Discover the same passion as we do?
Discover more about the people behind Harold’s and learn how anyone like you deserved to grow yourself into an extra-ordinary growth.
One is Malaysian, of the East. The other is Austrian, of the West. In all aspects of baking, when their two different cultural perspectives merge “in the oven”, the end product is distinctly greater than the sum of the two parts. What comes out of that oven is Harold’s Bread. And this is our origin story.
“Here, try the croissant I made,” said the Austrian man. After a few bites, the bakery owner looked at his half-eaten croissant and exclaimed, “Now that’s quite delicious.” The Austrian smiled in reply and a long conversation began. Soon they were talking about how a bakery should be run and both became animated – to put it mildly (it was almost a verbal punch-up).
The owner, a Malaysian, ran his bakery in Ipoh with Asian business acumen where cost-cutting was a key principle. The appearance and layout of the shop reflected this: rather dull, nothing unique, mostly uninspiring. “That’s not the right way to do it,” said the man from Austria, who turned out to be a Masterbaker. He added, “If craftsmanship is sidelined because costs need to be driven down, the vital spark of the baker’s passion will not be present in the product and the bakery.” The Austrian was a firm believer in sincere baking.
Interestingly, the Masterbaker then offered to impart his expertise and know-how. The best part? He would not charge a single sen. It all started to make sense to the owner. With baking, even with the finest ingredients, good and beautiful bread cannot be rushed; he can only follow the process flow, giving bread time to mature until it is ready. The result is freshly-baked bread that is wholesome, full of flavour and simply a joy to eat.
The bakery owner made up his mind: don’t skimp, don’t compromise on quality, never cut corners. With commitment, he would bring authentic, honest, oven-fresh food to those who appreciate great taste, great quality and great value for money.
Voila! Harold’s Bread was born.
East blends with West. Full fusion. Out with the dull, in comes the inspiring. All infused with passion, all baked with heart.
Even though we’ve not been in the bakery business for a very long time, everything that we do and know we’re good at has come from learning and experience. Inspired by Masterbakers from East to West, we share their passion and pride in creating each item by hand (of course there are mechanical elements to our process but, ultimately, everything is made and shaped by us), with care and attention from start to finish. With that special artisan touch. You can taste the difference: it’s warm, it’s comforting, and it shows how much we care. As we’ve grown, so have our menu and our community, yet our values have stayed the same.
At Harold’s Bread, we’ve got nothing to hide. We do our work in full view of our customers. Shaping, proving and baking happen right behind the counter at our outlets. It’s live theatre of in-store baking where all your senses are fully engaged. Watch the baker skilfully knead and shape batches of dough in the kitchen. You can hear the ‘ding’ of the oven – the buns are ready. The inviting, wonderful aroma wafting through the air. Upon purchase, touch the warm, soft, oven-fresh buns. Then sink your teeth into it. Heavenly!
Nothing gives us as much pleasure as a freshly-baked, lovingly-crafted bun every morning, served with our carefully-sourced house blend of a local specialty coffee – Ipoh White Coffee. We blend tradition with innovation in our array of European and Asian baked goods.
We always make bread and cakes according to traditional recipes and our ingredients are specifically chosen for their integrity and benefits (flavours). For instance, we use 100% butter instead of margarine when the recipe says so. We end up spending a lot of time looking, near and far, for the best ingredients we can get our hands on… and if we can find that locally, we go for it.
Discover more about the people behind Harold’s and learn how anyone like you deserved to grow yourself into an extra-ordinary growth.