Emeryville, Oakland Bakeries On Bay Area's Best New Bakeries List

BERKELEY, CA — You don't have to venture far to try some great new bakeries. The East Bay Times selected two Oakland bakeries among the Bay Area’s 10 best new bakeries along with one in Emeryville.

Bake Sum and Crumble & Whisk both earned accolades in Oakland, with Simurgh in Emeryville also gaining a mention.

Hatice Yildiz’s Simurgh Bakery & Cafe opened late last year. "A daughter of Istanbul restaurateurs who took an interesting journey to baking – she got a PhD in religious studies in Berkeley – Yildiz makes simit that’s crackling outside, soft and stretchy inside and kissed with the smoke of the oven." said the EBT. "Order it with lox and cream cheese or, more traditionally, with tahini and grape molasses."

Simurgh is at 4125 San Pablo Ave. in Emeryville. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Bake Sum's owner has an intriguing backstory. "As a kid, Joyce Tang loved to eat at bakeries in Oakland’s Chinatown," the EBT said. "'When I got older, I didn’t really feel like I saw anyone iterating those types of flavors at the patisseries I’d visit around the Bay Area,' she says. Her solution: Quit a Facebook job, land an internship at a three-star Michelin restaurant in Spain, then come back and start her own bakery specializing in memories from her childhood."

Offerings include lilikoi mochi bites and an okonomiyaki danish with garlic oil-roasted mushrooms, Kewpie mayo and furikake.

Bake Sum is at 3249 Grand Ave. in Oakland. The hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday. 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

At Crumble & Whisk, there's another winsome history behind the bakery. "Charles Farrier’s somewhat random entry into the bakery world came when a coworker asked if he could contribute to a potluck dinner," he told the EBT. "I was like, Sure. I brought a cheesecake. Everyone loved it."

A baker was born. Soon Farrier was going through cookbooks and experimenting with recipes, eventually selling them at farmers markets.

Crumble & Whisk is at 4104 MacArthur Blvd. The hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday.

The East Bay appeared prominently on the list of best new bakeries, scoring seven of the 10 slots. The others are in Fremont, Hayward, Emeryville, Danville, and Walnut Creek.