Sickinger

This is for the Baguette lovers in Munich…
We have been looking for a good French bread here as they seem to be hard to come by. We tried the so called baguettes from chain grocery stores as well as independent bakeries (even one with a French baker) — no luck so far. It’s either cardboard like (from a chain which we actually like a lot) or solid and even like a loaf. Where is the crunchy surface, chewy inside with uneven big air bubbles you find in simple French baguettes? We got closer to that goal with the Wurzelbrot here — still too solid and moist and not crunchy enough.
As luck has it, I stopped by Sickinger late one day trying to get a Wurzelbrot but they ran out. The sales lady suggested Pain Paillasse which we have never had in France. I bought it without much expectation thinking it’s another version of German interpretation of French product. But I was so glad to be wrong: even though it has a twisted shape like Wurzelbrot but it has the exact crust and inside like a French baguette — what a miracle! Curiously, the baguettes from Sickinger are not like the French baguette as the Paillasse — go figure! Also, the same Paillasse from the cheese hut in Elisabethmarkt is not like this Paillasse either. So one really has to find out from trial and error.
If you are looking for a French baguette and are close to any of Sickinger’s stores, try the Paillasse — you will not be disappointed:-)
Pricewise, this is on the expensive side (€ 2.9 for a 500g piece) as compared to grocery stores or with price in France. BUt tastewise, this is as close as it can get.
Other offerings we have tried include: baguette (mentioned above, so so, one star off for that), Haselnuss-​Lebkuchen (very good), Choko-​lebkuchen (good), Mohn-​Nuss-​Stollen (very good), Müncher-​Stollen (good). We are glad to have one Sickinger close by and plan to try more of their bread and kuchen offerings soon.