For every handmade sourdough loaf and pillowy chocolate pastry, there are dozens of dreadful alternatives at Budapest's bland bakery chains. But a small group of bakers, many of them recently returned from abroad, are committed to changing the status quo using top ingredients and updated recipes. Be it a local favorite like the cottage cheese-filled túrós batyu or a cardamom bun, you're unlikely to be disappointed by the bakeries below.
Arán, which means "bread" in Old Irish, is a pricey craft bakery in Budapest's hip Jewish Quarter run by Kinga and Attila Pécsi. The couple spent a decade living in Ireland and it was there that Kinga mastered her baking skills. Arán lives up to its moniker: the whole wheat, rye, and white breads are all wonderful, imparting the signature, slightly sour taste of long-fermented sourdough. On Fridays, they also make kalács, a sweet roll similar to a challah.
While bread is the specialty here, some of the pastries are also good, especially the light and moist and sugary cinnamon bun, which is impossible to stop eating (and the first thing they tend to run out of). There's also cruffin, a half-croissant, half-muffin concoction made with a rotating set of stuffings. Unfortunately, Arán makes only international favorites, so don't go looking for Hungarian classics like túrós batyu (cottage-cheese bun) or kakaós csiga (chocolate roll) here.
