Washington, DC’s newest “bread speakeasy” is an adorable, novel concept that we can’t get enough of! This hidden, 100-square-foot micro-bakery near Union Market sells some of the best bread in Washington, DC.
If, that is, you can find it.
To get to Bread Alley DC, visitors must walk down an unassuming, graffitied alley with insufficient signage and ring an unmarked doorbell to get access to a tiny cubby that sells a variety of live and leavened bread in intriguing flavors like Black Sesame Harrissa Sourdough (our favorite, and many peoples’ favorite!), cranberry walnut sourdough, and olive tapenade sourdough, among others.
They also make gorgeous braided challah that is only available on Fridays.
The undeveloped location between 4th and 5th street was born of a desire to serve classic boules in an exceedingly novel way.
The baguettes, meanwhile, are the same ones served at iconic DC restaurant Le Diplomate, which is beloved for its bread among many other things. The small team of six wakes up at 3:30 AM each day to bake and stock the shelves and the restaurant. As a result, the place smells amazing!
The bakery nods to the speakeasies of the Prohibition Era in that finding it is actually hard! This is perhaps the best part of all. You really have to trust the process as you wander the nearby streets in search of boutique bread; it’s like a scavenger hunt for carbs.
The first time I went here, I got so lost that I had to ask a barista at the neighborhood coffee shop if I was headed in the right direction.
He smiled warmly and said, “You’re close. I’m jealous that you get to go here for the first time.” I underestimated the extent to which securing specialty food could be this fun, which made our eventual arrival at the bakery that much more rewarding. It’s whimsical, cheeky, and refined. We love it!
And once you get your bread, what about butter? Bread Alley DC also sells accouterments like grass-fed butter from New Zealand, old-fashioned Maine-made preserves, gourmet jam, gingerdoodle cookies, housemade Kouign-amann, and cultured seaweed butter—among other fine pastries, which are highly curated and sold in limited quantity each day.
Ultimately, if you love a crunchy boule, this DC bread bakery is for you. It’s a whole experience, and that’s part of the charm. The bakery sells out almost every day, even despite most people not being able to find the place on the first pass. I’m very into it.
The next time you’re in DC, check it out! Just be sure to ring the doorbell when you arrive– they’ll let you in quickly. (And no, you don’t need a password.)
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Related: The 9 Best Birthday Cake Bakeries in Washington, DC.
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