New Scandinavian-style bakery opens in Budapest

Scandinavian by name and by nature, newly opened Freyja currently offers half-a-dozen kinds of tasty pastries, sweet, savoury and stuffed. Behind the project are the guys from The Mill, Budapest’s renowned artisanal bakery whose products are distributed to quality cafés and restaurants across the city.

So, where can you find these new Scando delights? On Szövetség utca, just over the Grand Boulevard from Blaha Lujza tér, a classic old confectionery has been replaced by a white-fronted contemporary outlet bearing the bizarre motto, ‘the croissant story’. Within, Scandinavian minimalism surrounds satisfied snacking.

Unveiled in February, Freyja makes a point of using Danish recipes to create its finely crafted croissants of 27 pastry layers. Fillings range from goats’ cheese and beetroot, to honey-roasted walnut, and port-and-duck mousse with red-wine pear. Sweet options include pistachio and raspberry purée.

If 800 forints for a croissant seems pricy, don’t forget that you’ve strayed into cake or sandwich territory thanks to rich, imaginative fillings, due to change according to season.

As for baking methods, one of Freyja’s founders brought back a few tips from Copenhagen. Rather than opt for the French approach, here they use sourdough, leaving the raw dough to mature over time, and spreading butter between each pastry layer. It takes four days to prepare each round for baking – if a certain type has sold out, you’ll have to wait until the next day for a new supply.