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Food

Bobo bread bliss

Start off your day with a fresh organic loaf of bread or enjoy a selection of delectable pastries with a cup of (organic) joe. Mitte's Zeit für Brot breathes new life into the reputation of Germany's fine breads.

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Photo by Astrid Warberg

A spinoff of the Frankfurt mother-shop, Zeit für Brot (not to be mistaken for Brot und Zeit just a few buildings down) is a designer outlet for bread lovers. Everything here is made from scratch on the spot with 100 percent organic ingredients – the baker can be watched sweating over his baking chores through the spotless glass panels. The sexy loaves are then carried out to the counter, either to be brought home or eaten there.

The rye-wheat Bauernlaib costs €4.90/kg, the soft Dinkel Vollkorn, €4.50/750g. The Frenchsounding Pain Artisan (€2.80) boasts the soft fluffiness of good American sandwich bread in all its glory. More French is La Baguette (€2.70), which breaks nicely to uncover perfectly chewy dough under crunchy crust.

One might want to pass on the sandwiches (no matter how organic and fresh, they are definitely too small for €2.60) and other indecently priced savoury miniatures (a small “quiche-muffin” for €3.90?) in favour of their sweet carbo-treats: scrumptiously sticky cinnamon rolls (€2.30), butter, spelt or Laugen croissants (€1.60-1.70), deliciously dense Schokobrötchen (€1.70), and toothsome braided rolls filled with raisins (€1.60).

Their Kuchen include a luxurious nut-packed carrot cake (full of pistachios), as dense and hearty as great German bread can be (€3.20) – and more affordable yeast-based goodies like apple crumble cake (€2.70). The (organic) coffee is more than decent (small/large cappuccino €2.50/3.20), a perfect pick-me-up as you people-watch on the sidewalk out front.

Zeit für Brot blends perfectly into the retail culture of deepest, hardcore designer Mitte: herringbone parquet, high ceilings with spotlights, retro architect lamps and vintage stools. In short, a heavy dose of ‘urban flair’. Available from 7:30am on weekdays, breakfast is worth a go, ranging in price from €4.90 to €9.80. And for those of you who feel guilty about spending so much on bread: they bake everything fresh each day, and whatever’s left is given to the homeless.