As a girl who rewards herself with a sweet treat for accomplishing, quite literally, any task; I’m really rather invested (both emotionally and economically) in London’s bakery scene. But with the sheer number of scrumptious spots scattered across the city, it can be pretty difficult to know which of them is the best of the bunch. And that, my friends, is where the annual Bakers’ Dozen list comes in handy.
The Bakers’ Dozen 2026
In case you didn’t already know, each year, British Baker (the leading information source for Britain’s baking industry) asks their community of reliable reading to vote for their favourite artisan bakeries from across the country. What makes a bakery artisan, I hear you ask? Well folks, an artisan bakery is a spot where the baked goods are made by hand by skilled bakers (often using longer and more traditional baking methods and processes). The quality of the ingredients is of the utmost importance – and because of this, artisan bakeries usually only have a handful of sites.
The votes for this year’s list came flooding in, with plenty of people wanting to put their two cents in on the matter. The numbers were then crunched like a loaf of crusty bread to carefully curate the Bakers’ Dozen 2026. London made not one, but two appearances on the list. One of which was at the very top spot, meaning that the capital city is officially home to the best artisan bakery in the country.
The best artisan bakery in Britain
August Bakery on Battersea Rise found itself perched in the number one spot. Run by husband and wife duo, Harry Robins and Florrie Beard; August only officially flung open its (outrageously good looking) doors at the start of last year, making its appearance in the Bakers’ Dozen particularly impressive.
August’s ethos is ‘substance over style’ (although I can confirm first-hand that it offers both in spades), and the bakery serves up simple but oh so scrumptious selection of items, ranging from sweet to savoury and everything in between. Signature items include their sensational sourdough, their wildly popular Kouign Amann, and their delicious ham, cheese, and fennel seed swirl.
The other London locale to feature on this year’s Bakers’ Dozen list was Chatsworth Bakehouse; a small-but-mighty bakery in Crystal Palace. This charming neighbourhood spot landed itself the third position on the list, and it’s certainly not hard to see why.
The Bakers’ Dozen 2026:
- August Bakery, London
- Big Bear Bakery, Glasgow
- Chatsworth Bakehouse, London
- Farro, Bristol
- Gorse, Newquay
- Haxby Bakehouse, York
- Imma the Bakery, Henley-on-Thames
- Lannan, Edinburgh
- Lovingly Artisan, Kendal
- Pettigrew Bakeries, Cardiff
- Northern Rye, Tyneside
- The Bear Bakery, Chester
- The Tiny Bakery, Leicester
You can feast your eyes on the full Bakers’ Dozen list here.