The counters in Frankfurt worth queuing for: bread, pastry, and the morning ritual.
Bakery counters in Frankfurt worth queuing for: levain breads, laminated pastry, regional bakes and the morning ritual.
Zeit für Brot bakes organic sourdough and cinnamon rolls in an open bakehouse on Oeder Weg, the Frankfurt-born chain's Nordend flagship and longest queue.
Tip: The brand started in Frankfurt before conquering Berlin; weekend mornings sell rolls faster than the ovens turn them over.
Worth the queue: Zimtschnecke cinnamon roll from the open bakery
The Kaiserstraße branch of Zeit für Brot gives Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel an organic bakery counter between the döner grills and wine bars.
Tip: Handy for a train-station breakfast far better than the Hauptbahnhof concourse; it closes earlier than the Oeder Weg original.
Worth the queue: Schoko-Zimtschnecke and seeded sourdough
Huck's Favorite Place puts the Frankfurt family bakery Huck on Schweizer Straße from 06:30, breads and breakfast before Sachsenhausen wakes.
Tip: Opens earlier than nearly anything on the street; take a loaf across to the Main riverbank ten minutes north.
Worth the queue: Crusty rye loaves from the Huck family ovens
Bäckerei Huck holds stands 70-71 in Frankfurt's Kleinmarkthalle, the bread stop on a market crawl past the sausage and Grüne Soße stalls every market day.
Tip: Buy the roll first, then queue at Metzgerei Schreiber's sausage counter; the market pairing costs a few euros total.
Worth the queue: Fresh rolls and croissants at stands 70-71
Vogelsbergbäcker brings village bread from the Vogelsberg hills to Koselstraße in Frankfurt's Nordend, a counter of dense honest loaves that keep for days.
Tip: Sunday opening makes it the Nordend's bread lifeline when the chains shut; the darker the loaf, the better it keeps.
Worth the queue: Dark crusty Landbrot from the Vogelsberg hills
Our Daily Bread feeds Frankfurt's tower workers from Taunustor 2, a weekday bakery counter timed exactly to banking-district hours, pastry case included.
Tip: Strictly a Monday-to-Friday operation like its skyscraper neighbours; go before 09:00 for the full pastry case.
Worth the queue: Lunch breads and pastries under the Taunusturm
Liebesbrot bakes organic sourdough, croissants and cinnamon rolls on Mendelssohnstraße, the Westend's neighbourhood bakery done properly, open every day.
Tip: Weekends close at 14:00 and the sourdough sells first; the Nordend branch on Eckenheimer Landstraße runs an hour later.
Worth the queue: Hearty sourdough loaves and cinnamon rolls
Liebesbrot's Nordend counter on Eckenheimer Landstraße bakes the same organic sourdough programme for one of Frankfurt's most cafe-dense quarters.
Tip: Open an hour later than the Westend original on weekends; pair a loaf with a Glauburg Café breakfast two streets over.
Worth the queue: Bio baguettes and weekend cake slices
Baguette Jeanette bakes French sticks and stuffed sandwiches on upper Berger Straße, Bornheim's answer to a Paris corner boulangerie, filled to order.
Tip: The filled baguettes make the cheapest good lunch on Berger Straße; benches at Bornheim Mitte are two minutes away.
Worth the queue: The plain baguette, bought before early evening
Iimori Pâtisserie fills its Braubachstraße cases with matcha, yuzu and French technique, Frankfurt's Japanese cake house near the Dom and the Schirn.
Tip: Cakes travel; the upstairs restaurant does sushi and ramen if the pastry stop becomes dinner. Open daily to 21:00.
Worth the queue: Matcha cakes and yuzu tartelettes
The Altstadtbäckerei of roaster Hoppenworth & Ploch bakes sourdough and fine patisserie behind Frankfurt's rebuilt Hühnermarkt lanes, open daily.
Tip: It doubles as a natural wine and pantry shop; late opening at 11:00 means it is a lunch-and-after stop, not a breakfast one.
Worth the queue: Self-baked sourdough with natural wine to take home
Café Laumer's Konditorei counter has produced Kaffeehaus tortes and cakes in Frankfurt's Westend since 1919, boxed to go or eaten in at the tables.
Tip: Order whole tortes a day ahead for occasions; the counter sells by the slice from 09:00 daily.
Worth the queue: Kaffeehaus tortes from the daily counter
Café Siesmayer's patisserie kitchen at Frankfurt's Palmengarten turns out fine tortes from the same house as two-star Lafleur, boxed for the U-Bahn ride home.
Tip: Boxes to take away are wrapped properly for the U-Bahn; closed Monday and Tuesday, unusual for a Konditorei this central.
Worth the queue: Seasonal patisserie like the Mille Fraise Pistache
Prümtaler Mühle sells mill-baked breads from stand 58 of Frankfurt's Kleinmarkthalle, one of two bread stops inside the market hall, both worth a loaf.
Tip: Compare its dense mill loaves with Bäckerei Huck's rolls at stands 70-71; the market closes Saturdays at 16:00.
Worth the queue: Stone-milled breads from stand 58