• 2026-08-19
• bakery cafe
• bakery
• review
• as kneaded review
• san leandro
• bread
• pastries
• bostock
• focaccia
• san leandro library
• as kneaded bakery
• baguette sandwich
• cookies
• baked goods
• bakeries
• As Kneaded Bakery & Cafe
• 19 August 2026

The 411 on As Kneaded Bakery & Café #

Address: 585 Victoria Court
Region: Broadmoor, San Leandro

-and-

Address: 300 Estudillo Avenue
Region: Downtown San Leandro

Website: https://www.askneadedbakery.com/

The Vibe: The first time I came across As Kneaded Bakery, situated on its quiet half-circle of a street, I was charmed. It appeared to be the quixotic European bakery slotted right into an East Bay neighborhood.

Just a counter, the bakery case, bakery shelves, and a feeling that a whole lot of skilled and careful work gets performed well in such a small space. Of course, back then, there was also a line of us foodies excited to stock up on treats during the pandemic. It’s a delight every time I go, and the line is shorter now, thankfully.

As Kneaded recently expanded its retail reach by opening a café at the main San Leandro library. It made perfect sense to me when they announced that the sandwiches they’d offer at the café would be simple, French-inspired baguette ones. So obviously, I had to pay the café a visit, too.

The layout of the café has a flow to it, like you’re walking a half-spiral path from the main room, past the counter, and toward the attached patio. Around half the tables were claimed on a weekday. Of course, they also offer pastries at the café and a bread loaf of the week.

The café also sells more beverage options than the bakery storefront, which is a plus if you like to wash your pastries down with some java! Whichever location you choose to visit, do be aware that pastries can sell out early in the day. The bakery is open Wednesdays through Sundays until 3:00pm and the café is open Mondays through Saturdays, opening at 9:00am, with varying closing times.

My Take on As Kneaded Bakery & Café #

The Food: One of As Kneaded’s signature items is the bostock. It’s like french toast and croissants had a child made of challah dough, with a crumb topping baked on top.

It has heft! The As Kneaded bostock is commonly made in two flavors: raspberry almond and blueberry, maple, and walnut. Both are pictured above—bet you can guess which is which! This pastry will fill you up.

As Kneaded’s cinnamon sugar monkey bread is portioned just right for two people to split. The pull-apart bread is messy, but no more than most pastries, in my humble opinion. I also enjoy As Kneaded’s twice-baked croissants. Most recently, I had a cherry almond one, one of several items As Kneaded added cherries to for celebrating the San Leandro Cherry Festival.

As Kneaded’s twice-baked croissant is also a feast, like the bostock, but a messier and crunchier one with its filling and croissant lamination. I like both! About the only item at As Kneaded that I’m not crazy about, at least of the ones I’ve tried, is the triple chocolate cookie.

The one pictured above also had large cherries added for the festival. My complaint is merely that it’s a chewier cookie than I prefer. But I recently had the “jammy toast” cookie, a seasonal special, and it was fantastic.

It has toasted breadcrumbs in the dough, along with browned butter, a splash of miso, white chocolate chips, and raspberry jam. Normally, I see “white chocolate” and turn away, but I’m glad I gave this one a shot. So good, and cakier than the triple chocolate, though still with some chew.

The bread is always exceptional.

That right there is As Kneaded’s honey rye porridge sourdough. Yes, it is all of those things at once! A uniquely custardy bread, you’ll enjoy it more by pulling it apart in chunks rather than aiming for a sandwich slice. It’s As Kneaded’s most signature of signature items, for sure.

The walnut spelt loaf, pictured above, is more suitable for sandwiches. Be aware that As Kneaded does not slice bread in-house, so you’ll be doing that task yourself. The walnut spelt has a satisfying earthiness that will add a layer of umami to whatever you pair it with, just like the miso in the jammy toast cookie.

The special cherry oatnut bread pictured above doubles as a sweet tweet and goes very well with just a spread of salted butter. But my favorite of As Kneaded’s many breads is the focaccia, available by the slice or round.

That slice was another Cherry Festival special, a cherry and rosemary focaccia. All their focaccia has a wonderfully crunchy crust with the proper balance of crackle and fluff throughout. I suspect buying a whole plain focaccia round would be an excellent decision, though I’ve yet to do that.

The bread loaf options are limited to only one flavor a day at the café, but you’ll find plenty of demi baguettes there, used for As Kneaded’s grab-n-go sandwiches.

I tried the Chez Aline, served with a thin slice of ham, a layer of watermelon radishes, and a thick glob of butter on the bottom roll.

Honestly, the sandwich did not work for me. I’ve always wanted to try this traditional French ingredient combination, but keeping a butter sandwich in a cold case does not do it justice. Partially, that’s because I have TMJD, which makes cold baguette bread more of a challenge to chew than normal. But mostly, the sheer amount of butter and its chilled temperature made each bite feel like chomping down on a log of cold fat. Maybe if the sandwich were warmed, and the butter spread, I’d understand the appeal. But not in this form.

I got a peek at the Mediterre sandwich, made with roasted eggplant, zucchini, peppers, olive tapenade, basil, and a balsamic drizzle.

It was not the sandwich I ordered, so I returned it after snapping a quick pic. Those ingredients sound like a more promising combination for storage in a cold case than the Chez Aline. I’m honestly surprised that I found one As Kneaded product that I didn’t like! Especially because the focaccia sandwiches offered at the bakery are SO GOOD.

That one is full of roasted cauliflower, spinach, sliced almonds, and red pepper romesco. It’s such a delightful mix of bright flavors and soft and crunchy textures, especially adding in the focaccia, whose praises I’ve already sang.

While the café’s Chez Aline wasn’t up my alley, the cardamom affogato, with a small scoop of cardamom ice cream from local vendor Koolfi creamery, certainly was.

The menu listed the affogato as a summertime special, but I’m hoping they keep it around all year. I adore cardamom, and an affogato never fails to make me feel fancy.

Would I Go Back? Many, many times. In fact, I already have since I started writing this review. I was so disappointed that the summertime corn focaccia slices sold out on my last visit. Here’s a gratuitous close-up of the focaccia so you can feel my pain.

As Kneaded Bakery’s pastries are delicious, especially the bostock and the twice-baked croissants. And I haven’t had a bread loaf there that I haven’t absolutely loved yet. I do think the café may want to rethink how they prepare baguette sandwiches, but I’d have confidence ordering anything else there, including the salads. As Kneaded is an assured bakery and I’m sure the café will mature into an assured operation in no time. I’m glad to have both in the area.

Visited multiple times 2021–2026.