SMØRBRØD is a sourdough bakery and coffee bar near Gent-Zuid, De Krook and the Zuidpark. It started as a hobby in the winter of 2019, when Tomas made his first starter from rye; the starter got a name, Zuren Tuur, and Tomas turned baking into a side job and then a full-time one, first in a micro-bakery on the ground floor of the family’s small house in Ghent. In February 2023 SMØRBRØD moved into the building that once housed De Superette and added a coffee bar to the bakery. The name is Norwegian for a slice of bread with butter.
The bakery is open, so guests can watch the bakers make the dough for the next day’s bread while they drink their coffee in the large living room or on the covered terrace. The loaves are made from the house starter, stone-ground organic flour, water and sea salt, with no additives, and everything on the counter and in the coffee bar is baked in house. Bread can be ordered online for collection.
The espresso is selected and roasted by Rush Rush in Antwerp, and rotating roasters supply the filter coffee. The tea comes from Mist Tea in Mechelen. The kitchen keeps to a simple breakfast menu with soup, bread and focaccia sandwiches from the bakery for lunch. SMØRBRØD is a walk-in café, where guests choose their own seat.
Coffee on the shelf
- Rush Rush Coffee Roasters selects and roasts the espresso, in Antwerp
Photograph: SMØRBRØD