Best of Boston

2002 Best Bread Bakery

Hi-Rise Bread Co.

Bread may be the staff of life or just the stuff of a good sandwich. Either way, it’s best when kept simple, hearty, and wholesome. Hi-Rise scores on all three counts, churning out intensely flavorful whites, wheats, and sourdoughs with many ingredients from New England farms. It’s brain food to the Cambridge academic cognoscenti, who rise early and often to score a steaming loaf from the oven and keep this out-of-the-way bakery crowded and cheerful into the evening. And if you can’t live on bread alone, Hi-Rise also serves delectable sandwiches and pastries.

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