Artisan Bakers KL – Best Sourdough & More

Artisan Bakers KL

When I moved to Kuala Lumpur 17 years ago, I had trouble finding even a loaf of wholemeal bread, let alone sourdough or something heartier. Today, however, and increasingly so following the MCO, KL is abundant with options. You can stop right here if soft, sweet, fluffy, overly processed bread is your thing. This post is dedicated to artisan bakers and their loaves that are dense and chewy – something to sink your teeth into. Traditional methods, natural ingredients, crafted with care – here are five bakeries that take the time to shape beautiful loaves for you.

Artisan Bakers KL

Kenny Hills

Kenny Hills Bakers started out in 2014 as a small bakery-cum-cafe operating in a tiny half-lot within Taman Tunku, with the sole purpose of serving great coffee, amazing pastries, cakes, and organic bread to their local community. From day one, their philosophy has been to source the best ingredients, craft everything freshly by hand, and to pour their soul into everything they do. The combination of these beliefs, artisanal skill, and working early mornings to late nights has helped make them what they are today.

They now serve a much more extensive range of items, from their signature sandwiches and wood-fired pizzas to salads, pasta, and even the Malaysian favourite nasi lemak. No additives, no flavourings, just the best ingredients they can find, and a whole lot of love and dedication. Quality is the cornerstone of Kenny Hills Bakers. Our favourites here are their crusty loaves of sourdough in plain, rye, wheat and multi-grain.

Smith Breads

Smith stands for ‘breadsmith,’ and they specialise in handcrafted, rustic sourdough bread baked in old-world tradition using wood-fired ovens. All bread is baked in-house in German solid cast-iron ovens that reach temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.

The retained heat in the hearth of the oven bakes the dough infusing a smoky aroma and deeply complex flavours. Their bread is characterised by a soulful char or caramelised crispy crust unique to wood-fired bakes.

Smith bread is made from ambient natural yeast, and have no preservatives, artificial ingredients, additives or bread softeners. Breadsmith Meg Lee harnesses the dynamic wildness of fire from wood, to make magic with basic elements of flour and water.

Daily bakes include White Sourdough, Classic Country Sourdough (header photo), Farmhouse Caraway Seed Sourdough, Garlic Focaccia (we LOVED this!), Brioche Loaves and Buns. Weekly specials rotate between Honey Cranberry Sourdough, Sun-Dried Tomato Wholemeal Sourdough and Coffee Wholemeal Sourdough. Bread can be bought at the outlet, and is available for takeaway and pre-orders on the weekends at smith.beepit.com.

Der Backmeister

Der Backmeister began operations in 2015 in TTDI. It’s run by Oliver Rollar, a German who has considered Malaysia his home for 20 years. Previously involved in the media industry, he decided to live his dream of opening a place to feed those people who share the same passion about comfort food made with quality ingredients. Hence, Der Backmeister was born. Not being able to get his hands on a decent loaf of bread, sealed the deal in favour of opening a bakery.

Their goal has always been to make food in a traditional and healthy way. There are no preservatives or additives in their bread. They are also free of added sugar. Der Backmeister makes bread the way it was done in Germany 100 years ago. That means natural sourdough and long fermentation times for most of their loaves. Most of their flour is imported directly from Germany.

One of their main principles is viewing the customer as King. They strive to make that King as comfortable and happy as possible. The halal menu for dine-in at their two outlets in TTDI and Ampang includes German speciality dishes like Currywurst and Leberkäse. Sandwich options are aplenty and always served in a substantial portion. Pastries and freshly brewed coffee round up the experience of Germany in KL.

The Kefir King

Meet Sue Anne! The quirky founder of The Kefir King. She started the company because of her parents. They are incredibly passionate about healthy food and started making kefir and sourdough bread. Today their goal is to make bread that is healthy and natural, affordable to Malaysians.

Sourdough is a way of making bread that has existed for thousands of years. With just a combination of four ingredients (water, flour, sourdough starter and salt), coupled with time and skill, sourdough bread is created.

The Kefir King’s sourdough has a tough crust, soft and bouncy crumb, and an irresistible aroma. Loaves are made to order and baked the night before delivery to ensure freshness.

All Kefir King’s loaves are naturally flavoured by their sourdough starter, with zero additives and preservatives. Basically, the way bread is supposed to be made!

Hey Mickey

Hey Mickey is a new kid on the block. Recognising the increased desire for healthier choices of bread, the team at Hey Mickey upscaled their production over the MCO. They set out to bake artisan quality sourdoughs, savouries, cakes and pastries. They cook-to-order, so everything is guaranteed fresh.

If you are new to sourdough, their recipe is an accessible introduction with its softer crust and easy-slicing loaves. They also make a fluffy fruit and nut loaf, which is excellent toasted or even made into French toast.

Have a favourite artisan baker in KL? Let us know in the comment box below.

Find more restaurants open during the CMCO here, check out our favourite meals delivered to your door here, read more about food safety and the coronavirus here, and lastly stay up-to-date on KL’s vibrant food and beverage scene here.