I spent a Saturday trying to find the best German Brötchen in London - and it didn't disappoint
I was craving the taste of my former life in Germany, so set myself a challenge to find the most authentic German bakeries in the capital.
Tell me you lived in Germany without telling me you lived in Germany: one way might be that you developed a love for bread.
As I quickly found out, during my time in Germany, not only do Germans bake tasty bread (Bröt in German), but this food is a big part of their culture.
For part of my German experience, I lived above a bakery and when I moved to London, I found myself really missing the bread. Specifically, the Brötchen, which directly translates to “little bread” - these rolls come in several flavours based on what flour is used or seeds are added.
I fondly remember Sundays spent with my flatmates enjoying a Brötchen filled brunch. Wanting to recreate this experience in London, I decided to spend my Saturday going around London in the search of German bread. I found two contenders...
Hansel and Pretzel, Richmond
The first stop was Hansel and Pretzel, a German Bakery and Delicatessen located in the Ham district in Richmond. This area has a strong German population due to the presence of the German school. As I boarded the bus from Richmond station, I realized I was headed in the right direction by the ambient background noise of German conversations.
Hansel and Pretzel was founded 15 years ago in 2009. As one of the co-owners, Petra Braun, told me, “Now a days you get a lot of good bread in London especially, but when we started off 15 years ago, it wasn’t quite like that.”
She added: “It’s something German people really miss.”
Entering the store, I felt like I had returned to Germany. Despite my rusty German, I ordered, mostly auf Deutsch.
The bread is kneaded and baked by hand: The Brötchen selection includes wheat (Weizen), rye (Roggen), and spelt rolls (Dinkel) topped with Pumpkin (Kürbiskern), Sesame (Sesam), Poppy (Mohn), Sunflower (Sonnenblumenkern) seeds and more. Their bread wall also offers Bröt, and of course Pretzel (Brezel).
Other German pastries included two types of Quarkkuchen (Cheesecake) and Erdbeersahne (Strawberry cream slice). The delicatessen section gives customers a variety of meats and wursts to choose from. This of course is in addition to favourite products such as Ritter Sport chocolates and Pick-Ups!
Zeit für Bröt, Islington
My second stop was Zeit für Bröt which translates to Time for Bread. The bakery opened at the end of March in Islington, and it is part of a chain of bakeries across Germany.
The location is convenient, just a stone’s throw away from Angel underground station. Again, I followed the direction of the German conversations and soon found myself outside the bakery.
Similar to Hansel and Pretzel, all their breads and pastries are baked by hand. You can even watch the bakers as they knead and craft the dough in a glass section at the back of the bakery.
Their bread wall includes various breads and brötchen such as their signature hausbrötchen, made from rye flour. They also have rolls topped with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and walnuts.
So, of course, I choose one of each.
Other pastries included Käsedings, which translates to cheese things, and takes the form a long cheesy bread, are also on offer and as well as various schneckes, swirl buns which come in, among others, chocolate and cinnamon flavours.
At the end of the day I had collected Brötchen from two bakeries and a single Käseding. The next day I was happy to have a “proper” breakfast for the first time in months.