The Worst Pastry At Panera Bread Isn't Sweet Enough

While the pastries at Panera Bread aren't made from scratch, they still make for a scrumptious pick-me-up when paired with a coffee or hot chocolate. However, some of the permanent offerings at the fast casual chain are definitely tastier than others. In Tasting Table's ranking of seven pastries at Panera, we found some pleasant surprises, but the almond pastry landed in last place due to its lackluster taste.

Not everyone wants a sugar rush in their baked treats, but Panera's almond pastry is so lacking in sweetness that it's not likely to satisfy anyone's cravings. It resembles a Danish, with butter pastry around a sweet almond filling drizzled with icing, but the dough is dry rather than flaky. Even worse, you don't get a strong sense of almond in a pastry that is named after it. Overall, the taste is one-dimensional and not special in any way.

Looking at the almond pastry's ingredients shows why it doesn't stand out. The dough is basic with no flavorful additions to it, and in the filling, sugar comes before almonds in order of precedence. Only the icing contains flavorings besides almonds and plain old sugar, with some vanilla and lemon added. Since you only get a drizzle of that icing — and those flavorings are at the very end of the ingredients list, anyhow — there's simply no complexity or depth of flavor to elevate this boring pastry.

Online comments about Panera's almond pastry are mixed, but there's a common thread: Bear claw fans are as mad as a wild grizzly that it replaced their favorite treat. Even in threads praising the almond pastry, you'll see comments complaining that it's a poor substitute for the discontinued bear claw. The retired baked good was similar, made of pastry, almond filling, icing, and sliced almonds, but in a different shape. Some prefer the almond pastry for its larger amount of almond filling and even enjoy the low-key sweetness, but bear claw fans say it's much less flaky and fluffy. Meanwhile, other reviews of the almond pastry tend to concur with our opinion, calling it a middle-of-the-road offering that could use higher-quality pastry, more almond essence, and extra complementary flavors to make it pop.

If you still want a nutty treat at Panera, you'll be pleased to know that our favorite pastry is the pecan braid. It's actually quite similar to both the almond pastry and bear claw, with crispy dough, a nutty filling, and roasted pecans on top. Diehard almond fans, however, are better off going to a local bakery for an almond croissant or making bite-sized cinnamon almond scones at home.