Good Western bread (no baguette) in Hefei: where?

[Andy72]

answering another post, i thought worth starting this one:

you, experts of hefei, can you suggest me where to buy good bread?
no baguettes!!

i usually go to Metro, because not too far from where I live, and they got bags of small loaves (rolls?) of different shapes, i think they got baguettes, but no.. bread! (big loaves)

ideas?

thx!

[Bavarian]

Buy yourself a Bread bakeing machine and...whoooppp....your all on it playing the God of Bread bakeing at home ;-)
Cost you some 60-100€.
Easy as cake, mate

[Andy72]

tried to make home made bread several times with terrible results.....
i was then scared that my failure in baking bread would interfere with the correct function of these machines..

 

if you got experience with some brands (probably german ones??  ) let me know!!
any suggestion goes!!

(i love bread, i can think about the investment!)

[Bavarian]

It will probably take some 2-3 weeks more to get everything to my apartment but when i shall be victorious, i shall proclaim this result here in this noble round of merry men

[kaibo 开 博]

RT Mart has big white bread 'toasting' loaves for less than 8 yuan. I used to buy them for the burgers at AUS-UFO hamburgers. Metro has some nice high-fibre bread in a small green loaf; baked in Shanghai but expensive. Bread Talk at Gou Gou Plaza has all kinds of bread but prices are exorbitant. The latter probably has baguettes as well.

[Aussie Mike]

RT Mart has butter for your bread as well.

[Andy72]

i doubt Bread Talk: all Chinese looking places have sweet tasting Chinese kind of bread.. could ot find real bread there!

i don't want baguette, too easy!

i'll check RT mart..if i find it..

thx

[kaibo 开 博]

Bread Talk is number one - quality & price. I am sure you remember Klaus, the German engineer, who used to come to UFO Bar; well he, being German, loves his bread. I have chatted with him just after he was leaving Bread Talk & for him quality is everything. They have many of the gourmet breads including rye. They have real bread, in fact I have tried some myself. It's the real deal.

Another place you can get bread is Holiday Inn. They sell some of their excess bread.

I also noted that some of the 'Chinese' bread shops now make bread that is not sweet. They are small loaves & expensive though. Even in regular supermarkets -Carrefour or RT Mart - you can get a half loaf that is real bread & not sweet. The bread rolls & French Sticks at Carrefour are also good.

[Andy72]

cool!! noted!

thx a lot!!

[rgeczi]

I think it's a shame that some of these shops sell bread at sky high prices.  For the most part, bread is somewhat similar to "Da Mo", and we all know how cheap that is.  I am not cheapening bread by any means, but break it down to the ingredient level, it isn't that much different.

I can see if stuff has to be imported into China, but I am pretty sure they have all or most of the ingredients already here.  Please someone clarify as this is dumbfounding me.    Is it another case of "Lao Wai Taxing"?

[Aussie Mike]

How long have you been here?

Anything that is western whether or not it comes from abroad, is only an excuse to rip off at exorbitant prices.

How can a cup of coffee be more expensive than western countries? The cost of import is the same but the cost of labour and overheads is much cheaper here. Hmmmm 

[Joeyhf]

Best place in Hefei to buy some good fresh baguettes and other imported stuff is Metro.I haven't found any other shop in Hefei that sells bread expect chinese sweet bread with a piece of meat on it. I don't think you can buy nice bread here.

[kaibo 开 博]

Yeah but the Italiano bread is something you break ya teeth on - a good old crusty loaf that is broken not cut. Metro has some rolls like that.

Wheat is grown in Shandong as well as other temperate climates, but also China imports wheat from foreign markets such as CBH Australia.

It is not so much the 'western rip-off; in fact the big full size toasting loaves at RT Mart, which I think are made from a combination of rice & white flour - are not sweet, toast up very well, are very thick slices & at 1.50 a loaf are cheap as chips. The total weight & size are as big as any sliced toasting loaf you will get back home. The French Sticks are as good as any you can buy back home and are also dirt cheap in comparison. The bread rolls / dinner rolls at Carrefour are also cheap and good.

I used to work in the largest bakery in the Southern Hemisphere in the engineering dept - we were allowed 2 free loaves a day and 4 on weekends. If you look around there are breads in Hefei but perhaps not the Euro style breads that you are used to.

I miss the genuine multi-grain & wholemeal loaves we used to get. I also liked the German rye loaves that you had to slice yourself.

As far as white sliced bread goes, it is easy to find comparable products. The bakery across the road from Carrefour Guo Gou near my office has some reasonable bread as well. The range is improving & the pathetic 'sweet bread they used to sell is being phased out.

I have bought real western style Italian bread and rolls from Holiday Inn - Gujing - it is worth at least an enquiry.

[Aussie Mike]

There is a French bakery in Wanda Plaza which sell croissants.
I haven't tried their bread yet, I passed it with a quick glance.

[Andy72]

French bakeri is not bad for the sweet stuff.
I actually do not remember any "western" looking kind of bread!

But for sweet pastries and more, any Chinese bakeri is also ok!