Zingerman's Bakehouse

When the owners of Zingerman's Deli grew frustrated with the quality of the bread they were buying and decided they could do better themselves, Zingerman's Bakehouse was born. It began in 1992 with eight employees, now has 130 on the payroll, baking everything from bagels to wedding cakes 363 days a year. Their goods are still sold at the deli, but there's also a retail store open seven days a week. These days, their best-selling breads include rustic Italian, Jewish rye, sourdough and pecan raisin, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are nearly two dozen other types available on a regular basis, as well as seasonal favorites and unusual varieties--green-olive paesano bread, Boston brown bread and roasted-garlic Italian--that are rolled out on special weekends. If you have a sweet tooth, the Bakehouse's array of cookies, pastries, brownies, muffins, coffeecakes, pies, cupcakes and scones will have your head swimming. And that doesn't even cover the cakes, which have names like '07 Heaven (it has seven layers) and Hunka Burnin' Love Chocolate. If you'd rather be baking then buying, Zingerman's has you covered there, too. Classes are held almost daily to teach you the fine art of making pastry, pies, croissants, cookies--even pizza. (Weekend and weeklong classes are called "bake-cations.")