Dover's Bavarian Bakery
European Quality Comes to Town
One of the signs of a successful bakery is a full parking lot and the counter filled with eager customers. Another sign of success is the smiles of those customers when they are handed their orders. In an age of grocery stores dominating the baked goods market, it's a lucky town that gets a quality, from-scratch bakery. For Dover, that happened in August 2017, when brother-and-sister team Andreas (Andy) Janke and Monika Urquhart decided to pool their talents and open the Bavarian Bakery and Deli.
Andy started his baking career at age 16 in his native Germany, attending pastry school and additional studying in Bavaria. Monika is a master chef who attended the Alisan Culinary & Hotel management school in Giessen, Germany, and brings experience working in kitchens, management, marketing, and foodservice operations for large corporations.
After thirty years of working for others, Monika wanted to open her own bakery and asked Andy to join her. He had worked at the Frankfurt Bakery in Dover, winning several awards, and was eager to work with his sister in their own place. Then they found just the right location on South Dupont Highway in Dover. Andy heads the baking team, and Monika oversees the front of the house. All the soups, salads, sandwiches, and counter duties are under Monika's supervision.
Bavarian Bakery and Deli uses less sugar than some traditional American bakeries and little, if any, artificial flavoring, concentrating on bringing out natural flavors. “We try to stay on the European side of baking instead of the American side, but we do both styles,” Monika says.
European-style cakes tend to be a tad less sweet but deliver focused flavors. Their banana cake, for instance, is like the best banana bread you ever had topped with a roll-your-eyes good buttercream frosting. For those who have not experienced a European-style bakery, this will be a treat. If you want a sweeter cake, try the lemon coconut nestled in lemon curd surrounded by decorative frosting on top and toasted coconut pressed into the sides. This coconut delight is the type of cake you'd serve at a dinner party when you want guaranteed rave reviews.
Many treats are sold in single portion size for takeaway or eating at café tables inside or out. Try the single-serving peanut butter explosion blending thin chocolate cake layers with thick layers of peanut butter mousse. Pay attention as you rip into this decadent dessert because there is a hidden treat on top you might mistake for cake. I won't spoil the surprise so you can experience the fun of finding this tasty little nugget.
The Bavarian Bakery relies on two key elements to keep customers coming back; quality baked goods and customer service. Monika notes, “One of the things that sets us apart from other bakeries is we greet everyone when they come in.” As I sat at an indoor table, they never missed warmly greeting each and every customer that entered the shop.
The cakes are not the only reason to visit: there are also cookies, pastries, mango guava mousse, cinnamon rolls, pig's ears, bread, soups, salads, and sandwiches. The business balances sweets, breads, and lunch items, with Monika sharing, “All three aspects of the Bakery are equally popular, and we have some customers that come for lunch several times per week.”
Sandwiches come with several choices of bread baked fresh each day. Customers can choose from pumpernickel, marble rye, seeded rye, Bavarian rye, sourdough, and baguettes. Like a typical German bakery, Bavarian Bakery has pretzels and pretzel bread for soups and snacks, as well as an excellent pairing for your favorite beer or mustard. One of the more interesting loaves is the Dinkel Brot, a round loaf made from spelt (ancient wheat). This sturdy bread should be on your list of items to take home as a good choice for sandwiches or a bread and cheese platter with pre-dinner wine, and also making avocado toast as good as it can be. Monika has her special house-made chicken salad to put on their homemade bread. Sandwiches like the Reuben are cooked on a griddle-press without a slather of oil – making it one of the healthiest (and most delicious) Reubens around.
For European quality and service, the Bavarian Bakery is well worth the trip. Their out-of-this-world cakes feed up to 10 people for under $30 - an affordable luxury for your family and friends. (If you call ahead, they’ll have your order ready upon arrival!) With a convenient location just minutes off Highway 1 at Exit 97, it's easy to pick up sandwiches for the road, something for dinner that night, or stocking up for your trip to the beach.
Bavarian Bakery & Deli
1819 South DuPont Highway, Dover, DE
(302) 744-8598, Facebook
