Bucheon bakery: Chamsae Bori Sikppang, Bucheon main branch

I’ve been visiting Chamsae Bori Sikppang, Bucheon main branch (참새보리식빵 부천본점) regularly since it first opened a few years ago. Once the bread started selling out early and it became harder to buy the varieties I wanted, I began arriving before opening. This time, I took home all three kinds.

Where is the Bucheon bakery, and how was the opening queue?

The bakery is at Simgok Overpass Intersection near Bucheon Station. I arrived before its 10 a.m. opening on a weekday, and customers were already lining up.

At 10 a.m., a staff member came outside and limited how many people entered at once. That gave us room to choose our bread without crowding inside. Since it’s a takeaway-only shop, customers bought their bread and left quickly, so the wait wasn’t long.

When did I find the best selection of all three loaves?

Over the years I’ve visited, the bread has often sold out early, with the shop closing in the early afternoon. After it appeared on Saenghwarui Darin, a Korean TV show about people with exceptional skills, more customers came from farther away, and it sometimes closed for the day in the morning. It was frustrating not always being able to buy the bread I wanted.

In my experience, the widest selection was available at the 10 a.m. opening. I lined up before opening again this time so I could try every variety.

Which breads and cream were available?

At the time of my visit, there were three kinds of sikppang (loaf bread): daesang chalbori (glutinous barley loaf), gokmul chalbori (multigrain barley loaf), and homil chalbori (rye barley loaf).

Mascarpone milk cream was also sold separately. I was disappointed that the mascarpone milk cream loaf I used to love had been discontinued, but I was glad I could still buy the cream on its own.

There were bread samples, too. The cream was smooth and sweet, and it went well with the nutty flavor of the barley bread.

How did the three takeaway loaves compare?

I took home two daesang chalbori loaves, one gokmul chalbori, and two homil chalbori. I also used the coupons I’d saved. At the time, you could exchange 10 coupons for any loaf, regardless of price, so I redeemed mine for gokmul chalbori, the most expensive of the three.

What was the texture of daesang chalbori?

The daesang chalbori was moist, soft, and chewy. Its nutty barley flavor made it enjoyable plain or with cream. After eating it, I felt comfortably full without any heaviness in my stomach.

How did gokmul chalbori and homil chalbori differ?

Gokmul chalbori adds 18 kinds of grains and roasted walnuts to the basic barley bread. The different grains gave each bite a varied texture.

Homil chalbori contained walnuts, rye, and cranberries. Bites of cranberry amid the mild, earthy flavors made it taste brighter and tarter than the other two. Taking home all three let me compare their individual flavors and textures.