Baluard, Bakery, Barceloneta

When I moved to Bucharest from Kuwait – I must have been about 3 – I was struck by the smell of our local bakery.  It smelled sour, not yeasty like the commercial bread of today.  Baluard in Barceloneta has that same smell, sharp, sour – natural yeast fermenting slowly.  Actually, I had already tried Baluard bread before coming to the shop.  I bought some from the food hall at the Corte Ingles up in Pedralbes.  I was surprised that I had managed to get such good bread for only €3 or so.  Especially since I had found the bread at Reykjavik so expensive (I think somewhere around €7 for a similar amount).Baluard isn’t hip, I don’t think they use organic flour they just make exceedingly good bread.  I would say real bread, how it ought to be made.  And it’s available in a dizzying array of flavours and shapes.  It’s very much a neighborhood place, with the shop assistants knowing their wizened customers by name.

Inside, there is only a slim bench for temporary respite.  This is not an eat in operation.  You will have to take your sandwich to the beach front of Barceloneta or at the lovely square just in front.

Baluard
Carrer del Baluart, 38
Barceloneta 08003
www.baluardbarceloneta.com