"Ota x Ishii's DELA LOVER" is a variety show where Bakusho Mondai's Hikaru Ota and TV Host Ryoji Ishii delve deep into the classics of the Tokai region! This time, we present a ranking of bakeries in Aichi, Gifu, and Mie, based on interviews with 100 people at the Tokai region's largest bread event, "Pan Marche." Pan Marche brings together popular bakeries from all over Japan, attracting over 80,000 visitors in two days (2026). We surveyed 47 skilled bakery owners who exhibited there and 53 bread lovers who visited!

Curry bread that sells over 150 loaves a day

In a tie for 9th place in the "Aichi, Gifu, Mie Bakery Ranking heard at Pan Marche" were four stores: "Ryotaro," "Pandor Marutake," "Boulangerie Yanagawa," and "Esprit."

We focused on "Esprit Nagara Store" in Gifu City. It opened seven years ago in Nagara Higashi, at the foot of Gifu Castle. It is a popular store with branches in Nagoya and Kakamigahara.

Business hours are from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Over 70 types of bread are available, and in-store dining is also possible.

The most popular item is the "curry bread," characterized by its long, thin shape. The Nagara store alone sells over 150 loaves a day!

The secret to its popularity is its chewy texture. The program, hearing that the curry bread is made at the head office factory and then fried at the stores, infiltrated the head office factory in Kakamigahara, Gifu!

In the dough-making room, there are large and small mixers for mixing flour, water, and raw materials. Croissants, which involve folding in butter, are also made here.

In the bread-baking room, there are five ovens, both domestic and international. They use different ovens depending on the bread, such as a rotating oven that applies heat evenly by rotating, and an oil-circulating oven that bakes at a stable high temperature. They bake bread for three stores every day.

10 kg of eggs are used for the curry bread dough. These are put into the mixer. According to President Gaku Yoshimura, one batch makes 2700 curry breads. The temperature of the water added is adjusted according to the day's temperature. This prevents the kneaded dough from warming up and expanding, creating a chewy texture.

Next, the main original mixed flour is added. It is said that tapioca flour is mixed with wheat flour.

The kneaded dough is combined with curry roux, which is a concentrated flavor made by simmering carrots, onions, beef, etc., until they become a paste, and then formed into a stick.

Many breads undergo fermentation to incorporate air into the dough for a fluffy texture. Esprit's curry bread uses a unique method that intentionally does not allow the dough to expand. This is said to prevent oil from penetrating the dough.

There are other benefits to not fermenting. The difficult process of judging fermentation is omitted so that anyone can fry it deliciously at any time.

Finally, breadcrumbs are applied one by one by hand, and the bread is flash-frozen before the curry soaks into the dough, then sent to each store.

Anpan donuts that sell 1200 pieces a day

In a tie for 7th place in the "Aichi, Gifu, Mie Bakery Ranking heard at Pan Marche" were two stores. First, "Gourmand Vital" in Tarui Town, Gifu. This store is famous for its stone oven bread.

The other is "Nakaya Pan" in Imaike, Nagoya. Their very popular anpan donuts are a signature product, selling 1200 pieces a day.

In 6th place in the "Aichi, Gifu, Mie Bakery Ranking heard at Pan Marche" was "Pan no Tora," which has 8 stores in Aichi. Their bread, certified by the Guinness World Records, is popular.

Over 40 types of bread are ready every morning!

In 5th place in the "Aichi, Gifu, Mie Bakery Ranking heard at Pan Marche" was "Tôt Matin Boulangerie" in Meito Ward, Nagoya City. The survey included comments such as "It's the most delicious bakery for me right now" and "A wonderful store. The customer service is also wonderful."

It's about a 5-minute walk from Issha Station on the Higashiyama Subway Line. Business hours are from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Since it operates jointly with a cafe, eat-in is possible outside of lunchtime.

The owner, Ayumi Taki, trained at a popular bakery in Nagoya for six years before becoming independent and opening her own store eight years ago.

Tôt Matin means "early morning" in French. Ms. Taki makes over 40 types of bread! Her signature baguettes sometimes sell out in the morning on early days.

The program followed Ms. Taki for a day.

At 4:00 AM, Ms. Taki prepares the bread dough and other items before the staff arrives. The dough is prepared the day before and left to rest overnight to ferment slowly, bringing out the flavor of the wheat.

At 5:00 AM, the staff arrives. The staff began preparing croissants. If too much time passes after folding in the butter, the layers of dough and butter will blend together, preventing a crispy texture. Therefore, the folding, shaping, and fermentation work starts early in the morning. It takes until around noon for them to be displayed in the store, but they are a popular product, selling over 50 pieces a day.

Ms. Taki makes baguettes, popular for their crispy outside and fluffy inside texture. The dough is a blend of two types of wheat flour, Lisd'or and Merveille, and uses Cam Hoa salt from Vietnam.

The secret to its deliciousness is the low-sugar malt syrup added to the dough. This promotes the fermentation of the bread yeast, resulting in a baguette with a fluffy inside texture.

There are 10 types of bread made from baguette dough. Approximately a quarter of all products are breads derived from baguette dough.

Each bread is shaped, cuts called "coupes" are made, and the baguettes are baked. In fact, the biggest secret to the crispy outside and fluffy inside texture is the oven.

Laying on the bottom of the middle shelf of the oven is a custom-made "granite stone" for baguettes. The total cost of the oven is approximately 2.5 million yen!

In a normal oven, the temperature of the surface in contact with the bread drops, but the heat stored in the granite stone laid at the bottom transfers to the bread from below. By baking at a high temperature all at once, moisture is not excessively lost, resulting in a crispy outside and fluffy inside texture, like bread baked in a stone oven.

At 8:00 AM, the baguettes are displayed in the most prominent place and the store opens. Even after opening, bread continues to be baked.

At 10:30 AM, Ms. Taki goes to a nearby apartment room she rents as a food storage and break room. She finishes lunch in 30 minutes and takes a nap for the remaining time.

At 11:30 AM, after her break, Ms. Taki prepares the dough for the next day and serves customers.

At 3:30 PM, she leaves, entrusting the remaining business hours to her staff.

Here are the 4th to 1st places in the "Aichi, Gifu, Mie Bakery Ranking heard at Pan Marche"!
4th place: Yen Bake House
3rd place: Kiso
2nd place: Brot Yanagi
1st place: Sourire Pou

From CBC TV "DELA LOVER" broadcast on June 17, 2026