Bukëpjekës Patria

Bukëpjekës Patria is a family bread and pastry bakery north of the centre, the kind that marks the Albanian calendar in dough: an Easter loaf enriched with vill…Bukëpjekës Patria is a family bread and pastry bakery north of the centre, the kind that marks the Albanian calendar in dough: an Easter loaf enriched with village butter and eggs and scented with mahleb, ballokume, the cornmeal shortbread of Dita e Verës, in March, and made-to-order birthday cakes, one of which it decorated after a child's own painting. There is coffee at the counter too.

It also bakes wholesale for bars, cafes and restaurants around the city, which is why its loaves turn up elsewhere. For a visitor it is a chance to taste the seasonal breads that most shops have stopped making.