I’d known that a bakery called Sudeobun in Gongdeok was famous… there are plenty of other bakeries in that neighbourhood too, so I’d seen it in passing now and then. I heard they sell 100% rye bread, so I made a point of visiting on a weekend morning. It was raining and cold on the day I went, and I figured there wouldn’t be many people on a day like that, so I turned up right at opening time.
The situation
When I got there, there were so many people that I stood in line for a good hour… I honestly couldn’t believe it was this popular.
Opening hours
They seem to close early most days… and even when they don’t close early, the vibe is that if you come even a little late it isn’t easy to get the bread you want…
Inside
A typical bakery atmosphere.
Breads like these
Hang on, the 100% rye is already sold out?? I lined up right at opening and it’s still like this…
Sourdough and ciabatta
These days it feels like more and more places sell only simple breads that are good for sandwiches, like sourdough and ciabatta. I suspect it’s because both the makers and the buyers want bread that can stand in for a meal.
Anyway, I struck out on the rye bread… but the other breads were delicious. On top of that, there was a loaf in the bag I hadn’t ordered, and it turned out they throw in a different kind of bread as a freebie… Bread lovers want to eat all sorts of bread, and once you find out the other breads are good too, you can’t help coming back. It’s a really excellent marketing policy.
Cherry blossoms
With the rain it felt like they’d be gone any moment… so you have to hurry up and get your blossom viewing in…
Cherry blossoms
The next time, I lined up 30 minutes before opening.
Even so, it took a while to get inside… Luckily, this time I was able to buy the 100% rye bread.
You can see the 100% rye at the far end.
Honestly, every single bread here is so good… frankly, at this level I think it might be the best sourdough in the country. Probably because they use domestic wheat right from the start… which made me look forward to the rye bread even more.
The line I photographed on my way out…
The queue at this place is really long… you can’t go without steeling yourself for it… though it’s that good.
Cherry blossoms
They’re falling fast now.
Bread
It really does look delicious.
100% rye
Apart from being more moist, it was pretty much no different from an ordinary wholewheat sourdough. Which is to say, rye bread is normally not a tasty bread, but the rye bread here is really delicious. Crisp outside, moist inside, and nutty. What rye bread fanatics actually want, though, is that funky, sour, not-really-tasty? rye with its own peculiar charm, and this was some distance from that. It tastes great, mind you. The 100% rye is only sold on Fridays and Saturdays, so keep that in mind if you’re planning a visit.
Sun-dried tomato ciabatta
The crust is thick and crunchy and the inside has a deep tomato flavour, so I thought it would be good made into a sandwich.
This place is truly top tier, at a level where I’m not sure there’s another shop like it in the country, but the rye bread doesn’t have that sour, rustic European taste… that’s how I’d sum it up.
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