NWX location there are plenty of other reasons to visit this amazing bakery in Bend.
Some of our favorites at Sparrow include:
- The bacon breakfast sandwich (seriously get this!)
- Their irresistible delicious hoagie rolls
- Their cute theme-of-the-week sugar cookies
- Any chocolate or berry tart they have available in the cold case
- The brioche hamburger buns
Sparrow recently added a pickup window right next to their main location so that should help to cut down on the lines during their busy summer months. Or you can just do what we do and head over on a snowy Wednesday morning to get your fix without having to fight the crowds!
Cafe Des Chutes
Cafe Des Chutes took over the old Eastside Sparrow location and added their own twists to products formally served in this popular location.
This delightfully charming bakery and coffee shop serves up offerings from their kitchen as well as foods from other local makers and growers around Central Oregon.
A quickly rising star on their bakery menu is the Oregon Roll. The Oregon roll is a croissant dough roll filled with marionberry jam and topped with hazelnut butter. I’m not sure any singular food item better captures these uniquely Oregon flavors better than this!
While the bakery itself may be small inside there is plenty of seating outside with sunshades to help keep you cool even on the warmest summer days.
The Pantry
What do you get if you cross a neighborhood mercantile with a wine shop with a bakery with a coffee shop? The Pantry on Bend’s West side is the answer.
This ever-evolving space offers up goods and spices in bulk, delicious breakfast burritos, coffee drinks, and some of the best pastries you’ll find at any Bend bakery.
The pantry filled a real hole in the Bend bakery scene when Foxtail shutdown by bringing back some of their most popular items like the handcrafted poptart and difficult to master but incredible once you do Koign-Amann (or salty queen for you Foxtail fans).
The Pantry is a weekend treat for us when we want to mix up our normal breakfast routine. They have several staples but occasionally go a little wild with their offerings so it’s always a good idea to check out their Facebook or Instagram page to see what they have in store.
Nancy P’s Bakery
Sparrow may be the bakery that you take your friends who are visiting from out of town but Nancy P’s is where we go when we want to be able to relax and enjoy the morning. There is something about sitting in Nancy P’s by the stained glass windows with a hot mug of coffee and a hot pastry that just feels right.
Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for Nancy!) we aren’t the only ones who feel this way and grabbing a table on the weekends isn’t always in the cards. For a quick weekday respite I would argue there is no better place in town.
Try the savory pockets or seasonal fruit bars (or one of each!). You won’t be sorry with either.
Village Baker
The Village Baker has been a Bend mainstay for fresh-made bread for over 25 years now. It may not get the press of some of the other bakeries in town but it has become our favorite spot to grab a sandwich and a fresh loaf of bread in all of Bend.
The bakery is probably best known for their Black Butte Porter sourdough bread and we can vouch that it is to die for!
The Village Baker also offers up cookies, breakfast pastries, soups, and coffee.
Blissful Spoon
If you’ve spent any time visiting the downtown Farmer’s Market in Bend then you’ve probably seen Blissful Spoon’s impressive display of baked goods.
This local bakery focuses on using fresh, local ingredients to make their beautiful pastries.
Best of all is you now don’t have to wait for the farmers market to grab one!
Their downtown storefront has been open for a year or two and is open to grab both pastries or brunch from their kitchen. Their brunch menu includes a number of vegan dishes so it can be a great option for vegan or vegetarian diners looking for a compatible brunch option.
Curmuffins
Cufmuffins is the one Bend bakery on this list that doesn’t have an open to the public storefront…yet!
But there breads are so so so good that we just have to include them. My favorite is their brioche which makes THE BEST french toast out of any bread I have tried in town. Sisters Bakery’s multigrain comes in second – FYI.
We are french toast connoisseurs in this house so when we say that a bread makes some of the best french toast we’ve ever had then that is about as high of praise as we can give.
We are also a huge fan of their rustic french loaf as it is the perfect size, flavor, and texture to go with a hearty soup.
Best Bakery in Sisters
I’ve been a little lenient in past posts about including places on my lists that aren’t technically in Bend. There are so many great bakery options in Bend that I couldn’t bump any of them yet it would be criminal to not make room for Sisters Bakery!
Sisters Bakery
If you’ve ever driven west (or east) on Highway 20 through Sisters during the morning you have probably seen the line outside of Sisters Bakery. Rain or shine, smoke or not, patrons line up each and every morning for a chance to grab some of the best doughnuts, bread, and pastries in the area.
Almost any time we head in that direction to hike Proxy Falls or Sahalie Falls we will make a stop at Sisters Bakery to grab a treat or two for after the hike.
Our absolute favorites are the apple fritter (they are gigantic!), the ham and cheese croissant, or the seasonal apple muffins.
Sisters Bakery bread (both sourdough and multigrain) is also a staple in our house although those loaves can be found in grocery stores all over town.
