Exberliner Issue 171 May 2018

BERLIN BITES
BREAD
Le Brot
Real baguette in Neukölln
Achhh, the unmistakeable, sweet smell of hot
baguette. Enter the bakery on Fuldastraße,
and inhale: finally, real French bread in Berlin!
While we’d stopped counting cute cafés serving
macarons, canelés, madeleines, quiche and other
handmade patisserie du jour, till last December,
French expats’ creativity had rarely extended to the
craft of bread and croissant-making. One obvious
reason is that whereas any industrious wannabe can
bake a decent cake, boulangerie is a totally different
affair that requires adequate equipment, years
of practice and serious know-how. Improvisation is
not an option. Meanwhile, one had to make do with
German baguettes that had little in common with
the real thing besides the name and shape. Or take a
round trip to the temple of all things French, Galeries
Lafayette, but let’s face it: their bread isn’t quite
artisanal. In short if you ever craved the delicious
French stick – your best bet was to get yourself on a
return flight to France! That was before Le Brot.
With a certified French baker at the oven (imported
all the way from Rouen, Normandy) and a
shrewd German entrepreneur at the helm, Le Brot
has all the assets to succeed. The place is the brainchild
of Jan Schmieder-Balladur, a German family
man whose Francophilia doesn't stop at women (he
married a French gal). Seeing a lucrative niche in
the Berlin market he transformed the former Späti
on his street into a full-fledged open bakery with a
pretty café space in the back. The result is convincing:
each day bakers churn hundreds of loaves, pain
au chocolat and croissants to loyal customers, mostly
locals but also bread lovers who come from across
town for a piece of the bounty. The bread is worth
the trip: the incomparable springy-chewy texture, the
crisp crust, the slight sweet tinge, it’s all there – and
it’s only flour, water and the right mix of yeast and
sourdough. How can it be so difficult? Expert kneading
and longer rising time? According to baker Remy
Guilbeau, the secret to baguettemaking
is in the flour: it’s got
to be 100% wheat and only
wheat – no additives like extra
gluten as is often found in bread
nowadays, especially in Germany.
They import theirs from Moulin
des Trois Rivières, a small
artisanal mill in western France
that bags a pure uncut white
‘powder’ that's certified organic.
The result is addictive and comes
in three versions – “Tradition”
(€1.90), “Campagne” (with 10%
rye, €2) and “Céréales” (mixed
grain, €2.30), each also available
as individual Brötchen (€0.80-95).
You can enjoy them plain (with
butter) or filled with first class cooked ham and/or
roasted veggies (€4-5.50), sandwich or tartine style. If
you’re French, this the place to dip your croissant in
your petit noir (Americano). If you like it sweet, don’t
miss out on the pain au chocolat – a delicious crusty
golden-brown shell filled with the right amount of
melt-in-the-mouth dark chocolate, perfectly flaky,
not oversweet, not greasy. And if you’re not a morning
person, come back at night for a quiche or cheese
plate over a glass of wine… There are so many ways
to enjoy a French lifestyle off of Sonnenallee. n
Fuldastraße 54, Neukölln, Mon-Sat 7:30-22:30,
closed Sun
Michel Le Voguer
FEBRUARY 2018 49