Bakeries and the Danish soul

About this episode

Just fifteen or twenty years ago, bakeries in Denmark seemed to be dying. They couldn't find staff. Nobody, it was said, wanted to get up in the middle of the night and make bread. The few bakeries that were left tended to have dirty windows and sour service and offer stale, dusty pastries. Most Danes made their breakfast bolle at home or got frozen buns from the supermarket or gas station. I remember a text about gas station buns at one of my early Danish language textbooks. But the trend has turned, and bakers and bakeries are now some of the hottest businesses around. People will wait in line outside the Juno bakery in Copenhagen, or Bakeria in Helsingør. These are destination bakeries.  And this is not just a big city phenomenon. There are craft bakeries all over Denmark. This year's Best Bakery contest has 80 nominees from Aalborg to Rønde to Jyderup to Karrebæksminde.  Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the trend turned when baking became a rather macho enterprise in Denmark. Claus Meyer was the pioneer, with his Meyers Bageri. Baking became a way for Danish men, who are generally gentle fellows, to show their creativity and skill. This is a culture that respect