Lifestyle |
German baker presents the art of traditional bread in China | |
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Michael's German Bakery in Beijing is not big or flashy, nor is it located in a busy downtown area, but the authentic German bread baked there attracts customers from all over the city.
The bakery's German roots come from one man: Michael Bock, a 62-year-old master baker from Hesse in Germany. Bock's father was a baker, but he did not wish for his son to follow in his footsteps. "Being a baker means working before dawn every day, hands soaking in lye, carrying a 10-kg bag of flour... He knew all of this so well, so he didn't want me to suffer the same," Bock told Beijing Review. Eager to work with his own hands, Bock still resolutely chose the road that was foretold to be hard. At the age of 15, he became a bread apprentice. In Germany, to become a qualified professional baker, one must undergo the dual system of vocational education and training, which requires learning skills both at school and on the job. "The baking apprenticeship normally lasts three years. Every week, I spent one day in a vocational school studying profession-related theoretical knowledge. This included baking technologies, the composition of different kinds of flour, and how yeast works. The rest of the days, I would spend in a company learning practical knowledge and work-related regulations. After completing the corresponding hours of work and training, apprentices are required to take an examination before they can become a bakery worker," Bock said. Yet a bakery worker does not equal a master baker. It takes an additional five years of apprenticeship and advanced training, and a four-day exam including aspects like bread making, window display, ethics, law and financial calculation, for an assistant baker to become a certified master baker. For this reason, Bock always takes great pride in his certification as a master baker and prominently displays it in his shop, with a framed yellowed certificate hanging directly above it—his father's. ![]() Bock puts freshly baked gingerbread men on the shelf at Michael's German Bakery in Beijing on September 23, 2024 (ZHANGWEI)
Rigid routine In 2008, Bock was invited to make bread for the Beijing Olympic Summer Games, an opportunity that deeply connected him with China and the culture of his Chinese wife. Originally planning to stay only three months, he instead settled in Beijing, working in a German-style bakery. Despite doing the job he was good at, he did not feel satisfied with his situation. "I could not guarantee the quality I wanted because the owner asked me to make the bread for the next day by 8 p.m. This was hard for me to accept. In my opinion, customers should get fresh bread for their money," he explained. When his wife learned why he was unhappy, she decided to help him open his own shop. The bakery's signature product is the traditional German brezel, which is commonly found on German dining tables. Its ingredients are simple, consisting of flour, water, yeast and salt. However, it still embodies his professionalism: He insists on using German flour and adhering to the original recipe. "There is certainly no quality issue with Chinese flour, but different batches may cause slight variations in the ratio of raw materials. This would require adjusting the recipe accordingly, which could compromise the standardization of my products," Bock explained. Having lived in Beijing for more than a decade, Bock had always felt a small regret at not being able to attend gatherings of the local German community. "The Germans in Beijing convene once a month. But I have never attended because the events typically commence around 7 or 8 p.m., which is inconveniently late for my schedule—That's my sleep time because I have to get up before 3 a.m. to work." Starting out in 1978, Bock has now been a baker for almost 47 years. For most of his career, he has stuck to a routine of getting up to work at 2 or 3 a.m. and closing the store at 5 p.m. Despite the intense work, he said he is happy as long as he sees the bread coming out beautifully and the shelves being emptied by late afternoon. Tracing tradition At a time when many bakeries are trying to stand out by introducing exotic flavors and joint branding, Bock still sticks to tradition and only offers German bread. To him, in the era of industrialization, insisting on handcrafted bread making is not merely about producing food; it represents an art form as well. "I prefer not to use additives. I just want to use my craft to present the authentic taste of the grain," Bock said. ![]() Bread made by Beijing-based German master baker Michael Bock (ZHANGWEI)
To his delight, he has not lost popularity due to this "stubbornness." Instead, the bakery has attracted a lot of faithful European customers and also Chinese customers who have a preference for German bread. "I frequently receive feedback from customers, noting that our products bring back memories of their experiences in Germany. It has made me more convinced about my choice," he said. German tradition goes beyond a bite of bread in Bock's bakery. The Munich Oktoberfest is known as a significant traditional festival in Germany. When the time comes, Bock also holds a small celebration at his bakery, calling it "the world's smallest Oktoberfest (an annual festival in Munich, Germany)." Gradually, his bakery became a go-to for many Germans in Beijing. During his childhood, Bock most looked forward to accompanying his mother on shopping trips to the butcher's and the bakery, because when visiting the butcher, he could obtain a small sausage and when going to the bakery, he could receive a small cookie. "These were very precious memories for me. So when I started my own bakery, I decided to do the same, that is, if customers come in with their children, the children will get a small piece of bread for free," he said, adding that in Germany, traditional artisanal bakeries have a custom of not letting children leave empty-handed. Bock runs the bakery like a home and welcomes his guests like friends. Speaking of some guests who visit the bakery to greet him after they return from Germany, Bock said, "It makes me feel so warm. They and the shop give me a sense of belonging," he concluded. (Print Edition Title: A Taste of Tradition) Copyedited by G.P. Wilson Comments to kangcaiqi@cicgamericas.com |
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