Brot ist Gold

In Berlin, we came across a wonderful sourdough bakery.

Brot ist Gold (Bread is Gold) is a newly opened bakery in the trendy area of Schönberg near the Winterfeldmarkt. We were walking down the street when the bread display caught my eye and we stopped to admire the beautiful bread.

At that very moment a lady, coming out of the shop stopped to tell us how much she loved the bread, and how it had quickly become the neighbourhood favourite. And hence we decided to go in.

The shop is tiny with a single display shelf of loaves, each one handmade and unique.

The first day, we got the plain wheat loaf Weizenbrot which is a long fermentation (40 hours) high hydration sourdough.

No words can convey how spectacular this loaf was. The crust was a burnished gold, perfectly caramelised and bubbly. Slicing it was like music to the ears. The crumb was tender and moist, full of open holes. The aroma was deeply earthy and reminiscent of man's connection to earth via bread. It was a truly memorable experience!

Here is our simple lunch that day in Berlin. A salad of rocket, radish and tomatoes (so fresh and juicy), and the delightful sourdough with a peppery cheese and garlic wurst.

The second day, we went back to try the rye bread Roggenbrot, which is baked in the afternoon. We were so lucky to get the last loaf around 2pm!

The crust is so heavy on this loaf that the crackle pattern is an artwork in itself. The rye itself is very dark and melancholic, as if it was dug out of the ground.

Even though rye is a traditionally dense bread, they still managed to produce am incredible crumb.

On this day we had the same salad and a simple stir fry of Swiss brown and forest mushrooms with the same garlic wurst. Washed down with a glass of apple wine.

The third day, we returned to get a loaf for our music friends in Berlin. This loaf we ate with cheeses and a Riesling from the Rhine region, after we had played some great string quartets (Bach's Art of the Fugue, Beethoven Op 18 No.4 and Mendelssohn Op.12).

We met all 3 members of staff in the bakery, all of whom were friendly and welcoming. We adored their passion for sourdough and hoped that the bakery would thrive in the modern age of too much commercialised yeast bread.

Sourdough used to be the standard bread in Europe, each family having a sourdough starter that was passed down through the generations. We learned this time that this is called Hermann in German (as in, can I borrow some of your Hermann?) What a sweet name! The art of sourdough is lost now, though it's making a comeback all over the world. We loved this bakery's commitment to the locality as well, all their ingredients being sourced from within a 100km radius.

The first two days we were there, we also saw an older lady hanging out in the shop. She looked real cosy on an armchair that the guys put out for her. I couldn't help but ask on the last day who she was - she's an older lady who's lived in the neighborhood for four decades and decided to be friends with the bakery because they were nice! She hangs out there and enjoys their company. She even crocheted some little breads to put in the window display, because she says the window is sad when the bread is sold out!

Sometimes one feels a strange connection to things that are not explainable with simple logic. Of course we were drawn to this bakery because the bread was wonderful, but also there was a warmth and human-ness to the place that was greatly attractive. Given the strong competition of bakeries in Berlin, we really, really hope it thrives!