I would have never thought that "German bakery" and "Tsukuba," would be said in the same sentence. But that was what a friend of mine said, and she implored me to give this German bakery a shot. After my friend gave her recommendation, I went to this place, twice, and both times my mind was blown. Today, I am going to talk about Bäckerei Brotzeit.
Bakery Brotzeit
Brotzeit, which I have no idea how to pronounce, is in the Amakubo area of Tsukuba. It is really close to the Mexican restaurant El Torito and very close to the cheese place I talked about last time, Fromagerie La Mariniere . Brotzeit is a small bakery next to a beauty salon called Poco a Poco. If you come by car, parking is to the right of the salon but make sure you read the signs on the parking spaces. I think Brotzeit has three spaces total, the rest belong to different businesses.
In the morning
When you walk inside, you will notice that there are no tables and chairs in the small space where you order. This bakery is strictly take out. All the bread is laid out on the counter and the sandwich menu is on the wall. I highly suggest coming to this bakery in the morning. As you can see from the picture above, there are a lot of different breads to choose from. All the bread is labeled in German Katakana. When I first went there, I had to look up all the breads on my phone since I don't speak German.
I can tell you that the most popular bread, Gewurz Brot (I think that is what it is called) is a sourdough rye bread. The Bauernbrot is another rye bread which I have yet to try but want to real soon.
In the afternoon
As you can see from the afternoon picture, almost all the bread is gone. This was at 12:00 by the way. Everything is pretty much gone by lunch time. That is how popular this bakery is.
Sandwich Menu
My friend told me to order a sandwich from the bakery and that is what I did. The way it works is you order a sandwich and you choose the bread you want with your sandwich. The menu is as follows, from top to bottom; Tuna, Mozzarella, Prosciutto and cheese, Salami, Ham and Cheese, Hummus, Tomato Cheese and Lettuce, Ham Cheese and Lettuce, Blue Cheese, Liver, Peanut Butter, and finally Jam.
You can order your sandwich at the bakery or call ahead and order over the phone. The bakery will but your sandwich in a paper wrapper and hand it to you. If you end up buying a bunch of different sandwiches for a group lunch or something, make sure you bring your own bag since Brotzeit does not provide plastic bags.
Prosciutto and Cheese
The first time I visited the bakery, the sandwich I ordered was the prosciutto and cheese with gewurz bot bread. The cheese was parmesan and it was from Fromagerie La Mariniere. All the cheese and salami the bakery uses seems to be from that cheese paradise. So how was the sandwich? A bit lacking. The bread pretty much over took everything. The prosciutto was almost non existent and the vegetables stood out the most. The cheese did come through from time to time and it was amazing, as expected from Fromagerie La Mariniere. Even though I was a bit disappointed by the sandwich aspect, I was extremely impressed with the bread. The bread was so moist and delicious. I kind of wish I had bought a loaf of it to have for breakfast. This bread is thick and will fill you up. I feel like some jam or spread would go great with this rye bread.
Salami
The second time I visited, my wife was able to come and she ordered the salami sandwich. I don't remember the name of the bread my wife chose but it was a small roll bread that went perfectly with the salami. That amazing bread with the salami from Fromagerie La Mariniere was absolutely perfect. We had this sandwich while drinking some coffee from Tribe Coffee in Tsukuba. With a sip of that amazing coffee and a bite of that amazing sandwich, it felt like all was right with the world. Even typing this now, I close my eyes, and still feel that warm tasty bread with that spectacular salami rolling around in my mouth. What a great memory.
Hummus
My wife ordered the salami sandwich, but I ordered the hummus sandwich with a baguette. This was a no meat sandwich which I am not usually fond of, but I love hummus. It is pretty hard to get hummus around Ibaraki so when I saw it on the menu, I was in shock. This sandwich brought hummus, carrots, and lettuce. So simple and so delicious. The hummus was excellent. So creamy and soft. I really want to ask the owner of this bakery where he buys his hummus. If he makes it himself, than that man is beyond impressive.
I dare say, Bakery Brotzeit is one of the most delicious and interesting bakeries in Ibaraki. Everyone should try this bakery, especially their sandwiches. Just make sure you get there in the morning, or call ahead.
So if you are in the mood for an excellent sandwich and are around Amakubo in Tsukuba, why not give Bäckerei Brotzeit a chance. Who knows, you might see me there, trying a new sandwich or caving in and getting the salami sandwich again.
Enjoy!
For more information on Bakery Brotzeit, check out their Instagram page:
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