Fressen: Franconian rye in Montavilla

If you want German rye bread, the drive east to Fressen Artisan Bakery in Montavilla is well worth it. The building used to be an auto garage, and it still has double-height ceilings and daylight pouring through the original openings, with warm wood against the high walls. A partial partition lets the smell of the oven drift into the café. Bentwood chairs and red-cushioned booths sit under pendant lights, and when the glazed doors are open, the front of the shop spills out onto the street a bit like a Viennese kaffeehaus. From the café you can watch the production side, with flour, peels and racks all in motion.

Owner-baker Edgar Loesch grew up in a German family in Romania, trained in the Bavarian guild system, and started the bakery because he couldn't find the European ryes he grew up eating. The grain comes from local regenerative farms, the loaves are naturally fermented, and almost everything is done by hand.

What to order

The Franconian rye is the loaf to come for, so get it if it's on the rack. The bakery describes it as a sourdough from the Franken region, about two-thirds rye and one-third white, seasoned with caraway, coriander and fennel. The crust is dark and a little glossy, the crumb is tight and moist, and you can smell the spices before you even cut a slice, and the paper bag will perfume the whole car on the way home. Buy a full loaf and wait to cut it until you're home so the spices can settle.

If the rye is gone, there are other naturally leavened whole-grain loaves to look at, plus big salted pretzels with a deep mahogany skin and coarse salt on top. A pretzel is a good snack while the loaf cools, and the German pastry case deserves a look too. There's a café, so you can also sit under the pendant lights with a coffee and watch the bakers work.

Before you go

Fressen is a production bakery with café hours, so it doesn't get picked clean by noon the way some 7 a.m. pastry shops do. The Franconian rye has been listed Wednesday through Sunday, but check before you drive across town for one loaf, because small bakeries do sell out. If you live on the east side it's an easy neighborhood stop, and if you don't, fold it into a bigger errand, since Fressen makes a fine eastern end to a naturally leavened bread run after Tabor Bread on Belmont.

Fressen is a German bread bakery, so if you're mostly after croissants, you'll be happier somewhere else. Take the rye when they have it, and come back another day when they don't.

The essentials live on the place page: Fressen Artisan Bakery