The Best Bakeries in Nashville

Dozen Bakery started as a holiday cookie pop-up shop at the end of 2009. After gaining a strong customer following, word of the shop spread, news of its offerings made the press, and it is now a thriving bakery and café. Dozen’s philosophy focuses on three key beliefs: quality ingredients, an educational approach to the baking process, and an appreciation for being among great company in the baking community.

The menu at Dozen Bakery consists of pastries like scones, muffins, cookies, and croissants, as well as brunch and lunch menus made up of soup, salad, and sandwich options. In addition to the in-house baked goods and food, the bakery attends farmers’ markets between May and October.

Located at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, The Sweet Stash is a bakery owned by Whitney and Vaughn May. When she was a teenager, Whitney started developing recipes, and in 2008, she and Vaughn turned her passion for baking into a business. Everything at The Sweet Stash is baked fresh daily, with a focus on creativity and precision. Each cupcake is handcrafted, and each truffle is hand-dipped fresh when you order.

The Sweet Stash can also mix up pies, cookies, bread, and cakes. The menu changes daily to feature seasonal flavors, but a few remain every day. In addition to the classic baked goods offered, this bakery also creates desserts for weddings and other events.

For a bakery experience with international flair, there’s the Czech bakery, Yeast Nashville. The main attraction at the bakery is a food called kolache, which is a yeast-based dough made with fruit, poppy seed, or cheese filling. The bakery’s specialty is the Czech-Slovak variation, but there is also a Danish version similar to brioche bread. Other menu items include sausage breakfast muffins, bread pudding, coffee, tea, and egg scrambles.

Since 2004, Sweet 16th Bakery has been one of East Nashville’s favorite places to find freshly baked goods. From scones, muffins, and brownies to cookies, coffee cakes, and cupcakes, the bakery makes everything from scratch. Sweets are offered daily, as well as a small vegetarian menu full of savory items like quiche, soup, and lasagna. The bakery serves locally roasted Drew’s Brews Coffee, as well as various hot teas and soft drinks.

For almost 10 years, boutique bakery Dulce Desserts has been making cakes and sweets for Nashvillians in the Vanderbilt University area. The bakery takes an artisanal approach, making all desserts from scratch with high-quality ingredients. Cakes feature four layers, complete with three layers of filling, and customers can mix and match cakes and fillings.

Cake flavors offered include chocolate, banana, coconut, marble, lemon, spice, and almond. Choose from filling flavors like white chocolate, peanut butter, raspberry, Nutella®, lemon curd, or Italian cherry.

Apple spice cake | © Mark Bonica / Flickr

Named for their five daughters, Isaac and Stephanie Meek are the owners of Five Daughters Bakery. Isaac is a third-generation business owner and baker whose great-grandfather owned a cake shop. The unique creation that Five Daughters Bakery is known for is the cronut. A cross between a croissant and a donut, it takes up to three days to make. After it’s cooked, it is rolled in sugar, filled with cream, and topped with glaze. With the owners committed to using locally sourced ingredients, their menu items are free of chemical preservatives, GMO, soy, artificial colors, and hydrogenated oils.

The bakery’s staple flavors are maple glaze, vanilla cream, chocolate sea salt, maple-bacon, and vanilla sugar.