Our daily bread

Madrid’s best breads are made with organic flours and sourdough. Just try and resist the smells wafting out of these 21st century bakeries! You’ll definitely be leaving with a loaf under your arm.

It’s been part of our diet for over fourteen thousand years. But we’re not going to go that far back to explain how important the production of this food staple has always been in Madrid. It was eaten in the form of a loaf until the Middle Ages, when bakers began to arrive from Auvergne, France, and started to make French sticks in their bakeries in Vallecas, where they set up shop due to the abundant wheat fields. One of them was the father of Juan Malasaña, who was in turn the father of Manuela, the heroine of the Dos de Mayo Uprising. After learning the trade, Juan moved to the city centre, where he seems to have opened the bakery Tahona del Divino Pastor in the neighbourhood that now carries his surname. Along with Tahona del Mico, it was the city’s most famous bakery. If we’re talking about flour, however, it’s impossible not to mention Casa de la Panadería in Plaza Mayor, which was built in 1619 by Juan Gómez de Mora to be the city of Madrid’s public bakery. Not far away and during the same period, La Red de San Luis was home to a busy bread market where merchants covered their stalls with nets to stop thieves from pilfering. Today, artisan bread continues to enjoy great success in Madrid. Below you’ll find some essential spots to check out.

Published in esMADRIDmagazine in January 2023

MAREA BREAD

Oña, 125. VIRGEN DEL CORTIJO (Metro Ligero). Tel. 638 12 68 53

Time. That’s the only thing Miguel Castro needs to make the batons⁠—here, they’re called chulapas in a nod to Madrid⁠—and loaves that he sells in this small bakery in the Virgen del Cortijo neighbourhood of the Hortaleza district. He makes the best artisan bread in Madrid, as attested by the award given out in November by Club Matador. The jury highlighted “its balance; it’s a bread whose crust and crumb work together to form a whole. It has a long finish that tastes of grains and has notes of beer and a mild, nearly imperceptible acidity”. Miguel started making bread in the oven of his home in San Diego, California. He returned to Madrid two and a half years ago and has been running this bakery ever since. His breads are made with sourdough, stoneground flours and milled wheat, and in some cases, are fermented for up to 24 hours.

OBRADOR DE SAN FRANCISCO

Carrera de San Francisco, 14. LA LATINA. Tel. 91 129 17 56

For five years, Antonio Ramos has skilfully run one of our city’s premier bakeries, located in the heart of La Latina. A topographer by trade, he began to bake his own bread at home, in Castellón, before deciding to leave it all behind to come to Madrid and learn the profession. Flour, water and salt⁠—with no yeast at all⁠—are the ingredients he uses to make his bread, a process that’s visible for all to see. The bread here is one hundred percent organic, made only with natural sourdough. Thick crust and intense flavour are the hallmark of this bakery whose logo is an ear of wheat and the halo of St. Francis of Assisi⁠—there’s a reason the bakery is just a stone’s throw away from the Basilica of San Francisco El Grande. You’ll find wheat and rye loaves, pagés (a round, crusty bread), the usual batons and even artisan bread for sandwiches. And some great news: they even hold workshops.

LEVAIN TAHONA

Gutierre de Cetina, 49. QUINTANA / PUEBLO NUEVO. Tel. 910 66 13 30

Paco Jiménez was working in a hospital when, following a culinary hunch, he left for France. He returned to Spain as a baker and ended up studying the trade in Madrid, where he and his wife, Pilar Núñez, opened this bakery in their neighbourhood, Ciudad Lineal, in a space that was once a car repair shop. A large number of residents queue up every day⁠—it smells so good when the door opens⁠—to enjoy bread that’s completely artisan, made with natural fermentation processes (at least 24 hours) and organic, stoneground flour.

PANIC

Conde Duque, 13. SAN BERNARDO

Natural sourdough, end of story. Javier Marca has little more to say on the matter. He’s one of the reasons a growing number of Madrileños are turning to artisan bread. You might even say he made it trendy in 2014 when he opened this organic bakery in the Conde Duque neighbourhood, where everyone has tried the batons that he calls palos (“sticks”) rather than the term pistolas (“guns”) commonly used in Madrid, at least once. With a spongy crumb and a crust that’s fine, golden and very crunchy, his breads are packed with flavour that’s a little bit sour and is enhanced by lengthy processes of fermentation and baking. You won’t find any rush jobs here.

PAN.DELIRIO

Juan Bravo, 21. NÚÑEZ DE BALBOA. Tel. 91 268 05 88

“Honesty in our work”. That’s the philosophy of a father and son who share the same name, Javier Cocheteux, and the same passion. They use additive-free, organic, stoneground wholegrain flour. The rest of the process involves “slow fermentation, cold proofing to allow the dough to mature, and baking on a stone to produce healthy breads with authentic flavours and aromas”.

EL HORNO DE BABETTE

Orellana, 16. COLÓN / ALONSO MARTÍNEZ. Tel. 911 41 96 49

Founded as a bread-making school in 2008, with Beatriz Echeverría and Carla Medrano at the helm, today it has six shops scattered across Madrid. Genuine sourdough bread lovers can move from bakery to bakery, viewing the bread set out on a long table, asking questions and deciding which one to take home that day. Their store on Calle de Orellana features industrial decor.

MADREAMIGA

Teruel, 26. ALVARADO

Here, you’ll find breads made with seeds, spelt, olives...and the star attraction: the baton, which has a fine, crunchy crust and a moist, honeycombed crumb that results from blending different types of wheat together. There are all sorts of breads, each of them kneaded and baked to perfection in a testament to the know-how and skilful work of Begoña San Pedro, who only uses organic ingredients.

PANADARÍØ

Alonso Heredia, 25. DIEGO DE LEÓN. Tel. 91 230 84 33

Irresistible temptation. That’s what you might call the white loaf fermented with natural wheat sourdough, which has a firm, toasty crust surrounding a silky, aromatic crumb. You can also take home a ciabatta, a traditional French baguette or their rugbrød, a Nordic-inspired creation. The establishment was founded by architect-turned-baker Darío Marcos.