best bakeries in the bay area, octoberfeast
pretzel croissant, Octoberfeast, Berkeley, CA
I’d never really understood why people love croissants until I had one in France. And, hailing from Pennsylvania Dutch Country as I do, I have always had a reverence for well-made doughnuts and pretzels, and my bar is set high in terms of quality. While I haven’t found a doughnut quite as good as the best I’ve had back home, I may just have found the pretzel, and it’s by Berkeley’s Octoberfeast Bakery. When I saw their stall at the Stonestown Farmer’s Market one Sunday morning, the animal part of my brain was triggered and I made a bee-line for their wares.
Now just imagine, bringing the pretzel and the croissant together . . . the sum is amazingly more than the sum of its parts and this, dear reader, you will discover at Octoberfeast. Just go. Just get it. A pretzel croissant. It’s incredible.
But while they had me at pretzel croissant, and the pretzels, they have another item I want to tell you about, the RECTOR BUN. I had never heard of these, not even on my trips to Germany. They’re pastries that consist of a tightly rolled dough, dense and chewy like a sticky bun, firm on the outside and containing soft, flakey layers on the inside. The top is glazed and sprinkled with turbinado sugar. It’s a gorgeous and delicious thing, and very unique.
Octoberfeast a bakery out of Berkeley that retails in San Francisco at Rainbow Grocery and on Sunday mornings, at the Stonestown Farmer’s Market until 1pm.
1954 University Ave
(between Bonita Ave & Milvia St)
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 207-2320
