Great L.A. bakeries

Cracked cookies served at Red Bread.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Like most of Rose Lawrence’s breads and pastries, her loaves of rye are leavened with her sourdough mother, which makes them tangy and robust. $7.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Detail of bread display at Red Bread.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pastry display at the Sycamore Kitchen.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Salted caramel pecan babka roll is a swirled dome of sweet yeast dough rolled up with toasted pecans and crème fraîche and brown sugar that becomes a sticky caramel. $3.50.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Bread Lounge in downtown Los Angeles.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Bradley Davis makes brownies at Bread Lounge in downtown Los Angeles.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Frederic Laski, owner of Chaumont Bakery & Cafe in Beverly Hills, helps customers with eclairs and tarts at Chaumont.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A fig tart on display at Chaumont Bakery & Cafe in Beverly Hills.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Chocolate tarts on display at Chaumont Bakery & Cafe in Beverly Hills.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

At Chaumont, Frederic Laski’s Paris-inspired Beverly Hills patisserie, the eclairs are bountiful, filled with lush chocolate, pistachio, vanilla, coffee or raspberry custards. $3.80.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pastry display at Euro Pane Bakery & Cafe in Pasadena.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Country bead at Euro Pane Bakery & Cafe in Pasadena.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Euro Pane has a perfectly balanced lemon bar -- not too tart, not too sweet, not too eggy, with the just-right ratio of filling to crust. $2.35.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Oh My Pan in San Gabriel.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Green tea with black sesame cupcakes served at Oh My Pan in San Gabriel.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The simple taro buttercream bun at Oh My Pan, a bustling San Gabriel bakery, is a don’t-miss. $1.40.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Blueberry danishes served at Oh My Pan in San Gabriel.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pastry case and customer inside McCall’s Meat & Fish in Loz Feliz.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pastry chef Karen Yoo decorates chocolate macarons with a Halloween motif at McCall’s Meat & Fish.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Lemon tarts on display at McCall’s Meat & Fish.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Chocolate caramel tarts on display at McCall’s Meat & Fish.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Tiramisu on display at McCall’s Meat & Fish.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The Breton pastry kouign amann at Karen Yoo’s bakery-inside-a-butcher-shop is extra caramelized, over-the-top buttery and super flaky. $4.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Manager Leonardo Momplet, behind the counter, helps a customer at Semi Sweet Bakery in downtown Los Angeles.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Owner Sharlena Fong torching Ding a Lings at Semi Sweet Bakery in downtown L.A.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A crème brûlée crullant served at Semi Sweet Bakery in downtown Los Angeles.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Blueberry cornbread on display at Semi Sweet Bakery in downtown Los Angeles.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The Ding A Lings at Semi Sweet Bakery come in flavors such as hazelnut crunch or raspberry. $2.50 to $2.95.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Valerie Gordon preparing a gluten-free chocolate cake at Valerie Confections.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Toffee is cut into squares on the kitchen table at Valerie Confections.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Toffee on the kitchen table at Valerie’s Confections.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

A delicious, gluten-free (not flourless) chocolate layer cake is made with buckwheat flour. In between the layers is a milk chocolate ganache, and covering the whole thing is a bittersweet chocolate glaze. Served with slightly sweetened crème fraîche. $55 for a 9-inch cake.   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pastry case at La Mascota Bakery in Boyle Heights.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

The hand-shaped concha (“seashell”) at La Mascota has a sugary crust with crumbles-in-your-mouth crispiness. The interior is fluffy, soft and sweet. Mini concha, 25 cents; regular, 40 cents.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pastry display at Milo & Olive.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Seasonal fruit -- at the end of summer it was apricots, and for the next several weeks, pears -- and pastry cream are layered on top of yeasted laminated kouign amann dough. $5.50 per slice.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Peach vanilla tart served at Milo & Olive.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Baklava in a display case at Ara’s Pastry in Hollywood.  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Pain au Raisin from Bouchon Bakery in Beverly Hills.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Portrait of Joan McNamara of Joan’s on Third in her cafe/marketplace Joan’s on Third.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Baker making jelly rolls at Porto’s Bakery in Glendale.  (Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)

Customers look at the meat pies and pick out their favorites.  (Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times)

The fig oat cake featured at Proof Bakery in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The croissants go fast at this Atwater Village favorite. They smell and taste of creamy butter. Plain croissant, $2.75.   (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Straus yogurt blueberry muffins from Short Cake at Farmers Market.   (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)