Berks Connect
Restaurants

The Best Bakeries in Berks County and Reading PA

A grouped guide to the best bakeries in Berks County and Reading, PA, from pretzel bakeries to panaderias to custom cake shops.

Berks Connect Blog|Published September 1, 2026
Image for The Best Bakeries in Berks County and Reading PA

Ask where to find a bakery in Reading, PA and the useful answer depends on what you walked out of the house for: a hard pretzel, a shoofly pie, a tray of conchas, a cake for Saturday, or a pastry to eat with coffee. Berks County has a strong answer in every one of those, spread across pretzel bakeries on back roads, panaderias downtown, farm-market bake stands and storefronts that have been selling rolls to sandwich shops for decades. Here are the ones we would send you to, grouped by what you want and not ranked.

How to choose a Berks County bakery by what you are after.

Sort by the thing you want and the county gets a lot smaller:

  • A hard pretzel: factory stores and pretzel bakeries that sell by the tin, the bag and the pound.
  • A fastnacht, a shoofly pie, a whoopie pie: Pennsylvania Dutch counters and farm-market bake stands.
  • Rolls, pizza shells, Italian bread: the bakeries that supply the sandwich shops.
  • Conchas, bolillos, tres leches, flan: the panaderias, most of them in the city.
  • A pastry and a coffee: the bakery cafes.
  • A cake for Saturday: shops that will work from your bad drawing.

How we picked: we read the review text on Berks bakeries, panaderias, pretzel shops and market bake stands in our listings, and leaned on the places where reviewers named a specific thing that came out of an oven. Three shops we added to the directory the same week we wrote this have no review text yet, so they appear on nothing but what their own site and their market's merchant roster say. This is not a ranking, and nobody bought a spot on it.

More bakery listings across the county live at our Berks County bakeries page. The rest of this post is the shortlist.

Why Reading was called the pretzel capital of the world.

A 1948 article in the Historical Review of Berks County, republished by the Berks History Center, reports flatly that "Reading produces one-third of all the pretzels baked in the United States," and calls the city the pretzel capital of the world.

That was 1948, and we are not telling you it is the number today. What is still here is the habit, and the counters where you can buy into it.

Tom Sturgis Pretzels, the hard pretzel store on Lancaster Pike.

Start here if what you want is a hard pretzel and you want options. The Lancaster Pike store carries tins and gift boxes, and reviewers point out that you can taste every pretzel they make before you commit to any of them.

The Crunchzels are the thin, extremely crunchy ones, and one reviewer calls the dark chocolate version the best pretzel they have ever enjoyed. Another pulled in after an hour of riding and left with dark chocolate peanut butter pretzels.

The Little Ones have their own following. Reviewers also send people to the cinnamon sugar ones, and one flagged the discounted experimental batches, jalapeno and sesame among them.

Uncle Henry's Pretzel Bakery, hand-twisted pretzels out on Bowmansville Road.

This one is a working pretzel bakery on a rural road, and the making is part of the visit. One reviewer describes watching the pretzels get twisted and baked by hand, the old way; another calls it an impressive operation for a building that small.

The Extra Dark Sourdough is the one to try first. Reviewers describe the snap you want out of a hard pretzel, and one adds a smoky finish that hangs around after the last bite.

There are lower-sodium and oat versions for people who want the crunch without the salt hit, and bags of broken pieces that reviewers treat as the value buy, including chocolate-covered ones. One reviewer was met at the door by the shop cat and counted that as reason enough.

Unique Snacks, chocolate-covered and flavored pretzels on East Bellevue Avenue.

This one is the flavor stop. Reviewers name the sourdough craft beer pretzel and the dark chocolate covered splits, the kind of thing one reviewer's wife sampled once and then sent him back for a box of twenty.

Like the others, they hand out samples, so you can work through the shells, the extra dark and the multigrain before you decide. Reviewers who ship gifts mention the tins and baskets, including team-themed ones, and the fact that a person picks up the phone.

Dutch-Maid Bakery, fastnachts and custom cakes at a Temple address.

If the thing you want is a fastnacht, this is the counter. Reviewers call these the best fastnachts in Berks, moist, with no bitter finish, and they are not shy about saying so.

The rest of the case earns its keep. Reviewers name the lepp cookies, the big cinnamon donut topped with cherry and whipped icing, and the peanut butter bear claw, which is the sort of thing a chain will never make for you.

The cake side is a business of its own. One reviewer's wedding cake came out beautiful and delicious; another's Jerry Garcia birthday cake had people talking about it two years later. Bring cash, go in the morning, and check the hours before you drive out.

The same brand runs a stall at the Fairgrounds Farmers Market block on North Fifth Street Highway, Dutch-Maid Bakery, where one reviewer's favorite is the peanut butter pie and another names the bear claws, crumb buns and vanilla twists.

Kirbyville Farm Market, shoofly pie and donuts at a Fleetwood address.

Kirbyville is a farm market with produce, a deli and an ice cream counter, but the bakery case is why it is on this list. Reviewers name the shoofly pie, and one puts the strawberry rhubarb right alongside it.

One reviewer calls the donuts the best ever, which is a big swing for a market case. Reviewers also mention the local specialties, the made-to-order hot food and sandwiches, and the Amish sausages they stop for on the way through.

Bring the kids. There is a playground and an outdoor seating area; one reviewer went out back to look at the goats and the llamas, and another found a flower garden you can cut from yourself. It is one of several Berks bake stands worth a detour if you are already out at the farm markets.

ATV Bakery, Italian rolls and pizza shells on South Third Street.

ATV is a roll bakery, and the rolls are the entire point. Reviewers reach for the hard rolls, slightly crisp outside and chewy in the middle, and the soft ones that go under a meatball parm.

The pizza shells come home ready to top, and one reviewer points out that you can buy the dough itself and bake your own bread. Another took the raisin bread home and turned it into bread pudding and French toast.

It is a small lobby with an order window, and it smells the way a bakery is supposed to smell. Bring cash, because they do not take cards, and expect the parking on that block to take a minute.

Lagatta Bakery, croissants and pepperoni rolls at a Hamburg address.

Hamburg is far enough north that going for a pastry counts as a trip, and Lagatta is the reason to make it. One reviewer calls the chocolate croissant the best they have ever eaten; another describes fresh butter, dark chocolate and a shell toasted exactly right.

The savory case is not an afterthought. Reviewers name the pepperoni rolls, thick with pepperoni and cheese, and one puts the pesto spinach stromboli next to perfection.

Everything is made fresh on site every day, according to reviewers, and it goes. Get there early in the day for the fullest case.

La Fidelita Mexican Bakery Bake Shop, conchas and churros on North 12th Street.

If what you want is a tray of pan dulce and a couple of bolillos, this is the stop. One reviewer loves getting the bolillos and says they taste right out of the oven and hold up after, and reviewers name the conchas too.

Reviewers also single out the churros, and one calls them the best they have tried. Tamales turn up on the counter too, and one reviewer's fiancee takes him there for them all the time.

The room is small and it is loaded, wall to wall, with breads and pastries and the cakes they decorate. Parking on North 12th is street parking, so give yourself the extra minute.

Josefinas Bakery, Dominican pastries and last-minute cakes on Penn Street.

Josefinas answers a specific emergency: you need a cake today. Reviewers describe walking in with a gender-reveal envelope or a rough idea and driving away twenty minutes later with a personalized cake on the passenger seat.

One reviewer's tres leches was the best cake they had ever had, and another names the upside-down pineapple. The rest of the case runs Dominican: arepas, quipes, pastelitos, empanadas and flan.

It sits on the 900 block of Penn Street, walkable from most of downtown Reading. There is more of this cooking in our guide to Puerto Rican and Dominican food in Reading.

Fabulous Cake Factory, Puerto Rican pastries and custom cakes on Muhlenberg Street.

The name says cake, and the cakes are there, but the sandwiches and the coffee get named too. One reviewer calls the coffee the best they have had in a long time, which is not a small thing to say out loud in a county full of coffee counters.

The mortadella with egg and Swiss arrives on bread one reviewer described as light and fluffy but still crisp. The pastry case is Puerto Rican, right down to the rice pudding one reviewer swears by.

For custom work, one reviewer's Naruto cake came back the best they had seen anyone do. Reviewers describe being greeted at the door and made to feel like family.

Dosie Dough, the bakery case and breakfast counter on Penn Avenue.

Dosie Dough fits more into a small room than seems structurally reasonable. One reviewer's inventory of the place runs baked goods, bagels, breads, cakes, fancy nuts, pastries, fudge, prepared sandwiches and soup, and that is one visit.

The raspberry thumbprint cookies are the item reviewers come specifically for and say so. One reviewer described an impulse buy as a cross between a sticky bun and a coffee cake.

Breakfast pulls its own weight here: the indexed menu lists bagels, breakfast sandwiches and wraps, donut trays and mini whoopie pies, and reviewers order the bacon, egg and cheese on an egg bagel. We covered its coffee side in our Berks County coffee shop guide, so this entry sticks to the oven.

Winnie Mochi Donut, mochi donuts and Korean corn dogs at a West Reading address.

A mochi donut is a ring of joined dough balls with a chew closer to a rice cake than to a cruller, and Winnie makes them on Penn Avenue. Reviewers describe them as pleasantly sweet, with a texture they call perfect and a freshness they notice.

The creme brulee is the flavor reviewers name, melting in the mouth. Reviewers also come for the Korean corn dogs, particularly the hot Cheetos mozzarella version, which delivers exactly what the name promises.

The drinks list runs to boba, Korean coffee and lemonade, and reviewers keep ordering the classic lemonade and calling it fresh and refreshing. Inside there is a mini claw machine, which is a reasonable use of floor space in a donut shop.

The Cottage Bakery & Cafe, breakfast, donuts and cakes at a Kutztown address.

The Cottage is a bakery with a griddle attached, and both halves pull their weight. Reviewers name the lemon donut and its rich lemon flavor as the thing to order first.

The brisket, egg and cheese comes fried crisp, as a sandwich or a wrap, and the indexed menu keeps going: scratch-made pancakes, French toast in a long list of versions, omelets with smoked brisket or pork roll, chicken salad wraps and a Monte Cristo.

The cake side takes short notice seriously. Reviewers describe last-minute birthday cakes that came out right, including a Black Forest one. If you are working through the county's morning options, it also turns up in our Berks County breakfast guide.

Slicers Deli, tomato pie and fresh rolls off Old Swede Road.

Slicers is a tomato pie address first and a deli second. One reviewer calls the tomato pie the best they have ever had, and one family has made it the standing order for every family event.

The rolls get named by kind: sesame, poppy and plain dinner rolls, which one reviewer rates the most excellent they have had. Another tells people to order the week before the Super Bowl to be sure of getting any.

The sandwiches ride on that bread, and one reviewer's order is the ovengold turkey hoagie. The hours are short and specific, so check them before you drive out.

Dice's Creative Cakes, custom occasion cakes at a Boyertown address.

Bring your bad drawing. One reviewer describes handing over a rough sketch and getting back a cake that looked like the idea and tasted better than the idea deserved.

The raspberry swirl is the flavor reviewers name, in cake and in pound cake form. One reviewer's chocolate cake was made with coffee and frosted with peanut butter icing, which is the kind of combination you only get from a shop small enough to say yes.

Short notice is workable: one reviewer who called the week of a birthday got what they asked for. Prices come up in reviews as affordable.

The Reading Eagle Readers' Choice bakery vote.

The county votes on its bakeries. The Reading Eagle Readers' Choice ballot carries a Bakery category, and it dates its voting August 16 to August 31, 2026, with results on Sunday, October 11, 2026.

One more name worth knowing: Lallys Cakes And Sweets, Lallys Cakes And Sweets, takes custom orders, and Shillington Farmers Market's own vendor page lists it, which is the place to catch it in person.

More Berks bakeries to look at.

  • Plum Creek Farm Market & Creamery on Bernville Road: a farm market with a bakery case, where one reviewer names the soft pretzel, large and fresh.
  • Lil's Bakery, a bake stand inside the PA Dutch Farmers Market of Wyomissing, where one reviewer calls the raisin bread the best they have ever had.
  • Anita's Biscotti Café & Bakery on Shillington Road: biscotti in more flavors than are easy to choose between, and a covered patio.
  • Malizzi Cakes & Pastries on Old Swede Road: cupcakes and buttercream reviewers rate at the top, plus themed custom work.
  • Ady Cakes on Penn Avenue: French macarons, cake pops and cookie-decorating classes.
  • Bruno's Bakery at Renninger's on Noble Street: Italian cookies, cannoli, eclairs, fruit tarts and Italian rum cake, and they take corporate and event orders.
  • Way-Har Farm Market further out Bernville Road: a country store with a bakery counter, chocolate and a big selection.
  • Ada’Dominican Desserts on Walnut Street: Dominican cakes that one reviewer says stay soft for days.
  • El Encanto Bakery on Oley Street: one reviewer calls the pastel tres leches light, airy, moist and creamy all at once.
  • Aunt Nannie's Bakeshop in Bechtelsville: its own site says classic Pennsylvania Dutch desserts along with cakes, cookies and more, baked fresh daily from family recipes, with custom orders by phone.
  • Sunnyside Pastries and Stoltzfus Pretzels, two more stands on the Fairgrounds Farmers Market merchant roster on North Fifth Street Highway.

Berks County bakery questions people ask.

What is a fastnacht, and where do you get one in Berks County?

A fastnacht is a fried doughnut, usually potato-dough, traditionally made and eaten on Shrove Tuesday before Lent. In Berks they show up at Pennsylvania Dutch counters in the days around it, and reviewers name Dutch-Maid Bakery's as the ones to beat. Go early in the day, and bring cash.

Which Berks County bakeries make Pennsylvania Dutch pies like shoofly?

Kirbyville Farm Market for the shoofly pie and the strawberry rhubarb, per reviewers. Lil's Bakery inside the PA Dutch Farmers Market of Wyomissing lists shoofly pies, lemon sponge, coconut custard and whoopie pies on its stand menu. Aunt Nannie's Bake Shop on Route 100 says on its own site that it makes classic Pennsylvania Dutch desserts, baked fresh daily.

Where can you buy fresh rolls and Italian bread in Reading?

ATV Bakery on South Third Street is the downtown one for hard rolls, soft rolls, pizza shells and dough by the piece. Slicers Deli off Old Swede Road covers the eastern end of the county for dinner rolls and tomato pie. Lagatta Bakery up in Hamburg handles the croissant and pepperoni roll end of the same idea.

Which Reading bakeries are panaderias?

La Fidelita on North 12th Street is the Mexican one, for pan dulce, conchas, bolillos and churros. Josefinas on Penn Street runs Dominican, from tres leches to flan. Fabulous Cake Factory on Muhlenberg Street is Puerto Rican, and does sandwiches and coffee alongside the pastry case.

Can you order a custom cake in Berks County on short notice?

Often, yes, though it depends on the week and the design. Reviewers describe same-day cakes at Josefinas Bakery, week-of orders filled at Dice's Creative Cakes and last-minute birthday cakes at The Cottage Bakery & Cafe. Call the shop rather than assuming.

Sources.