Please note: Restaurant hours, locations, and menus are subject change, so please visit the restaurant website or call in advance of visiting.

For those who have not seen Les Misérables yet, we don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say that a loaf of bread is crucial to the entire story.

Is there bread in Denver worth risking it all for? Maybe just bread getting up early for or waiting in line for or trying again when they’ve sold out on your first visit?

Try these Denver area bakeries to find out what’s worth your effort:

Photo courtesy of Bakery Four

BAKERY FOUR

Often called “the best bakery in Denver” by those willing to stand in line for a croissant is the Bakery Four at 4150 Tennyson St., also in the Highlands area. They describe themselves as an “artisan leavened bread and pastry” bakery and for those in the know about flour, they use Cairnspring Mills and Camas Country flour. Cairnspring Mills is based in Washington and boasts of craft flours; Camas Country in Oregon claims to have brought back grain milling and they have artisan and whole grain flours. If you just want to window shop, go to Bakery Four’s Instagram where they post mouth-watering baked goods, including classic country loaves, cruffins, and more.

Photo courtesy of Reunion Bread

REUNION BREAD

Reunion Bread is in The Source at 3350 Brighton Blvd. in the RiNo neighborhood and you can order ahead for takeout or delivery. You might find a perfect baguette — that soft crunch on the outside and mellow on the inside — or something more exotic like the cranberry walnut sourdough. Don’t take my word for it: the owner/baker, Ismael de Sousa, was named as a semifinalist for a James Beard Award in 2023. It’s like an international pastry bakery here with treats from Venezuela, Portugal, France and more countries. You can also get a quick bread, a vegan banana bread, here.

REBEL BREAD

Photo courtesy of Rebel Bread

If you can get there before 10am, when they typically start running low on fresh-baked goods, Rebel Bread at 675 S. Broadway is worth it. What’s different about this bakery is that it’s also a school for home bakers of all levels. Their website lists where their bread is sold if you want to find it in your own neighborhood grocery store or coffee shop, or which farmers’ markets they will be at seasonally, and also a chance to sign up for a weekly bread club where you can customize your box for delivery. Is it the only local bakery with a podcast? Maybe. There’s a big variety of bread here: artisanal sourdough such as street corn or seeded sourdough, chocolate or olive ciabatta, honey whole wheat, classic baguette, and pastries of all kinds.

Photo courtesy of Wave the Grain

WAVE THE GRAIN

Wave the Grain is all about being gluten free, but not tasting like it. This is also the rare bakery that sells sliced bread and their menu provides other allergen information such as being corn free, dairy free, and more. Beyond the bread, there are other allergen-safe pastries and baked goods too. Wave the Grain has two locations: 8172 S. Holly St., Centennial and 8996 W. Bowles Ave., Unit T1, Littleton.

Whether you are gluten-free, need a good sandwich bread, or just want to try delicious pastry, start your tour of Denver’s top bread bakeries today.