At the age of twelve, Herbert Heinig (68) drove out rolls on his bike before class in his Swabian hometown. Mainly because he couldn’t resist the smell of freshly baked goods.
“I only earned the equivalent of six euros a week,” he says with a laugh. Heinig now runs two bakeries. The “BäckerMann” is on the Südwestkorso and on Pariser Straße.
After his apprenticeship at the village baker in Meßkirch, he first went to sea, “because of the army”. But the smell of the bread could not be replaced by the sea breeze…
So he returned to the bakery trade and at the age of 20 became the youngest master craftsman in Germany. He came to Berlin to escape the army. Here he did his secondary school leaving certificate, then Abitur and studied food technology.
32 years ago, Heinig opened his first bakery on Südwestkorso. “I did everything by myself: baking and selling,” he says.
In 2014 his glass bakery in Wilmersdorf was added. A friend said: “Call yourself what the children call you: BäckerMann.” Heinig now has 65 employees.
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As an old Swabian, his hit is the Swabian pretzel. “She looks like me, skinny sleeves, big belly,” he jokes. When he was young, Heinig could devour twelve of them in a minute.
He says confidently: “I bake the best pretzels. The important thing is to bake them on the stovetop, not on the tray.” 300 are made daily. Crispy brown on the outside, soft on the inside. Heinig also supplies the state representation of Baden-Württemberg with this.
And this is how the pretzel is traditionally eaten: “The Swabian breaks off the legs, cuts the belly in half and spreads butter on it. The little arms are pulled through the butter.”
He is far from thinking about quitting: Herbert Heinig is certain: “The work in front of the hot oven preserves it.”