Edinburgh’s Best Bakers – Hippolyte and Florence L’Angelou
What The Dickins: A Tale Of Edinburgh City

Edinburgh’s Best Bakers – Hippolyte and Florence L’Angelou

Edinburgh’s Best Bakers – Hippolyte and Florence L’Angelou

I’ve got my husband, Simon, to thank for discovering L’Angelou, the brilliant Edinburgh bakery run by Hippolyte and Florence. Heavy traffic led him to take a different route to our usual one and as soon as I spotted L’Angelou at 88 Northfield Broadway, I asked him to pull over because it looked special. With piles of serious looking French cookbooks and to die for cakes in the window, it was indeed special. There is pretty much always a queue outside these days, so many others have discovered this wonderful shop and agree that Hippolyte and Florence L’Angelou are Edinburgh’s Best Bakers!

Hippolyte and Florence L’Angelou

Our two firm favourites are their savoury baguettes and their Kouing-amann. The savoury baguettes come in various flavours. Flo in the office said she’d been dreaming about them, ever since I bought one when we had to spend time in the office at the weekend. My son, Geordie, asked me to drive across town to buy one a couple of weeks ago and as he munched away said “These are pretty addictive aren’t they Mum.’

My friend Lucy and I first tried a kouign-amann on our way back from a chilly sea swim. We sat in the car, sharing one and had, what can only be described as, an out of body experience. This salty, sweet, crunchy and soft marvel is worth a long drive journey to sink your teeth into.  They sell out pretty quickly. I could never say their name until I came to do this blog and asked how to spell this doughy delectation. Now its name as well as their taste is etched on my mind, never to be forgotten!

We think you are Edinburgh’s Best Bakers. What do you enjoy most about running your bakery?

Running a bakery is like a marathon and a sprint at the same time, but what keeps us going in running the bakery is our customers who are coming back regularly to treat themselves, or just for some bread. Without them will not wake up every morning and we will probably snooze the alarm clock.

Have you got a great baking related tip for us?

Patience is the key in baking we would say. Everything needs to be just enough but not too much.

When did you move to Edinburgh and what drew you here?

We came for weekend gateway in Edinburgh in 2019 from London where we used to live. We were amazed by the nature and the old stones in this city, it feels like it has been stuck in time.

When did you set up L’Angelou?

We set up the company right in middle of covid.  We always wanted to open our bakery patisserie, but we never had time as we were always working. The covid allowed us the time to go ahead with our dream project.

What are your best selling products and do you have a favourite you love making?

The baguette is the best seller and of course the almond croissants we usually sell out quickly.
We enjoy making the kouign-amman as the process is very different from other types of pastries. We have simple products but sometimes simple things are the best!

The addictive L’Angelou savoury baguettes

What time of day do you enjoy most?

It would probably be 5.30 in the morning when we take our coffee and breakfast.

What do you like to do on a day off (apart from sleeping!)

Sleeping is a pretty good day off activity. We also enjoy cooking at home and taking nice walks in parks in drizzling weather.

What does home mean to you?

Home to us means family, sunshine and charcuterie.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about Edinburgh’s Best Bakers – Hippolyte and Florence L’Angelou. If you’d like to visit their bakery, here are the details.
88 Northfield Broadway
Edinburgh
EH8 7RU
Open 8.30 – 2pm Mon and Wednesday – Friday
9am to 12.30am Saturday and Sunday.
Closed Tuesday.

2 Comments

  • Ian Young

    June 4, 2024 at 10:31 pm

    Vive la difference!
    Love bread croissants and pain au chocolat!

    Reply

    • Dickins

      July 12, 2024 at 1:46 pm

      We agree Ian!

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