Hamburg’s Best Cinnamon Rolls: A Philosophical Intro

A perfect cinnamon roll is my favorite pastry. I love the heart-warming fluffy dough, complemented by moist spirals of cinnamon. So for two years now, a post has been swirling around my mind: this guide to the best cinnamon rolls in Hamburg.

The problem is that I couldn’t, still can’t, decide in which way to evaluate these pastries. So I let this post trail on, reasoning that tastings across the globe would help my evaluation of Hamburg’s cinnamon rolls. Nibbling Bordeaux’s yeasty brioche cannelle, Great Harvest’s whole wheat cinnamon pastries and Helsinki’s large Korvapussti was all done with good reason . . .

brioche cannelle, Bordeaux
Korvapussti, Helsinki

My clearest answer, for where to get the best cinnamon roll if you’re currently in Hamburg might be: Dammtor. Four hour later you’ll find yourself between colourful old buildings, a different view of the grey sky and happy Danes. Continue on foot, north, passed Niels Bohr, till you hit Jaeggersborgade. There you will find a sous-terrain bakery that has hopefully not sold out of their mesmerizing Kanelsnurrer. They are worth it.

Kanelsnegle in Copenhagen
Kanelsnegle from Meyers Bageri, Copenhagen

But if you’re in a big rush; then I guess you’re waiting for another answer. So let me start anew and return to the Hansestadt.

Hamburg’s Franzbrötchen

Hamburg is actually the perfect match to a cinnamon roll – cute, cozy, chic but comforting. So it comes, that this city is also home to the Franzbrötchen, a moist and crispy cinnamon-pastry that rookies might compare to a cinnamon roll.

The biggest difference of Hamburg’s traditional morning pastry, the Franzbrötchen, is its flaky dough. The rolled layers don’t contrast a yeasty dough – they merge right in with the crusty outside of the soft, dense phyllo dough. Lastly a Franzbrötchen’s presentation is quite different from that of a cinnamon roll. The roll isn’t flipped upwards and baked whole. It is smushed in the middle, and flattened such, that the spirals face upward again. Think of a cinnamon roll that was run over by a car. 

Best Franzbrötchen Hamburg

Though even if you choose one terminology, one and the same word never gives one and the same pastry. Some doughs compete with the yeastiness of Bordeaux’s brioche à la cannelle. Others have the same flaky crust as a Franzbrötchen. These differences are exactly what fill a comparison with exciting swirls . . .

Three Tastings

In total my cinnamon roll evaluation was only fulfilled after three different tastings.

  1. What I’m qualifying as the “first tasting” was my own quest through Hamburg’s cafés. Over the last two years I’ve had this post swirling through my mind. Whenever the pastry was in sight, I took the excuse to taste it – with caution and note-taking.
  2. The second tasting was on my birthday. I made my organisers a list where to find “the best cinnamon rolls” (including Franzbrötchen) in Hamburg. Then, instead of the common birthday Kaffee Kuchen at home, we had a very concentrated nibble-write-nibble-discuss cinnamon roll tasting. We analyzed the pastry in bare surroundings. Separated from any design, atmosphere or coffee – nothing could distract from the true quality of Hamburg’s cinnamon rolls.

However after this second tasting, some of my favorites from the first tasting ranked surprisingly low. I wondered:

Is it fair to only judge a cinnamon roll in bare surroundings?

Best Cinnamon Rolls in Hamburg

That’s not how any normal person would eat a cinnamon roll in Hamburg. The process is usually subjective and involves the café itself. So I decided no – not fair. Food and taste is not objective. A beautiful plate, behind-the-scenes of the baking process, or nutty coffee alongside the dough can change opinions on cinnamon rolls.

  1. That is what brought us to the third and final tasting. My small crew digested from café to café, walking and tasting Hamburg through its twists of cinnamon rolls. Coming freshly out of the oven, served with some mind-blowing coffees, in crisp presentation – these impressions made our opinion of Hamburg’s cinnamon rolls complete.
Cinnamon Roll Tasting, Ookie Dough
Cinnamon Roll Tasting, Ookie Dough
Cinnamon Roll Tasting, Ookie Dough
Cinnamon Roll, Zeit für Brot

Looking back, it was no challenge to find homemade dry and bland cinnamon rolls. However these frequent ones made the handful of moist and fluffy cinnamon rolls even more worthwhile. Our opinions on “the best cinnamon roll” diverged, which made me realize that this pastry doesn’t only depend on the taster. It also depends on the occasion.

A few suit your morning pastry. Others are legit desserts you’ll want to prepare for. Some taste just as scrumptious when taken home. While a few best blossom when served in their respecting atmosphere . . .


Now stay hungry for the next post, “THE ANALYSIS” to read which person or occasion best suits our four favorite cinnamon rolls in Hamburg!

And in the meantime, comment below to tell me your opinion on the philosophy of cinnamon rolls! Is cozy Hamburg really the perfect town for them? Or better Bordeaux or Stockholm? Are Franzbrötchen, Kanelbullar, brioche à la cannelle and Korvapussti all comparable? Is it fair to analyse them in bare surroundings? Or does the right hospitality and coffee make a difference? . . . Tell me!


Thanks to Melanie Böhme, one of my tasters, for the great pictures of our third tasting. Find more of her coffee travels on @melscoffeetravels, and https://melscoffeetravels.com.

Ookie Written by:

6 Comments

  1. Bjorn Stevens
    December 15, 2018
    Reply

    wow… what a tour de force in the philosophy of cinnamon rolls; The words were as pleasing to my mind as the photographs were to my eye. I can’t wait till the next edition … poor Marx, and Kant, and Hegel, all wondering why they never managed to write such a brilliant treatise on such an important subject.

    That said, I must admit that I am a Franzbrötchen fan, because cinnamon rolls can be interpreted anywhere… they even have chain-stores named for them. But Franzbrötchen are less sweet and more original, only in Hamburg as far as I know … with perhaps the one exception, Man versus Machine Coffee Roasters in Munich, proving the rule.

    • December 15, 2018
      Reply

      I know, pour Kant! However – I’m not sure I can agree on “less sweet” Franzbrötchen. In comparison the the chain-stores – yes. But last weekend I had a whole one for breakfast at Kleine Konditorei (a first) and remarked how sweet it actually was compared to many other (German) cinnamon rolls. But the originality is true, hopefully it will stay, because I’m seeing more and more in standard bakers in Berlin lately 🙁

    • Saskia
      December 16, 2018
      Reply

      I must agree – I loved the philosophical introduction into the cinnamon roll, I think it will make me stop for one myself more often and consider the different options. But I also must reply to Bjorn and disagree on the sweetness – I find Franzbrötchen, at least a lot of them (Especially KK) are more sweet than the usual cinnamon roll you’ll find anywhere in Europe.

    • Andrea Brose
      December 17, 2018
      Reply

      Last but not least I need to reply. Certainly Franzbrötchen are more sweet than the average cinnamon roll. In addition: there exist Franzbrötchen from chain stores. So while I am not a lover of Franzbrötchen let’s get back to the blog: It made me smile, made me laugh sitting in the Shinkansen on my way to Kanazawa longing for one only one of Hamburg’s very delicious cinnamon rolls … the one and only problem that remains: WHICH one?

      • December 18, 2018
        Reply

        “there exist” 😉 Ok off to the point… yes which one? Do you not remember which one your personal favorite was? Indeed a good reason to have one of Hamburg’s real cinnamon rolls when you come back… But the summary will be online very soon!

  2. Saskia
    December 16, 2018
    Reply

    And a quick answer to the question. Right now as I sit in the warmth of the indoors, outside snowflakes are falling, I couldn’t imagine what else could get me outside much better (except maybe a ski day) then the idea of a cinnamon roll in a cozy place aside a good coffee. So for me I think, a cozy place with not to good weather is a good place to enjoy this treat as a second breakfast.

Ask away or tell me what you think!