La Sonorense Tortilla Factory on South Central stretches the giant tortillas de agua that define Sonoran cooking, sold warm by the dozen in South Phoenix.
Tip: Buy a stack of the big flour tortillas warm; they are the base for a proper Sonoran burro.
Address: 5403 S Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85040
Noble Bread on North 24th Street is the Valley's reference sourdough bakery, ferments organic loaves over 36 hours and supplies the city's better restaurants.
Tip: The attached Noble Eatery serves wood-fired sandwiches on the same bread; loaves sell out by midday.
Worth the queue: 36-hour naturally leavened country loaf
Tammie Coe Cakes & MJ Bread on Roosevelt Street pairs hand-decorated cakes with award-winning MJ Bread loaves, a downtown bakery and coffee bar since 2005.
Tip: The Roosevelt Row room has a full coffee bar; pre-order whole cakes for weekends.
Worth the queue: Hand-decorated cakes and MJ Bread loaves
La Purisima Bakery on Indian School Road is a family-run panaderia, racking conchas, marranitos and pan dulce that Phoenix families buy by the tray.
Tip: Grab a tray and tongs at the door; closed Mondays, and the morning batch is the freshest.
Worth the queue: Conchas and marranitos
Barb's Bakery on North 24th Street is a long-running neighbourhood bakery, turning out cakes, donuts, cupcakes and cookies from a small storefront.
Tip: Closed Sundays and it sells out early; the donuts are the morning order.
Worth the queue: Old-school cakes and donuts
Proof Bread on Main Street in Mesa bakes naturally leavened sourdough and croissants with locally grown and milled flours, the East Valley's destination loaf.
Order: A croissant and a sourdough loaf milled from local grain.
Tip: The Mesa flagship is the bake-on-site room; weekends draw a line for croissants.
Worth the queue: Naturally leavened sourdough and croissants
