Best of Boston

2001 Best Bread Bakery

Hi-Rise Bread Co.

There’s some damn fine bread in this town, but we’re throwing down the gauntlet and calling it for Hi-Rise. Why? Shelf after shelf of simple but flawlessly executed loaves: chewy sourdough, rich stone-ground cornbread, sweet and yeasty brioches, and hearty raisin-pecan. Holidays bring special orders of exemplary stollen and challah. House baker Rene Becker is a self-proclaimed fanatic about ingredients and techniques, and it shows. He’s the Leonardo da Vinci of carbohydrates.

208 Concord Ave., Cambridge, 617-876-8766, hi-risebread.com/