Best of Boston

2012 Best Bakery, North

A & J King Bakery

Husband-and-wife team Andy and Jackie King have built their business around the art of crafting thick, crusty loaves brimming with ingredients like olives, walnuts, and apricot fennel and baked fresh each morning while most of us are still drooling on our pillow. Naturally, they try to source ingredients from nearby farms, meaning their sweeter offerings change with the seasons—you wouldn’t trust anything in March featuring strawberries, would you?

48 Central St., Salem, 978-744-4881, ajkingbakery.com