I ask Davide, the driver who picks me up from Leonardo Da Vinci Airport, what the best bakery is in his city. “This is Rome,” he says with a laugh. “They’re all great.”
It’s true. Italy’s historic capital is simply brimming with nondescript bakeries whose unassuming shopfronts belie the deliciousness within the deli counter. You can’t go far wrong with any of them, whether you’re craving pizza bianca, focaccia Romana or sweet maritozzi with cream, but I’m looking for the kind of place someone might travel across the world for. The kind of place that’s always busy or even has queues of salivating patrons snaking outside on the street. The kind of place that’s driving a global travel trend: bakery tourism.
What is bakery tourism?
Bakery tourism ties in with the wider trend of culinary travel, which was repeatedly referenced in panel discussions at Arabian Travel Market this year. It’s one of the fastest-growing segments in the tourism industry, with a projected market size of more than $1 billion this year, and it’s about people prioritising food as a gateway to a destination’s culture and heritage. That subcategory of hungry travellers who are heading out in search of the finest loaf or bun, meanwhile, are being dubbed “bakery pilgrims”, according to The Guardian.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take me long to find the right kind of place in Rome. Antico Forno Roscioli, on Via dei Chiavari, is a wildly popular bakery and deli founded in 1972, well known for its crispy, thin-crust Roman-style pizzas.
It’s not far from Campo de’ Fiori, a rectangular plaza famous for its market in the centre of the old city, but also a bakery hotspot. I meander through the winding alleyways, moving between all the magnificent centuries-old buildings and intricately carved yet perfectly preserved Ancient Roman bas-reliefs, until I turn a corner and find a noisy crowd of tourists loitering beneath a big red sign that says “forno” (which means “oven” in English). It’s hard to miss.
I peek inside to see an eye-catching neon-blue sign that reads Roscioli as the smell of freshly baked goods wafts out on to the street, making me hungrier than I already was. It’s not even 8am and the tiny shop is buzzing. Besides the bold and vibrant decor, there are piles of artisanal gourmet goods across the counters, with everything from handmade pasta sauces to locally sourced olive oils and molasses-like balsamic vinegar. They’ve even got branded T-shirts and a beautiful-looking cookbook that, in hindsight, I should have bought.
A lady shouts “bonjourno” from behind the counter, looking at me briefly as she smears butter all over a large tray of piping-hot pizza bites. I ask her what I should buy; what’s the bestseller? She escorts me to a golden-brown circular pastry sprinkled with crunchy sugar crystals and stuffed with soft ricotta cheese and tart-yet-sweet cherries. She also shows me a mini apple pie that’s perfectly round, ever-so-slightly burnt and smells delightful. Which is the best, I ask? I love both, she replies. Both, it is.
‘One of the last forms of accessible luxury and art’
Dona Murad is both a bakery owner and a long-term bakery tourist, who’s the least bit surprised to see food as a travel motivation and “bakery crawls” becoming increasingly popular. Both she and her husband, who also works in the culinary world, make a point of travelling to foodie destinations and plan almost every meal before they book their flights.
“One of the things I love most about bakeries is that it’s one of the last forms of accessible luxury and art,” she tells The National. “It’s the treat that’s still quite democratic even at the highest end and it’s something everyone can enjoy.”
The Bahraini restaurateur owns Librae Bakery in the East Village of New York City, where queues wrap around the block and famous faces have been known to stop by. It’s the first Bahraini-owned bakery in the city, and many Arabs have made the pilgrimage from the Khaleej to the cafe to support Murad.
Librae’s bestseller is the pistachio rose croissant or the loomi (black lime) and lemon curd babka – and that’s remained the same throughout the three years it has been open. “We change our menu based on what customers love the most and what’s in season at the farmers’ market,” she explains, adding that seasonality matters more to them than trends. “One year we used strawberry sumac jam in a Linzer cookie and the following year we used it in a Danish.”
Besides her own cafes, Murad – who also founded long-standing neighbourhood favourite Hopscotch in Bahrain – says there are two bakeries she’s been to in the world she’d get on another plane for. Those are Bageriet Benji in Copenhagen and Fika Farina in Mallorca. “I love how both of these bakeries feel cosy and inviting, with beautifully displayed pastries, a warm family-run touch and, most importantly, the food is absolutely delicious.”
So, what makes a great bakery? If you ask Davide, it’s one in Rome. For Murad, it’s where atmosphere and quality converge. As for me, it’s about a sense of tradition that introduces travellers to a slice of culinary heritage, whether that’s in a classic or contemporary fashion. But it’s also equal parts smell, sight, touch and taste; a feast for the senses and a real or imagined memory that’ll have you drooling before you even step out of your own front door.
