SF Bay Area - Hot Cross Buns to try - San Francisco Bay Area

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SF Bay Area - Hot Cross Buns to try

By rworange

San Francisco Bay Area

Descriptions of hot cross buns from other posters.

1. Beckmann's Old World Bakery
104 Bronson St # 6, Santa Cruz, CA

Sold at various farmers markets
2. Boniere Bakery
3249 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA

Traditional, but had a yellow (lemon, I think) cross, not a white one
3. Cake Box Bakery
3527 Wilkinson Ln, Lafayette, CA

Not bad. Lots of candied fruit, which isn't everyone's thing, but I liked it. Gooey top = good.
4. Copenhagen Bakery & Cafe
1216 Burlingame Avenue, Burlingame, CA 94010
5. Costeaux French Bakery Cafe
417 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA 95448
6. Delanghe Patisserie
1890 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA

White icing cross, lots of citron fruit and seems to be made with a high proportion of dark flour (rye, whole wheat?). The bun was very moist, almost chewy in texture, with a heft to it. It was similar to panettone but moister.
7. Della Fattoria
141 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952

Also at the Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Kind of crunchy crust, white frosting and raisins only for the fruit. Tasted good, though. Don't think it is really what you are looking for. Error above. I was told there was some other fruit. Not much , none in my half of the bun
8. Dianda's Italian American Co
De Anza Blvd, San Mateo, CA, USA

Also in SF. It was similar to panettone but moister. It contained raisins & candied fruit with a custard cross. The top of the custard was dried out.
9. Downtown Bakery & Creamery
308 Center St, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Also at Saturday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Fresh and excellent. White icing (not custard), an orange tinge to a pretty yeasty dough Not bad. Like the orange zest focus, but would prefer less icing (grew up with a pastry cream cross on top)” For me, all my preferred elements. Icing, moist but not overly wet/yeasty, distinct fruit parts $1.25. The bun had a spongy texture and a good amount of icing, but a bit too much candied fruit. The roll itself was sweet without offering as much flavor as Destination's version. $1.35 marked down by 50% at the end of the day. It's been years since I've had one from anywhere. This seemed to have a denser crumb and less sponginess. White icing cross. No candied fruit but a good lashing of orange zest and many tiny currants. I would have liked it to be a bit sweeter to have more flavor impact, as it's not that satisfying as is.
10. Draeger's Supermarket
222 E 4th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

It's the closest to what I grew up with. Fluffy, some candied fruit, light glaze, with a custard cross.
11. Feel Good Bakery
1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

Only sold at the bakery and not the farmers markets. Liked it a lot. White icing cross. Lots of full flavored fruit. As one would expect from Feel Good, substantial and bread-y. Not as chewy as their breads and those awesome breadsticks, but definitely chewier than the airy dinner roll texture of many. Feel Good last night ($2.75). It's made from some kind of non-white flour and had very little fruit -- just a couple of specks of raisin. The orange-flavored glaze over the top was augmented by a faint icing cross (brushed rather than piped). It was surprisingly tasty -- given the lack of fruit -- but not what you're looking for
12. Fiorini
248 W Napa St, Sonoma, CA
13. Flour Creations
459 Portal St, Cotati, CA

Avaliable at the Santa Rosa farmers market there are mixed opinions $1.50 Nice bit of lemon flavor, and not too many raisins. I wasn't too keen on this example, too dry, and reeking of cardamom. It did have the icing cross.
14. Gayle's Bakery & Rosticceria
504 Bay Ave, Capitola, CA 95010

Yeah, it is just outside the Bay Area, but I want to keep it in my personal radar
15. Il Fornaio
1265 Battery St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Various locations
16. June Taylor Baking Co
2207 4th St, Berkeley, CA 94710

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on Saturday
17. Ladyfingers Bakery
150 Santa Clara Ave, Oakland, CA
18. Mayfield Bakery & Cafe
855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301

(2009) Mayfield Bakery's hot cross bun was great. I'm disappointed I only bought one. It was moist, slightly sweet, with candied orange and a white icing cross. Nicely spiced, too.
19. Nabolom Bakery
2708 Russell St, Berkeley, CA 94705

Remember enjoying it, though it was a little sweet for my taste. The buns are made from the same recipe as their holiday stollen with a mouth-watering meyer lemon icing.
20. Noe Valley Bakery & Bread Co
4073 24th St, San Francisco, CA

$2.50, was more like a roll studded with candied fruit. I did not enjoy the thick, bready texture. The icing cross was yellow and was depressed into the roll. I had a couple of bites and tossed the rest. They were selling hot cross buns, but they had a squat, deflated look and an icky yellow cross. Because of my rough experience with the Noe Valley bun, I wasn't willing to tempt fate.
21. Palo Alto Baking Company
381 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA

I tried Palo Alto Baking Company today and was very disappointed. Extremely dry with a lemon (I think -- didn't make me think pineapple) jelly-style cross on top. Ugh.
22. The Cakery
1308 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA

Soft, sweet with some spices, good balance of raisins and citron. Nice and soft (but still bready) with good spice, raisins, and a great not to sweet cross. The cross was made out of more of a custard (like a filling for a danish) but a thicker one, and it was excellent. Am almost reluctant to mention them, lest they run out before I can get my weekly dose. Husband usually hates hot cross buns but really likes these. Towards the end of the season, I have to buy a batch to save in the freezer for those moments of yearning after the holiday.
23. Twofish Baking Co
35590 Verdant View, The Sea Ranch, CA

I may have found my perfect hot cross bun there. Moist and good yeasted dough flavor, raisins tasted like they had been soaked in brandy, perfect little sugar zip from the cross.
24. West Portal Bakery
170 W Portal Ave, San Francisco, CA
25. Whole Foods Market
1765 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA

Various locations