Best Bakeries in Auckland: Trusted Experts You Can Count On

A good loaf, a warm croissant and a cake worth ordering ahead for are never far away in this city, and the best bakeries in Auckland are the ones baking on site every morning rather than reheating someone else’s work. The businesses below cover naturally fermented sourdough, French pastry, celebration cakes and cabinet food for offices, with shops you can walk into across the central suburbs, the North Shore and the east. Wild Wheat and Daily Bread are two of the names Aucklanders reach for most.

1Wild Wheat

Wild Wheat began wholesaling bread from a small factory in East Tamaki in 1999 and now runs six retail bakeries across Auckland, from Mount Eden and Mount Albert to Howick, Belmont, Birkenhead and Mangere. The bakery specialises in long, slow fermented sourdough built on an apple based starter that has been fed daily for more than twenty years, with no additives or preservatives. It suits anyone who wants a serious loaf, and most of the sourdough range is also suitable for vegans.

Services

• Naturally fermented sourdough loaves
• European style and international breads
• Specialty breads including seeded and grain loaves
• Rustic pastries and savoury items
• Limited time monthly special loaves across all six stores

Highlights

• Baking in Auckland since 1999, with the first retail store opening in Mount Eden in 2004
• Named Best Bread by Metro Magazine for seven years running from 2004 to 2010, upgraded to Best Bakery in 2011
• Best Hot Cross in the North Island in 2004, 2005 and 2010
• Kumara Sourdough won the Primary Industries Cereals and Breads Award at the New Zealand Food Awards in 2012
• First place in the New Zealand category at the Farmers Mill Great New Zealand Bread Bake Off in 2016

Location & Contact

Name: Wild Wheat
Address: 813 Mount Eden Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
Phone: 09 631 7012
Website: wildwheat.co.nz

2Daily Bread

Daily Bread is an Auckland bakery and deli with ten stores across the city, opened after Josh Helm and Tom Hishon of Orphans Kitchen joined forces with master baker Patrick Welzenbach. The bread is high hydration and long fermented, with loaves spending seventy two hours developing before they reach the counter, and the pastry cabinet runs alongside it. It works equally well for a weekend loaf, a pastry with coffee, or an online order delivered to the door.

Services

• Sourdough loaves including white, kibbled rye, caraway, sprouted quinoa and rēwena
• Buttery rustic pastries, doughnuts and mixed pastry boxes
• Deli items and all day food at the store kitchens
• Online ordering with Auckland and nationwide delivery, plus catering and wholesale supply

Highlights

• Founded on a sourdough starter carried through twenty two generations of baking heritage and reckoned at six hundred years old
• First bakery opened in early 2018, now ten locations across Auckland open seven days
• Loaves fermented over seventy two hours, which makes them easier on the stomach
• Organic and spray free New Zealand ingredients used wherever possible
• Britomart store takes banquet table bookings and venue hire enquiries

Location & Contact

Name: Daily Bread
Address: 1210 Great North Road, Point Chevalier, Auckland 1022
Website: dailybread.co.nz

3Amano Bakery

Amano Bakery sits on Tyler Street in Britomart and is the bakery arm of the Amano kitchen, run by Savor Group. Bakers hand shape every loaf daily, and the counter carries sourdoughs, ciabattas and miche alongside pastries, tarts, slices and large seasonal cakes. From late morning the Italian tradition of pizza by the slice comes out of the oven, which makes it a practical stop for lunch as well as bread.

Services

• Handcrafted sourdough, ciabatta and miche loaves
• Pastries, tarts and slices baked fresh daily
• Large seasonal cakes
• Italian style pizza by the slice at lunch
• Online ordering through the Amano Bakery app for iOS and Android

Highlights

• Open seven days a week from 7am to 4pm
• New Zealand butter, flour and fruit used through the range
• Long fermented dough paired with seasonal ingredients on the pizza
• Part of Savor Group, so gift cards and the Savor Goods online shop apply here too

Location & Contact

Name: Amano Bakery
Address: 68 Tyler Street, Auckland CBD
Phone: 09 394 1416
Website: savor.co.nz/amano-bakery

4Vaniyé Patisserie

Vaniyé is a modern French patisserie run by head pastry chef Sonia Haumonte and her husband Laurent, with shops in Parnell and Onehunga. Sonia trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and spent seven years there working in boutique patisseries, Michelin starred restaurants and a palace hotel before bringing that craft back to Auckland. It is the address for a birthday or wedding cake, a box of handmade chocolates, or a croissant worth queueing for.

Services

• Birthday cakes and petits cakes and desserts
• Wedding cakes made to order
• Handmade chocolates, macarons and biscuits
• Croissants, pastries and bread
• Sandwiches, grazing sets and catering

Highlights

• Head chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris with seven years working in French kitchens
• Two Auckland shops, Parnell and Onehunga, with delivery across the city Tuesday to Friday
• Dedicated gluten free and dairy free ranges
• No added colours, flavourings, additives or preservatives, and a stated low added sugar approach
• Runs hands on baking classes and sells baking utensils

Location & Contact

Name: Vaniyé Patisserie
Address: 1/7 Windsor Street, Parnell, Auckland
Phone: 020 479 1283
Website: vaniye.com

5Scratch Bakers

Scratch Bakers works out of a large production kitchen on Graham Street in the Auckland CBD, where a cafe, a corporate catering operation and a wholesale bakery all run under one roof. Everything is made in house, from sourdough and artisan cakes through to pastries and the doughnuts the bakery is known for. It suits anyone ordering morning tea or lunch for an office, and it is a walk in counter for people working in the city.

Services

• Sourdough breads, pastries and doughnuts made in house
• Celebration and artisan cakes
• Corporate catering for morning tea, lunch, canapés and platters
• Wholesale cabinet food and artisan bread supply to cafes

Highlights

• Trading since 2016 and serving customers for more than eight years
• Cafe, caterer and wholesale supplier operating from one central kitchen
• Short lead times, with most catering items able to be ordered a day ahead
• Delivery charges waived on catering orders over $350, with invoice or card payment at checkout

Location & Contact

Name: Scratch Bakers
Address: 5 Graham Street, Auckland CBD 1010
Phone: 09 307 2323
Website: scratchbakers.co.nz

Bakeries in Auckland at a Glance

How to Choose the Right Bakery in Auckland

• Work out what you actually want. A bread specialist, a French patisserie and a catering bakery are three different businesses, and the best one for a wedding cake is rarely the best one for a rye loaf.
• Ask whether the baking happens on site. Bakeries that mix, prove and bake in their own kitchen can tell you exactly what is in the loaf and when it came out of the oven.
• Check the fermentation time if you are buying sourdough. Long, slow fermentation over one to three days is what gives the crumb its flavour and makes the bread easier to digest.
• Confirm the lead time for anything made to order. Celebration and wedding cakes usually need at least two days notice, and catering orders often close the day before.
• Match the location to your routine. Several of these bakeries run multiple stores, so it is worth checking which suburb, and which opening hours, actually fit your week.

Frequently Asked Questions About Auckland Bakeries

What does a sourdough loaf cost in Auckland?

Most artisan loaves in Auckland sit between roughly $8 and $16 depending on the grain and the size. Daily Bread, for example, lists a white loaf at $8, a ciabatta at $8, a caraway loaf at $13 and a sprouted quinoa loaf at $16. Specialty and seeded loaves usually cost more than a plain white sourdough because of the ingredients and the longer process.

How far ahead do I need to order a birthday or wedding cake?

Two days is the usual minimum for a made to order cake. Vaniyé asks for orders to be placed at least forty eight hours before the date needed, with online orders closing at midnight for collection or delivery the day after tomorrow. Wedding cakes and larger custom pieces need considerably more notice, so contact the bakery as early as you can.

Is sourdough actually easier to digest than ordinary bread?

Long fermentation breaks down much of the starch and sugar in the dough before baking. Wild Wheat gives its sourdoughs more than forty eight hours from mixing to finished loaf and notes the resulting glycaemic index sits at around half that of a yeasted bread, and Daily Bread ferments for seventy two hours for the same reason. It is not a substitute for gluten free bread if you have coeliac disease, but many people find it sits better.

Can I get gluten free or vegan baking from an Auckland bakery?

Yes, though it pays to check how it is made. Vaniyé runs dedicated gluten free and dairy free ranges but states plainly that its production facility also handles wheat, so cross contamination is possible. Wild Wheat notes most of its sourdoughs are suitable for vegans. If you are managing coeliac disease or a serious allergy, ask the bakery directly about separation, and read the allergen labelling guidance from the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Do Auckland bakeries deliver?

Several do. Daily Bread ships around Auckland and nationwide, with free local delivery over $120 and free nationwide delivery over $150. Vaniyé delivers across Auckland from Tuesday to Friday between 9am and 3pm, with the fee calculated by delivery zone at checkout. Others are collection only, so check before you order.

Which bakery should I use for an office order?

Scratch Bakers is set up for it, with a corporate catering menu covering morning tea, lunch, platters and evening canapés, short lead times of about a day, and payment by invoice or card. Daily Bread and Vaniyé also offer catering menus, so it is worth comparing the food style as much as the logistics.

What time should I go if I want the full range?

Early. Most Auckland bakeries open at 7am and the popular loaves and pastries are baked for the morning rush, so the range thins out through the afternoon. Wild Wheat stores generally trade 7am to 4pm, Amano Bakery runs 7am to 4pm seven days, and the Daily Bread stores close between 2.30pm and 4pm depending on the site.

Can a bakery supply my cafe or restaurant?

Yes. Wholesale is a significant part of the trade in Auckland. Wild Wheat supplies stockists and eateries across the city, Scratch Bakers supplies baked and fresh cabinet food to cafes throughout central Auckland, and Daily Bread runs a wholesale programme alongside its retail stores. Expect a standing order, an agreed delivery window and a minimum volume.