Diehl's Bakery is a traditional German bakery at 5/65 Hillside Rd in Glenfield, on Auckland's North Shore. It has a 4.9 rating from 494 Google reviews. Its website says master baker Meinolf, who has baked for about 40 years, took over the bakery in 2017 and uses long fermentation, rye sourdough made fresh daily, simple ingredients and no long list of additives. It offers hand-made sourdough breads, sweet and savoury snacks, cheesecake and what it calls the best German Brezel in Auckland. Reviewers call it the best bakery in New Zealand, praise its sourdough and say it does the basics perfectly.
Real sourdough relies on time and a living starter, so a good bakery lets the dough ferment slowly, which gives a chewy crumb, a crisp crust and a mild tang. Rye bread is denser and keeps well for several days, and most loaves freeze well when sliced and wrapped. Pretzels and rolls are best the day they are baked, and a short time in the oven restores crispness. Popular loaves sell out, so go earlier in the day for the best choice.
For German rye sourdough and pretzels on the North Shore, Diehl's Bakery is a highly rated Glenfield bakery.