Best Bakeries in Milwaukee

It makes sense that a city known for beer would have some great bakeries. After all, the brewing process and the bread-baking process share a crucial common ingredient: yeast. While the smell of hops and yeast from the Miller beer factory is one of Milwaukee’s stronger odors, the smell of fresh bread and pastries also wafts across town. Milwaukee has many excellent bakeries, each with its own specialties, and these four are often recognized as the best in the city.

1.  Peter Sciortino’s Bakery
1101 E. Brady Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-272-4623
Accessible from MCTS Bus Routes 15, 10, and 14

I once had a late-night job that afforded me the opportunity to walk home along Brady Street at 3:00am. As I approached Humboldt Avenue and saw the mosaic tile of grains and breads, the smell of baking from Peter Sciortino’s Bakery greeted me. Promising myself that I would eventually try their baked goods, I recently sampled both their long-loaf bread and their cannoli. If you think you’ve already experienced Milwaukee’s best Italian pastry somewhere else, stop into Peter Sciortino’s and try a cannoli filled with a light vanilla-ricotta mix for yourself. Also notable are the tiramisu, Italian cookies, and eclairs. And you know the place is totally authentic when the three proprietors’ names are Giuseppe, Maria, and Luigi (no joke)! If you don’t live anywhere near the East Side of Milwaukee, then at least look for the bakery’s booth at Summerfest.

2.  Lopez Bakery
1100 West Mitchell Street
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-672-1830
Accessible from MCTS Bus Routes 54 and 19