While D.C. has become known as something of a cupcake town in recent years, there’s no shortage of bakeries in this city where you can get other delicious pastries or the perfectly baked loaf of bread. Below, the 12 best places to do just that, according to DCist writers.

Photo by Mr. T in D.C.

THE HAPPY TART: Celiacs and others looking to avoid gluten are blessed to have The Happy Tart in the Del Ray section of Alexandria. The Happy Tart’s pastries are the best gluten free ones I’ve come across. They come from owner and head baker Emma Cech who entered culinary school with the dream of opening a French patisserie. Upon discovering she was gluten intolerant, she spent a year modifying and testing recipes to make them gluten free. She’s got cookies and cupcakes. But I was blown away by the flakiness of an apple turnover. Puff pastry is finicky even when you’re not trying to make it gluten free. I’ve never come across a gluten free bakery (and I’ve been to many) that bother with puff pastry and Cech is doing a great job with it right in our backyard. There’s a bread schedule with something different for each day of the week. There’s not a speck of gluten in the place, so no worries about cross contamination, and there are dairy and soy free options as well. —Josh Novikoff

The Happy Tart is located at 2307A Mt. Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, Va.

STICKY FINGERS: OK, OK, I know we’ve previously talked about Sticky Fingers in our Best Vegetarian Restaurants list and Best Vegan Restaurants list, but I’m giving it one more shout out, because it is one hell of a bakery. Of course, their claim to fame is their vegan cupcakes, which range from classic flavors (Red Velvet, Cookies ‘n Cream, Chocolate, Vanilla, Peanut Butter) to more creative, seasonal options (a Root Beer Float and Sweet Potato Pie flavor are two recent favorites.) The Columbia Heights spot also bakes up some other delicious vegan treats, including cookies, brownies, and delicious donuts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Best part? They’re all made in-house, daily. — Matt Cohen

Sticky Fingers is located at 1370 Park Road NW.

LYON BAKERY: Have you ever had a sandwich with a multi grain bun at Sticky Fingers and thought, “This is the greatest bread I’ve ever had”? You have Lyon Bakery to thank for that. If you’re not lucky enough to stumble upon one of the many restaurants in the city that uses the bread, they also have a stand at Union Market that’s open Tuesday through Sunday. —Sarah Anne Hughes

Lyon Bakery bread is sold at a variety of locations.

Photo by Josh Novikoff.

LE CAPRICE: The croissants are so airy you half expect them to start floating up from the retail level store to the apartment building above. The butter, chocolate filled, or almond varieties of the pastry are definitely worth the indulgence and may indeed be the best in the city. The windows into Le Caprice show the bakers at work who may be churning out an array of cookies, cakes, and breads that they sell whole and use for their sandwiches including baguettes and a half moon pita-thyme bread made specifically for their gyros. —Josh Novikoff

Le Caprice is located at 3460 14th Street NW.

BATTER BOWL BAKERY: Located next to H Street NE’s best (and only) Ethiopian choice Ethiopic is the owner’s other project: Batter Bowl Bakery, a traditional bakery with a French feel. The chocolate croissants are beyond delightful. So delightful, in fact, that I’ve had few other things on the menu. But I can also attest to the deliciousness of their chocolate tart. In conclusion: Get something chocolate and you won’t be disappointed. —Sarah Anne Hughes

Batter Bowl Bakery is located at 403 H Street NE.

Photo by Josh Novikoff.

BREADLINE: Taylor Gourmet may have moved in across the street and Capriotti’s opened up an outpost a little bit to the north, both attracting presidential and VP visits, but the stalwart shop steps from the White House remains Breadline, with its open bakery churning out loaves of breads for sale or for sandwiches. The piadines, Italian flatbreads grilled a la minute and wrapped around a choice of fillings, is a unique offering; the ciabattas and baguettes are crusty and flavorful; and you can even take home a three pound bag of milled flour to try your hand at replicating the breads at home. —Josh Novikoff

Breadline is located at 1751 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

BAKED & WIRED: Of all the cupcakeries who cupcake on a daily basis in this city, Baked & Wired is by far the best. The red velvet cupcake? I’ll take 20. But the Georgetown bakery has more than just mini-cakes. For example, they also have full-sized cakes! Their selection of bars, from the Bee Sting to Honey Pecan, are also a personal favorite. —Sarah Anne Hughes

Baked & Wired is located at 1052 Thomas Jefferson Street NW.

Photo by Josh Novikoff.

WATERGATE PASTRY: Head toward the twilight zone that is the Watergate, into the courtyard of the Watergate Shops and you’ll find Watergate Pastry. It’s a simple sweet shop that probably hasn’t changed too much since Nixon was president. There’s a modest selection of straightforward cookies sold by the pound, but their specialty is beautifully decorated cakes. You can grab it by the slice or the round, or custom order a Paris-Brest, cheesecake, mouse, napoleon, French fruit torte, in any sort of size, you name it. All wrapped up in a white box tied with a purple ribbon. —Josh Novikoff

Watergate Pastry is located at 2534 Virginia Avenue NW.

PAN LOURDES: I ordered a cake this year from Pan Lourdes for my birthday party. It weighed an impressive 80 or so pounds and was filled with so much fruit and cream and delicate cakey goodness, it made me more 200 percent more popular with my friends. Also, their website happens to be a purple, Flash-driven delight. Every breath you take, every cake you bake, I’ll be watching you. (Or giving you business, PL). —Alexis Hauk

Pan Lourdes is located at 5121 Georgia Avenue NW and 3407 14th Street NW.

THE SWEET LOBBY: Confession: I did not like macarons until I tried the Sweet Lobby’s. Perfectly rich yet somehow light, the Barracks Row shop’s confections come in a variety of flavors, like lavender and green tea. Thankfully, you don’t have to pick between a macaron and one of the Sweet Lobby’s great cupcakes: They’ll top the latter off with the former. —Sarah Anne Hughes

The Sweet Lobby is located at 404 8th Street SE.

DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS PIES: By definition, a bakery is “a place where bread, cakes, cookies, and other baked foods are made or sold,” and while pie might seem to fall outside of the parameters of baked foods, it is technically baked in an oven. Therefore, I see no reason why Dangerously Delicious—the H Street NE and Chinatown pie shop (and roaming food truck)—can’t be included in this roundup of the best bakeries in D.C. With an equally robust selection of both sweet and savory options, Dangerously Delicious offers some of the heartiest, freshest most flavorful pies I’ve ever had. The Hot Rod Potato—brimming with savory potatoes smothered in spicy melted cheese—and Baltimore Bomb, fudge-and-vanilla-mixed specialty, are personal favorites. — Matt Cohen

Dangerously Delicious is located at 1339 H Street NE and 675 I Street NW.

FINE SWEET SHOPPE: Fine Sweet Shoppe is the type of all purpose bakery that does it all—a throwback American bakery. Not too fancy but gets the job done. Fine is on the south end of Eastern Market and a great alternative to grab something sweet if the line for pancakes at Market Lunch is just a tad too long. [Ed. note: The cannoli is also amazing.] —Josh Novikoff

Fine Sweet Shoppe is located inside Eastern Market, 225 7th Street SE.

BONUS!

HELLER’S: If you want a whale cake, this is the place to go.