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When we first arrived in The Netherlands, it was pretty hard to find decent bread anywhere. Most of the bread at the shops are the fluffy kind, with not much texture or taste. This is pretty odd, seeing as the country is surrounded by other countries, like Germany and France, that make great bread with the right amount of crunchiness on the outside and chewiness on the inside!

However, on one trip to Delft, I stumbled upon a French bakery, Michel. The bread was a touch on the expensive side of things, but it was worth it for a decent loaf of good bread! To my surprise there were also a couple of shops in Den Haag as well, and in the intervening years, they have opened up quite a number of shops.

When we moved to our place in Rijswijk, in a casual conversation with one our neighbours (who is French), we discovered that the bakery where they make all the bread and cakes and tarts for the other shops was here in our area! Just a short walk or bike ride away!

Bonus!

The Shopfront

As you can see, there isn't really much space for eating outside, it really is a production bakery and not really a sit down and eat place. However, on sunnier days, they will put out a table or two, and there is a small table on the inside if you wish.

The area around it is mostly light industrial, with many offices around as well. The European Patent Office is nearby, and so this bakery seems to be a popular place for the people working there to come to.

In addition to selling lots of different types of bread, they also sell sweet goods, crossaints of different types and several types of cakes and eclairs. However, when I visited them this morning, they had already run out or shipped most of them out to the other shops. Just for reference, I was there at 930, so if you want the good stuff... you have to be really early!

Lunch

On the weekdays (except Monday, when they are not open), they have an option for sandwiches (in the French style, so on the long stick bread) until 1330 or until the bread runs out. Usually, it is the bread running out! We like to try and drop in earlier before the office crowd hits their lunch breaks!

Samples

On the weekend, we try to have one day where we treat ourselves to croissants for breakfast. Plain ones for the adults and Pain au Chocolate or Pain au Raison for the kiddies. That means, that we are there on the dot of the opening hour, so that we don't miss out!

However, today, I was only there for some tarts and pies for dinner. So, these are the only things that I could take a photo of!

Also, I did get a little treat for myself, but there were no cakes or eclairs ready to go, so I had to make do with a custard and rasin rondje!

For photos of the really nice sweet stuff, I would suggest that you take a quick look at their photo page on their website! Everything really is as delicious as it looks!

Conclusion

It is such an amazing thing to live around the corner from such a great bakery. They use good organic flour, and the taste and quality of the bread (not to mention all the other things) is incredible. Breakfast on the weekends is always something to look forward to, and even sandwiches are tempting when they are layered with this bread.

Although, I wouldn't trek out to this particular production bakery for the bread, I would suggest that you look for the cafe/bakeries shopfronts in Den Haag and Delft if you are ever in those towns!