WILD LEAVEN BAKERY, SANTA FE — Restaurant in Santa Fe

Bakery Bliss Discovered!

After years of studying pastry, one of my all time favorites is a rich, creamy filled Viennoiserie. I still fantasize about making it back to Naples for the sfogliatella riccias, as no pastry after has ever lived up to it. Well that has officially changed. I had that same life altering experience today with Wild Leaven Bakery's Vanilla Apricot Pastry with Cardamom Glaze. It's barely sweet, filled with local apricots infused with cardamom and tons of luscious, thick pastry cream. After the first bite, I had to close my eyes and take a moment to be grateful to be alive and that I crossed paths with Wild Leaven. Don't forget to have a cup of Ohori's in you other hand ;). Grounding and baked with deep soul, you cannot go wrong with anything they create. Their breads are a moist, tangy, nutritious meal in a slice. I can't wait bring my mom and try their soups (my other perfect food) and the Berbere spiced savory pastry. I can't say enough about this artisan bakery. Chef's kiss. Thank you so much for coming to Santa Fe...

Wild Leaven packs a diverse spread of baked goods into a small space: challah, sourdough, German rye/sourdough mashups, viennoiserie… and a drinks menu to boot!

I left with the molasses fennel sourdough rye (a fusion of sourdough and that dense German rye cube bread I love so much) and a ham and cheese croissant.

The croissant lamination was on point! Puts Dolina down the street to shame. The ham in this croissant was a hefty rectangular prism of ham (rolled a la pain au chocolat), which was different and good, but I personally still favor a rolled slice :). Melted cheese crisps on the edge were delicious, but I found myself wishing more had stayed inside. All that said, it’s a fantastic croissant, and I will definitely order it again!

The sourdough rye had a lovely maltiness to it and was delicious on its own (so many layers of flavors!) as well as a lovely vessel for avocado.

I loved Wild Leaven and can’t wait...

Absolutely fantastic baked goods. I don't personally care for sourdough, but their breads are so good that that doesn't matter. The density and flavor is incredible. The morning buns are my absolute favorite but you have to get there super early if you want one. It's artisanal baking so I understand if they run out of things occasionally but they do seem to have a problem keeping up with demand. The other thing I ding them for is that service can be excruciatingly slow. But since Ohori's (also at this location) is the best coffee in town, it's a combo that's hard to beat. They have gluten-free options like a buckwheat quinoa bread and their croissants are the currently the best in town. Just be aware that they are closed Monday...