Whether you’re fed up with the Atkins diet or just craving fresh baked goods, Clear Flour Bread bakery is the answer. Nestled in Brookline, the smell of the bakery hits people on Thorndike Street before they can even see it.

Operating as an independent business for more than 10 years, Clear Flour Bread has mastered the art of European breads and pastries.

The tiny store only has room for a few visitors at a time, but the series of baked goods stocked on the walls make it difficult to narrow down a selection. Clear Flour regularly produces 11 classic European breads ranging from sourdough and French to rustic Italian and buckwheat walnut.

However, Clear Flour also features more adventurous specials during select hours every day with creations such as polenta, organic vollkornbrot and rustic fougasse with gorgonzola and walnuts.

By refusing to use bleached flours and preservatives, Clear Flour makes every item taste pure and fresh. The bakery holds true to traditional artesian breadmaking.

The sourdough is an excellent example, with a flavor that is much subtler than usual. The rustic Italian has a hard crust but an exceptionally chewy interior, and its light flavor makes it perfect for meals with stronger herbs and spices.

The roasted potato rosemary bread has a unique texture with scattered pieces of potato baked inside, but the best part is breaking the loaf open to smell the clean aroma of rosemary.

With a sharp taste and pieces of olives, the Venetian olive is the one bread that doesn’t require any complementary flavors.

Beyond breads, Clear Flour offers a rotating stock of oven-baked pastries, including classics like hot-cross buns and scones. Their award-winning morning buns get their name from the fact that they’re usually sold out by noon.

The coconut macaroons have a perfect baked texture with a crisp outside and gooey inside, but one is enough to satisfy any sweet tooth and then some – the sugary taste only intensifies along the way.

On the lighter side, the croissants are ridiculously tasty and make the trip worth it. Featured on weekends, they are perfectly buttery and have a moist and flaky texture that makes them more dessert than bread.

Even filling up a grocery bag full of perfectly formed loaves of bread and several pastries will leave wallets intact. Clear Flour offers affordable, fresh pastries in the European tradition, and is a refreshing change from the dried-out substitutes found at grocery stores or dining halls.