By this message, you only want to eat bread now

If you are always looking for the recipe for the best bread in the world, then you are a master baker. Dimitri Roels, who wanted to be a baker as a small Flemish boy, crawled behind the pans in (three!) star establishments via the hotel school and was suddenly captivated again by the phenomenon of bread, has been the secret behind the Vlaamsch Broodhuys with his wife Diante since 1996. They are the reason you should never leave bread alone. We sink our teeth into this artisanal baker, who, along with Diante and the Vlaamsch Broodhuys, provides all star chefs with crackling fresh breads.

Dimitri, what is the magic of bread?

“Bread is a primary necessity, it really gives energy and it is very tasty. It has a nice texture and that’s why I think everyone eats it all over the world. Good bread connects people at the table. But there is a big difference between real bread and factory bread. My ideal bread is round, weighs two kilos, and has a beautiful open-cracked crust with a perfect crust-crumb ratio in which the sourdough is perfectly fermented.”

And what is on the table at home?

“There is our own bread with real butter. Beurre de baratte is the tastiest butter there is. We have a Belgian butter with French sea salt. I do miss the Flemish cold cuts here, the sour brawn, a good meat salad or roast beef. The quality is much higher in Belgium, they also spend more money on food, which we do far too little in the Netherlands. On our table at home, there are cold cuts, nice cheeses, and a bottle of S.Pellegrino. The basics, but of the best quality. Inferior, we don’t do that. I have it with clothing too, if I wanted to buy a sweater when I was younger, I wanted cashmere. Well, then you’re up. But I preferred to buy one good piece and then not buy anything for two or three seasons.”

Editorial comment: we are all now adding that Belgian butter with French sea salt to our basket.

You bake bread, but who is behind the pans at home?

“I always cook at home because Diante can’t cook. She sometimes makes nasi and we eat that as a family, but with long teeth. That’s not fun for her either.”

The secret of a good marriage in bread?

“Unique, right? I know another couple that works together like that, Jonnie and Thérèse Boer, we know them well too. Diante is my partner, but also my beloved, she is my enemy when we argue. But we feel blessed every day. Diante thinks differently. I am a few steps further in a process and I throw that over the fence to her so I can move on. Diante gives everything structure and if it’s a good idea, we implement it.”

Let’s talk about that unique, crispy crust of the Vlaamsch Broodhuys…

“In the kitchen, there should be a nice piece of sourdough bread. It toasts well, you can make the tastiest toasties with it, that’s because of the sour. That gives you such a good, crispy crust. It’s also nice if you roast it with olive oil.”

Why did a Baker’s Café plus, plus, plus need to be created?

“Our dream was a place where you can have breakfast, lunch, drink, or dine whenever you want. We see that changing. You eat when it’s morning or evening for you. The boundaries of when you eat are blurring. People think differently, work differently, and live differently. You no longer have the fixed pattern of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

Tip in between from the editorial team: At the Vlaamsch Broodhuys on Middenweg in Amsterdam, you eat and drink from half past eight in the morning until ten in the evening.

What do you want to taste at the Vlaamsch Broodhuys, if you could choose?

“A piece of raisin rye bread with a bit of salted butter, that’s a treat. Or for the cheese fondue, just a baguette, it can be a bit drier because then it’s all about the cheese. And then a fondue savoyarde, you first dip the bread in the wine and then in the cheese.”

When we talk about wine and food…

“With bread, you drink champagne or a nice glass of white wine, but I’m also a beer drinker. Well, at five o'clock, anything goes.”

Pop: we take a loaf out of the freezer (because you can) and a bottle of wine out of the fridge.

The food trend that should disappear

“Phew, I think food design. It’s nice, but it lacks the basics. Everything has to be in shapes and it’s no longer about how it tastes, but how it looks. Look at the poke bowl, the base is great, but people go for the convenience of the trend and then it becomes a pale imitation. With the Vlaamsch Broodhuys, we make things to measure because we get crazy requests. I can then throw my sauce over it. Then you have The Butcher, that’s a restaurant that thinks differently. And then you get the Martin Garrix Burger with ADE, on our bread.”

Everything we sell, we find delicious

“The chocolate spread comes from a little company in Wallonia because I’m not a chocolate spread maker. I tasted it and it had to be in the store. Everything we sell, I find delicious; otherwise, I don’t sell it. At home, I drink S.Pellegrino and I want that on the table in the store too.”

Conclusion from the editorial team: Let’s stop by our friends at the Vlaamsch Broodhuys for the real deal among the breads. We’ll also grab that butter and chocolate spread. Oh, and also order a round loaf for the freezer, so you always have something delicious on the table when someone suddenly joins. A bottle of S.Pellegrino next to it, nice wine open; it doesn’t get more hospitable than that.