Rosenkildehaven Bageri: Specialty bread from a 250-year-old bakery

By Maria Sødal Vole | Photos: Tom Haga

Steeped in history, Rosenkildehaven Bageri stands out as one of Norway’s most unique bakeries. Here, customers can enjoy speciality breads baked in a 250-year-old oven, crafted with high-quality ancient grains and a 120-year-old sourdough culture originating from Italy.”

Kjetil Junge’s career as a baker began when he knocked down a stone wall in the basement of his recently purchased house to discover a fully intact wood-fired oven that had been bricked up 100 years earlier. “At that moment, I decided to become a baker,” Junge says. “It’s been a fantastic journey.”

Stavanger boasts a rich and proud baking tradition, and Rosenkildehaven Bageri is situated on Bakergata, a street in the heart of the city named after the many bakeries that used to line it. The original Rosenkildehaven Bageri dates back to the mid-1770s and is a valuable cultural monument that has been carefully preserved and restored. “Stepping into the bakery transports you 200 years back in time,” Junge says. “Our customers aren’t just buying bread – they’re taking part in an experience.”

Much like the bakers of old, Junge is an early riser who begins his work at 4 am. With no electricity, the bakery operates using techniques that predate the industrial revolution. Firing up the oven takes days, and making a loaf of bread is a three-day process where everything is done by hand as authentically as possible. “We ferment the bread for 36 hours at four degrees to break down the gluten structure and bring out the flavour of the grains,” Junge explains. “It’s real craftsmanship with the best of natural ingredients.”

Rosenkildehaven Bageri: Specialty bread from a 250-year-old bakery

The bakery’s bread is crafted using organically grown ancient grains sourced from Jæren and Finnøy, combined with a sourdough culture that traces its origins back to Italy 120 years ago. Since Junge wanted better quality flour than what he could purchase, he began growing grains like svedjerug, which came to Norway in the 1600s, and ølandshvete, which is one of the oldest Nordic grains, to be ground into flour.

Rosenkildehaven Bageri is open for customers only two days a week. On Fridays and Saturdays, there’s usually a long line of bread lovers waiting – in fact, people come from across the world to try the high-end loaves. Their best-sellers are pain de campagne and fougasse, which are traditional French breads.

“We’re almost always sold out by the end of the day. We have many loyal customers – people who appreciate good bread,” Junge says. “We want this to be a small, exclusive bakery making some of the world’s best bread.”