Ett Bageri — Specialty Store in Östermalm, Stockholm

Ett Bageri is an independent specialty shop on Jungfrugatan in Östermalm, and the first thing you meet inside is the counter: breads laid out across it, buns piled alongside, a few tables indoors and out where you can sit with a coffee.

The kanelbulle is where to start. The dough is chewy, the outside has a slight crisp edge, and a caramel-like glaze sits on top without pushing it into sweetness. The cardamom bun holds its own next to it, and the saffron bun is the one to take if you want something softer and more aromatic. For something savory, the rolls filled with cheese and ham are generously stocked. The Japanese milk bread is a light, fluffy loaf, and it is the one thing here you will not come across elsewhere in Stockholm.

Gelato is served alongside the bread, and it holds up on its own rather than as an afterthought. Cakes can be ordered ahead for pickup a couple of days later, which is how a birthday coffee at work gets handled.

A cinnamon roll is 44 SEK and a coffee 40 SEK, so a sit-down stop lands around 84 SEK. Almond pastries run high. Otherwise the spend is on buns and loaves to take away.

Service is warm and welcoming. What the shop does best is the baking itself, and that is what fills the bags of the people who come back several times a week.