The Dutch take bread seriously. Most people here eat it every day, and the city has answered with one of Europe's better bakery scenes: old wholemeal institutions, new sourdough obsessives, proper French boulangeries, and a viral Mediterranean shop or two. This is our shortlist of the must visit bakeries in Amsterdam, the ones worth planning a morning around, and exactly where to find each.

We run Ruma (formerly De Beste Lekkernij), a Mediterranean bakery in the Nine Streets, so we are not neutral. We are also in this every single day, flour on our hands by six in the morning, and we eat around this city constantly. Everything below earns its spot.

How to plan a bakery crawl

Two rules. First, go early. The good places open around seven or eight in the morning and the best things sell out by lunch. A croissant at nine beats the same croissant at three. Second, do not try to hit one bakery for everything. Amsterdam rewards a small loop: a French spot for croissants, an artisan baker for sourdough, a traditional shop for a fresh stroopwafel, and one wildcard for the thing you have only seen on your phone. Build the morning around the neighbourhood, not the other way round.

The must visit bakeries in Amsterdam

1. Ruma (formerly De Beste Lekkernij), Nine Streets

Start where the queue is. Our trilece is a Turkish three-milk sponge, soaked slow until the texture sits between cake and custard, then finished with a thin caramel top. It has pulled over 600 million views and a 4.9 star rating, which is a strange thing to say about a cake, but here we are. We bake everything by hand each morning: trilece in rotating flavours like pistachio, raspberry and Lotus, honey-soaked baklava, simit and simit sandwiches, Dubai-style pistachio cannoli, plus savoury pastries and coffee. Cold, soft, not too sweet. See the full menu before you come.

Where: Herenstraat 24A, in the Nine Streets, a short walk from Centraal, Dam Square and the Anne Frank House. Open daily, 8am to 7pm.

2. Le Fournil de Sebastien

The benchmark for French bread in the city. Sebastien Roturier moved his boulangerie to the Netherlands from France back in 2007, and the following has been near religious ever since. This is the place for honest baguettes and croissants made the slow way, flour and water and time. It opens early and the weekend can mean a line. Worth it.

3. Fort Negen

One of the names that put Amsterdam's sourdough scene on the map. Fort Negen is known for long-fermented loaves and a chocolate and almond croissant that has its own fan club. There is usually a queue and an open kitchen to watch while you wait, which is the right kind of theatre for a bakery. Out west, in the De Baarsjes direction, away from the tourist core.

4. Hartog's Volkoren

For the other end of the spectrum, go traditional. Hartog's has been making compact wholemeal bread in Amsterdam since 1896, with grain milled daily. The result is a dense, slightly sweet loaf with a proper crust, the kind of bread the city was built on. It opens early, which is exactly when you want it.

5. Lanskroon, near the Spui

Skip the supermarket stroopwafel and come here. Lanskroon is one of the historic go-to spots for the Dutch classic, the thin waffle split and filled with warm caramel. Eat it on the spot, while the caramel is still soft. It is a five minute walk from us, so it slots neatly into a Nine Streets morning.

6. De Laatste Kruimel

"The last crumb" is one of the prettiest cafe-bakeries in the centre and a reliable lunch stop. The counter runs to freshly baked quiches, pies, cakes and sandwiches, all homemade and generous. Central, busy, and good for a sit-down rather than a grab-and-go.

7. Bakhuys

An open-plan bakery and cafe where you can watch the bakers work while you eat. The baguettes, croissants and quiches have a loyal following, and it is an easy place to settle in for breakfast. Good if you want the bakery and the table in one stop.

8. Breadwinner, Jordaan

For something different, this Jordaan spot built its name on sourdough bagels, freshly baked and piled with the likes of avocado, pastrami or cream cheese. People line up for them. A useful detour if your morning is leaning savoury rather than sweet.

Which bakery for which craving

If you want to go deeper on the sweet end, our guides to the best desserts in Amsterdam and the best bakeries in Amsterdam have more.

Where the bakeries are: Amsterdam by neighbourhood

The city does not keep its best bakeries in the tourist core. It keeps them where people actually live.

The Nine Streets and the Jordaan

This is the easiest area to walk and the one we would send a first-time visitor to. The Nine Streets (De 9 Straatjes) and the neighbouring Jordaan pack a lot of good food into a small grid of canals. You can do trilece, a stroopwafel and a bagel inside half an hour on foot, and never feel rushed. Ruma sits right in the middle of it. Plan your visit around this loop and the rest of the day takes care of itself. While you are here, our pick of the best cafes in the Nine Streets is the natural next stop for coffee.

De Pijp

Home to the Albert Cuyp Market and a good mix of old-school and new-wave bakeries. A solid choice if you also want a market wander and a fresh stroopwafel pressed in front of you.

Oud-West and De Baarsjes

The heart of the newer sourdough scene, Fort Negen included. A little further out, more local, and worth the tram ride if great bread is the whole point of your morning.

Amsterdam-Oost

Green, residential and increasingly full of good coffee roasteries and small bakeries. The kind of area you explore slowly rather than tick off a list.

Tips for visiting bakeries in Amsterdam

Come taste the viral one

You have probably already scrolled past our trilece. It is better in real life: cold, soft, gone in four bites. Find us in the Nine Streets daily, or order to your door across the city. Browse the full menu or plan your visit.