Brotchen. Bienenstich. Stollen. Streusel.
Confused? Then it's time for a field trip.
Roughly an hour's drive from Lakeland — a scenic one at that — Yalaha Bakery in Lake County beckons with buttery bribes and cocoa come-ons.
The German bakery and delicatessen is a destination for young and old who travel from all corners of the state to sample pies and tortes and fresh-baked loaves of rye, pumpernickel and frankenlaib, a rustic, spicy Bavarian bread.
Baked goods include soft pretzels and sumptuous pretzel rolls, the perfect container for the house Reuben, spilling with lean pastrami, sauerkraut and Russian dressing.
But let's be honest. A trip to Yalaha Bakery is all about dessert: authentic apple strudel, Black Forest cake laced with kirsch brandy and the classic bienenstich, or bee sting, an almond cake filled with pastry cream and decked in almonds and honey.
Now is a good time to pay the bakery a visit, as things start getting busy in the fall when the 25-acre property hums with tour buses, automobile and motorcycle clubs and other fans in search of German goodies.
“It's actually a relief when June comes and the pace slows,” says owner Juergen Klumb. “Let me show you a picture of what it looks like in the (busy) season.”
He thumbs through photographs on his smartphone that depict boisterous crowds on the bakery's adjoining tree-covered patio, where musicians gather on weekends and bratwurst sizzles on a grill.
Customers can choose to dine indoors as well, where breakfast and lunch is served daily.
The enterprise takes its name from the community of Yalaha on the southern edge of Lake Harris, where native Indians thrived well into the 19th century. Yalaha means orange in Seminole.
The community situated southeast of Leesburg was a crucial shipping port for many years, with boats traveling a network of rivers and lakes, their cargo consisting of asparagus ferns and other flora, citrus and more, bound for northern markets.
In 1884, the completion of a railroad linking Jacksonville to Tampa brought an end to the shipping trade. Much of the area around Yalaha, however, retains hints of the past, including orange groves and plant nurseries sprouting the rolling terrain.
Part of the charm of Yalaha is its seclusion, a factor that has given rise to a number of gated communities strung along County Road 48. Nearby is the quaint town of Howey-in-the-Hills and the sprawling 1,100-acre Mission Inn Resort and Club, a luxury destination for dining, golfing, fishing and more.
Guenter Herold, a retired corporate lawyer from Dusseldorf, Germany, founded Yalaha Bakery in 1995 and still resides nearby. He is a frequent customer, says Klumb, a German native who purchased the bakery in 2008 and says he adheres to Herold's strict standards and regularly hosts master bakers from Germany to keep staff properly trained and up-to-date with industry techniques.
That includes using organic ingredients when possible, and real butter, chocolate and cream.
Klumb, 63, who holds an MBA from UCLA, manages the business with his wife, Anne Marie, a third-generation German and a native of Bogota, Colombia. Their children, Sascha, 18, and Stefan, 16, also are part of the act, which includes a satellite store in The Villages in Sumter County.
An attempt to open a location in Lakeland fizzled in early 2015, but Klumb maintains an interest in gaining a foothold in Polk. Meanwhile, his wares are sold at dozens of farmers markets throughout Central Florida.
The Klumbs reside in the town of Windemere near Orlando. Prior to purchasing the bakery they owned a furniture store on West Colonial Drive and would take weekend runs to Yalaha, returning home with coolers laden with the foods they grew up with.
Despite a lack of formal training, the couple has since learned the tricks of the commercial bread and pastry trade.
“He can do the breads and I do the pastries,” Anne Marie Klumb says. “I've loved pastry since I was very young, and as a teen I used to sell pies to restaurants after school.”
The bakery and delicatessen is located in the community of Yalaha in Lake County at 8210 County Road 48. It’s an easy, scenic drive from Polk County on State Road 33, north to Groveland. Turn left on Broad Street (State Road 50) then right on Howey Road (State Road 19). Continue to Howey-in-the-Hills, then turn left at the light onto County Road 48. Phone: 352-324-3366 Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Live music: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; noon to 3 p.m. Sunday For more information visit: www.yalahabakery.com
YALAHA BAKERY