At six in the morning, Lex Olaf Bouw is already in his bakery on Dapperstraat. His fellow baker follows an hour later. By 8:30, when the doors open, the loaves are already ready. That's how it works at Olaf Brood: start early, no shortcuts, and the dough does its work overnight in the cooler. That slow rise is exactly what gives the bread its flavor.
Bouw has a background as a catering chef and pâtissier, but he only discovered bread baking during the corona pandemic. What began as home experiments grew into a full-fledged neighborhood bakery. The big favorite with customers is the white sourdough, but the whole wheat varieties are also quickly disappearing from the shelves. And on weekends there is focaccia, freshly baked, for those looking for a little something extra on Saturdays.
The bakery itself is small, a corner building with an open kitchen. You can literally watch the loaves come out of the oven. There aren't many seats; most people pick up their bread and move on. That also suits the location: the Dappermarkt is next door, and the neighborhood walks past it every day anyway. Bouw deliberately collaborates with stallholders from that market. The ingredients for the sandwiches come directly from the cheese maker, chicken stall and fishmonger at the market itself. You can taste that.
The ingredients for the sandwiches come directly from the cheesemonger, chicken stand and fishmonger at the market itself. You can taste that.
Olaf Brood has only been open for a few months and in that time has already amassed more than four thousand followers on Instagram. But that's beside the point. The regular clientele in the Dapper neighborhood actually says enough. The bakery is open Monday through Friday, and also on Saturdays. Those who are early have the most choice. Don't wait too long, because the bread runs out when it runs out.