Bakeries in Glasgow

The baking story of Glasgow

No Glasgow breakfast is complete without a morning roll — soft and fluffy inside, with a crisp, sometimes deliberately well-fired crust — filled with square sausage, bacon or a tattie scone. The rolls are baked packed tightly together, which gives them their soft sides. Glasgow grew into a great industrial city on teacakes, empire biscuits, iced buns and Scotch pies sold from bakeries at the foot of the tenements, and caramel wafers and snowballs belong to the same sweet-toothed tradition. The city's Italian, Irish, South Asian and Polish communities have all left their mark, and Glasgow is one of several places that lay claim to inventing chicken tikka masala. In the East End, the Barras market has traded at weekends for around a century.

Local bakes to look out for

• Morning roll – A soft, floury breakfast roll with a crisp, often well-fired top.
• Tattie scone – A thin potato scone cooked on a griddle and fried for breakfast.
• Empire biscuit – Two shortbread rounds sandwiched with jam, iced and topped with a jelly sweet.
• Scotch pie – A hot-water-crust pie of peppery minced meat.

Bakery hunter's tip: Order a 'roll and square' at a café or bakery for breakfast; the West End around Byres Road and the Southside around Shawlands are rewarding areas to explore.

Did you know? Square or Lorne sausage is sliced from a block of seasoned minced meat, giving it the perfect shape for a morning roll.