Copenhagen's Sourdough Revolution

Recent years’ strong international focus on Danish and Nordic gastronomy has also sparked a veritable bread and pastry revolution in the streets and squares of Copenhagen.

A huge influx of immaculate bread and pastry shops have popped up across the city and entered the bucket lists of things to do or try whilst in Copenhagen. Whether it is serving classic a Danish pastry, crispy croissant, or freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread, some outlets are not even actual bakeries, but even so they serve other-worldly delicious baked goods. Even noma’s René Rezdepi talked about a sourdough-bread revolution during a virtual press event which took place during the 2021 pandemic, and talked about Copenhagen as one of the best places in the world for sourdough bread.y

The classic

Danish pastry, sometimes shortened to just ‘a Danish’ (especially in American English), is a multi-layered laminated sweet pastry in the viennoiserie tradition. The concept was, in fact, brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers in the 1850s, but since then it developed into an actual Danish specialty. Like other similar pastries, such as croissants, it is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast-leavened dough that creates a layered texture. The Danish version of pastry was then again taken by immigrants to the United States and here they are often topped with fruit or cream cheese filling, but let us get back to the story of Danish baking, which obviously doesn’t stop there. 

The sourdough

While baking contests rage world over and pastries are ‘hot’, expressions such as ‘bread revolution’ and ‘bakery war’ have gradually become a natural part of the Copenhageners’ vocabulary too. The locals simply love their bread and  happily stand in line to get their fingers in the right curve! Here, bread is not just bread. Different occasions, meals, and situations call for different kinds of bread, but one thing is certain, the dark sourdough bread plays a key role in the local diet and, in particular, in the Danish ‘Smørrebrød’ (open sandwich) tradition.

So where do you get a bite of the cake or the best crumb of the bread bakery in town, then? Get the details below:

Openings in 2021

Galst Bageri
BK Skjold, Per Henrik Lings Allé 10, 2100 Copenhagen Ø

The little hidden gem Galst Bageri (Bakery) makes some of the best bread in Copenhagen, and the demand for its top-quality sourdough loafs seems endless.

A local amateur football club’s cafeteria might not be the most obvious point of exploration when visiting another city. Nevertheless, Galst Bageri is a perfect reason to venture off the beaten track and try something more than the usual tourist experiences and popular cafés. And who doesn’t need a cup of coffee and a nice roll or bite of bread while taking on the streets and parks of Copenhagen?

The little all organic bakery is the result of true passion for baking and owner Erik Galst’s dream of switching a long accountant career with something more concrete. With ambitions to spend his time doing what he loves, Galst quit his job to pursue his dream and did so with instant success, as the Copenhageners soon discovered the bakery’s tasty quality products, despite the bakery situated in a peculiar location; under the stand of the football ground, Østerbro Stadion.

Include a visit when exploring Copenhagen’s Østerbro district, a calm, elegant, and green neighbourhood located between the city centre and the sea.
Press photos right here

Collective Bakery
Nørrebrogade 176, 2200 Copenhagen N

Coffee Collective is opening its own bakery on Nørrebrogade this Spring, in a building housing bakeries since 1935. Head baker is Michael Craig, former Hart Bakery, Lille Bakery, and Amass, and the company’s legendary coffee will not only be served to drink, but also be a main ingredient in some of its pastries.

Apotek 57
Fredericiagade 57, 1310 Copenhagen

Don't miss out on the lovely Apotek 57, a hidden gem in the pictoresque yellow-houses district of Nyboder. The eatery, run by Chiara Barla (former 108 and Mirabelle) is a cooperation between the Italian chef and the Danish design brand Frama, and it's hosted in Frana's charming flagship store. At apotek you will find seasonal breakfast and lunch, sourdough baked goods, Italian focaccia's and great coffee.
Press photos right here

Bageri Benji
Fælledvej 23, 2200 Copenhagen N

Rasmus Kristensen, a former noma chef, is also opening a small bakery with sourdough bread and pastries in Spring 2021. With his new bakery Benji on Nørrebro, he intends to stand out from other bakeries as his focus will solely be on creating high-quality sourdough bread and pastries as this is where his passion lies, more so than providing guests with a complete cafe experience and exquisite coffee.

Blond Bageri 
Haraldsgade 5, 2200 Copenhagen N 

The British baker Sam Little, friend of noma and former baker at Mirabelle, as well as former pastry chef at Kafeteria is opening up his own place in Nørrebro. Once again, the focus is on sourdough bread, exquisite coffee from Coffee Collective, and layered pastries and cakes.  

Blond Bageri is sustainable bakery with strong focus on what is good for the environment, the community, and its staff. Here focus is on local and organic ingredients, zero waste and the staff as co-owners with shares in the company.

Rondo
Sjællandsgade 7, 2200 Copenhagen N

The popular restaurant and natural wine bar Gaarden og Gaden, one of Christian Puglisi’s favorite places in town, is now launching Rondo, a new sourdough bakery. Head baker will be Robert Ågren, former head baker at Lille Bakery, and Rondo is also the name of the bakery’s signature round-shaped bread inspired by the French miche. The bakery will focus 100% on organic sourdough bread. 

Flere Fugle
Rentemestervej 57, 2400 Copenhagen NV

Flere Fugle, a popular neighbourhood bakery, café, and bar, is opening a new bakery and hang-out spot in the same local district; Nordvest. Nordvest is an up-and-coming part of Copenhagen with local and artsy vibes and ‘Flere Fugle’ is not a completely ordinary bakery either. It is a bar, bistro, and an event venue in one!

LEADING BAKERIES IN THE SOURDOUGH REVOLUTION

Bageriet Brød
Enghave Plads 7, 1670 Copenhagen V

Brød (meaning ‘bread’), opened in 2012 and was one of the first bakeries focused on making exquisite sourdough bread. Today, the bakery has five chefs baking bread, all of whom used to work at well-known restaurants around the world.

The cool little bakery is from the same hip folks behind the Vesterbro favorite called Kihoskh, and everything is right there in the name: really good bread.

Juno the Bakery
Århusgade 48, 2100 Copenhagen Ø

One of the most hyped bakeries in town, Juno the Bakery is known for its cardamon rolls and crispy sourdough bread sold in one of Østerbro’s cozy residential streets.

Emil Glaser is a former noma chef from Sweden who then decided to open up a bakery in the residential district of Østerbro. Together with his girlfriend Nina Schmiegelow, Glaser wanted to create a bakery, where locals would meet and talented craftsmen would create the best cardamon rolls in Copenhagen, and one can safely say they succeeded in doing so.

Mirabelle Bakery
Guldbergsgade 29, 2200 Copenhagen N 

The bakery Mirabelle is part of chef Christian Puglisi’s restaurant ‘empire’ and famous for both its excellent sourdough bread and tasty croissants. 

Mirabelle is one of the older bakeries in town’. It belongs to the original ‘baking revolutionaries’ that taught the Copenhageners the value of paying a little extra for something much better; Crispy, dark sourdough with perfect large holes and airy croissants with fine flakes... 

Mirabelle also supplies the sourdough bread to Christian Puglisi’s other restaurants and makes the world-famous sourdough pizza though for Bæst, right next door. The flour used for the bread and pizza is a mix of locally grown, stone-ground flour combined with the teams’ own import from a small organic mill in Piemonte. 
Press photos right here

Lille Bakery
Refshalevej 213 A, 1432 Copenhagen

Lille is an artisanal bakery and cafe in a large industrial space on Refshaleøen. Their sourdough bread is among the very best ones in Copenhagen. 

They also serve up hearty salads and open face sandwiches on fresh bread, as well as a range of fantastic pastries. Don’t miss their famous Berliner doughnut or their take on a cardamom bun either – buttery pastry swirled into a roll and covered in cardamom sugar. The breads are baked from organic flour, as the founders of Lille Bakery work closely with farmers to ensure, that their produce live up to their high standards and show respect for the environment.
Press photos right here

Hart Bageri
Gl. Kongevej 109, 1850 Frederiksberg C 

Trained in the science of baking, Richard Hart was the baker at noma before he opened his own bakery, Hart Bageri on Frederiksberg. 

While pushing the norm of what a Danish pastry is, Hart Bakery has also become famous for its mouth-watering pastries. Immediately after opening the doors to his bakery on one of Frederiksberg’s main streets, Hart became synonymous with long lines on Saturday mornings, but also with otherworldly delicious baked goods and soft, fresh loafs of bread. 

Hart Brød + Bar
Strandgade 108, 1401 Copenhagen K 

Richard Hart’s second place in Copenhagen after Hart Bageri. This new place is offering some of the most popular bread in town – this time paired with a noma-curated wine list, that is. 

Hart Brød+Bar is a bakery and café serving sourdough bread by day - and a wine bar by night. At Hart Brød+Bar, visitors can not only buy Hart’s famous bread and pastries, but also enjoy top quality cheese and charcuterie paired with wines chosen in cooperation with Restaurant noma’s sommelier. In addition to wine, Hart Brød+Bar serves tea-based cocktails, inspired by Hart’s upbringing in London. 

The bread bar, located right by Copenhagen’s iconic canals, in the maritime district of Christianshavn, is another brilliant addition to the city’s surging bread and pastry revolution of the past 10 years. And just like Richard Hart’s bakery on Frederiksberg, Hart Brød+Bar serves exciting reinterpretations of the Danish baking tradition, incl. some of the most popular sourdough bread and pastries around. 
Press photos right here