Archives for “bakery” tag

Our traditional bread is very different from the Western types of bread. Therefore, many locals, who have spent some time abroad, get bored with the conventional breads offered in the supermarket and long for some bread variety. JoVan is the right place for them – the Dutch landmark of Sofia, situated in the very heart of Bulgaria’s capital.

The wide range of products that attracts locals as well as expats includes bread products typical for the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy. However, JoVan also offers some types of Bulgarian bakery products like traditional Easter bread, rye bread and rustic soda bread.

In Jovan everything is handmade, fresh and warm, just taken out of the oven. It can’t be differently, since there is a constant flow of people, busy to choose between all different kinds of bread loaves, ciabattas with olives or herbs, butter pastries with cheese or spinach, plain or full corn croissants, delicious fruit cakes. Those fruit cakes are my favorite – crispy from the outside and creamy and tender from the inside.

If you are not the sweets type, I recommend you try something more unusual – a curry stick. It’s light, crispy and tiny bit of spicy.

I was basically dragged into this place. Not forcibly though, but by the captivating smell of freshly baked bread. And if I have to be honest it would have been quite hard to spot it otherwise. There are no signs, not even working hours on the door. 

However, the place is quite popular. Word-of-mouth working at its best. There’s a big Arab community in this area so I assume they are the biggest target group and the majority of the clients. Which is understandable since this place produces a kind of flat bread typical for that part of the world. Actually, the baker is an Iraqi.

There are three types of breads – plain, with white and black sesame seeds (my favourite) and with veal, parsley and turmeric (curcuma). The baker just sticks the dough on the walls of the huge oven that’s heated with a gas-powered flame and very soon the bread is ready.

Eat it while it’s hot because usually it gets really rough after a while, probably because there are no preservatives added. Who doesn’t like freshly baked bread?If you are in a hurry, you might just ask them to heat you one of the breads that are already prepared. It’s almost the same.

In a completely ordinary café, like a small confectionery, looking extremely insignificant from the outside you can find something really special. Actually, you might smell it first…

Day after day I was passing with the tram and this fantastic smell of butter and sweet dough was so tempting that I had to go search for the source. It was easy to be found, because this bakery appeared to be on the main boulevard. There was a big sign on the window “hot croissants”. But the sign couldn’t tell it all. Inside you can find nice and clean atmosphere. The people working there give the impression of family business with that friendly charm that it has.

Beside the sweet treats as tulumbas, éclairs and other, sandwiches of all kinds, the croissants are the one special thing that you went in for. They are baked right there and come out of the oven warm and fresh is the main cause for the long queues in the mornings. My favourites are with chocolate and the ones with cheese, but there are quite a few more – butter only, ham, etc. You can use some of the tables or take it to go. And if it’s true that a day is known by the morning, than you’re gonna have a warm delicious day with sweet fragrance. Enjoy it!