School Bread has long been a beloved snack for many Walt Disney World visitors, and more guests are being introduced to its deliciousness every day. While we’ve mentioned it on the blog before, I’ve never actually done a full review of it! So let’s get started!
This treat, found in Epcot’s Norway pavilion at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe, is actually pretty simple. A sweet bread roll is injected with vanilla pudding or custard, then covered with sweet icing and toasted coconut. The School Bread recipe comes from a classic Norwegian snack (properly titled “Skolebrød”), which kids took to school in their packed lunches or parents sold at bake sales.
Epcot's Norway School Bread
The description aside, this is one of those Disney World snacks that actually isn’t too sweet! Which is possibly why so many people love it. This yummy treat won’t knock you on your kiester for the rest of the day — at least in my experience — so it gives folks a good “rest” snack before moving on with the rest of their Epcot touring!
Regarding taste and texture, the bread here is a cross between a cinnamon roll and a dinner roll. It’s not super moist — more springy. But the sweet vanilla custard is extremely smooth and abundant (my big worry before trying this snack was that there wouldn’t be enough custard — not a problem). And the basic icing and coconut on top give it just enough extra sweetness.
Epcot's Norway School Bread Cross-Section
While you can eat this snack while walking, I highly recommend getting a table in the little covered area behind Kringla Bakery and taking a seat while snacking. It’s a great opportunity to relax, and trust me — you’ll want to remember this experience! 🙂
Have you tried School Bread? Love or Indifferent? Let us know in the comments below!
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Best snack at WDW – period. Oh, and that picture! Want. One. Now.
You’re killing me… Great pics of a great treat. One that actually lived up to the hype, in my opinion!!!
Ya’ll are going to hate me, but I found it to be a little too ginger like for me. Idk, maybe it was the way it was made that day?? Some sort of flavor was certainly there and I wasn’t liking it.
Venessa – not a hater here. : )
It may be the cardamom that I believe is in the recipe, it just might not hit you right or maybe they were heavy handed with the spice that day. It was very understated when we enjoyed the bread, but too much could alter the taste I would agree.
Sue — So glad you love it!
Mike M — Agreed that it lives up to the hype! I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough custard for my liking, but there was plenty!
Venessa — No worries, my friend! There are some things that just don’t suit your fancy! 😉 (It’s OK — more for us!)
I would say it’s more like a dinner roll which I think is what throws people off.. I think they are expecting it to be more sweet and then they get a surprise at it being so – breadish (but hey, it’s called school BREAD right?) Lol. I personally LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and agree about it being the best snack on property. I even had my mom fly three of them from FL to NY for me last summer!
Thankfully we are leaving for WDW tomorrow so I get to have some soon.. I can promise you I’ll be having at least two on my trip!
and fyi.. I’m making the cross section pic my computer wallpaper right now. 😉
I just tried this for the 1st time this past trip and it was really good! I really liked the custard and I liked how there was a cinnamon taste to the bread! I personally am not the biggest fan of coconut so I didn’t love that part of it but the custard and the bread would be enough for me to get it again!
I admit that I was a skeptic, especially because coconut is not high on my list of things I love to eat. But after I tried school bread, it was love at first bite!
As a non dessert person – this is the one thing I never miss at when at Epcot. To me this is a doughnut that has gone to heaven!
I would like to try this but I’m not a fan of coconut. Can you get it without it?
JoAnn — No option to get it without right now 🙁 You can scrape it off, though — it’s just dusted on the top. Also, always ask about getting one without coconut — you never know!
That looks fantastic! I wanted to try one when we were at WDW back in 2009, but was too full from other delicious food. I’ll have to make sure to leave room for School Bread on our next trip (hopefully this year)!
Delicious! My kids and I shared it last May as we were snacking around the world.
I love the school bread, but one thing has always perplexed me. How did coconut make it into a classic Norwegian pastry? A google search yielded no info other than that coconut is indeed a standard part of the recipe, not an Epcot or regional twist. It just seems out of place for the region.
I picture a flock of African Swallows flying over vikings, dropping coconuts onto their custard doughnuts.
WOW. I am gonna try this when we are there in SIXTEEN days. I am not a real sweets girl so it sounds perfect!
I love school bread probably because coconut & custard are 2 of my favorite things. Personally think Kringla Bakeri og Cafe have the best pastries.
I got this, the sweet almond pretzel & the berry cream puff on our visit in Dec. I,too,was surprised how different the bread tasted, it really did taste like a cinnamon/cardamom spiked dinner roll. Delicious but not at all what I was expecting. I guess I had imagined it being sweeter like a Hawaiian roll. My stubborn husband refused to try it until it was stale a couple of days later(we were there a full 14 days-we had quite a few snacks piling up in our room)and he LOVED it when he finally tried it! He’s the custard/cream/cheese filled anything lover and he really enjoyed the filling,especially mixed with the coconut. 4 thumbs up from us!
Here’s my top recommendation for a treat at the Kringla Bakery: lefse (very thin cinnamon and potato bread/wrap with butter). Be sure to have a Cast Member toast it for you. Delicious!!! Trust me, the potato can’t be tasted, only the warmth of the cinnamon and toasted cinnamon.
Keep up the great work on DFB!
I had this on my last trip down. It was pretty high on my list to try, and I came away disappointed. It wasn’t bad, but it was great. I am glad I tried it, but I was hoping for a little more of a cinnamon taste, and was expecting it to be much sweeter then what it was. I would try it again, but I think the lefse bread (my friend got this and it looked great) will take precedence before I try the School Bread again. I was surprised with all the other offerings this shop had, some really good looking sandwiches are avalible here.
Ooooh, Sammy, I didn’t know you could get the lefse toasted. I tried that when we snacked around the world a couple of years ago, and I liked it, but found the bread to be a bit dry. I bet it tastes really yummy if it’s been warmed up!
I’m so in love with the school bread that I’ve been searching all over Southern California for it. I’d love it if they had it at Disneyland!
Sammy, add me to the list who didn’t know you can get the lefse toasted! I’m trying that on my next trip!
My husband is of Norwegian descent, so naturally I had to try skolebrød after we started dating. I ended up liking it so much – the bread, the custard, the cardamom – that I’ve made it at home. [Full disclosure: I made it for a large group of people – some people were disappointed it wasn’t a filled donut-type dessert.]
I think the trick for a lot of people is getting over the idea that it’s a dessert-y sweet roll or a filled donut; it’s more of a dinner roll+, as AJ suggests. As far as the coconut issue: I’m not a big fan of coconut, either, but I haven’t found that its presence impairs my enjoyment of skolebrød.
Schoolbread is my #1 snack food at wdw!!!
I love school bread. I got it and the pear almond trat on my last trip there and loved both of them. With a week of sweet Disney snacks sometimes you just need something a little less sweet.
Because of this review, I had to try this. I was in Florida again this past weekend and we got one to share. I guess I’m not a fan of cardamom because I didn’t care for the flavor of the bread part at all. Now I loved the icing/coconut portion on top. And I loved the custard. But ours looked NOTHING like the photo in this review. The only custard we got was the little squirt on top, which made me oh so sad 🙁 Here I was expecting a pool of it inside and – nothing.
Now as a side note we got a roast beef sandwich to share and that was fantastic!! The cheese and the caramelized onions were delicious! And the roast beef was perfect.
Matt — I can’t believe you got shortchanged on custard!! Bummer!! Glad you liked the sandwich, though! What other treats did you sample in WDW?
School bread is the bomb! I eat one every morning while in Disneyworld and have to wait until they open for my breakfast! The sandwhiches are also good. I tell EVERYONE who is going to DisneyW to stop by and try school bread and they always think the name is funny. With so many food options in Epcot this one could be missed and that would be a shame! I almost never seek out coconut treats but this one is awesome. Also to answer the other post about Norway having coconut trees they actually do! Google history of coconut trees!
I realize I’m super-late commenting on this post, but now that I’m 15 days away from WDW, I’m catching up on my DFB reading. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this kind of sounds like a less-sweet version of a Boston or Bavarian cream donut. Which sounds awesome, since I love those. Oh boy, oh boy, I think I’m dragging people to Norway this time around!
It was awesome!!!
Oh boy…it this ever good! Everytime we hit EPCOT, we make a bee line and snag one! We grab a table, sort of share it (although I seem to hog most of it) and we watch the world go by. A great way to relax! If we’re heading home from the park, we grab two for breakfast the next day. Don’t even think about not grabbing one! Wait…on second thought don’t grab one…that way there is more for me!
I just got back from WDW. Got this treat at the bakery in Epcot’s Norway. Was not expecting the flavor explosion! Loved it!
We each had one of these at the Norway spot in Epcot last Thursday. WOW! It was delicious!!! Wish I could get them around here.
This sounds wonderful to me… My H doesn’t like coconut though (gasp!)… Mine will have coconut but I’m wondering if he can order his without?
My husband I shared a school bread today. It was the first time either of us had ever had one and I am betting that we will make it a mandatory stop from now on. It was great.
Coming to Disney in 3 weeks. Staying at Kidani Village – Animal Kingdom. Won’t have a day to make it to Epcot, but I’d absolutely love to have a School Bread. Tried it last summer and absolutely loved it. Do you know anyway to get one delivered to our resort?
Love it hands down the best sweet snack at Disney. It and the jalapeno pepper and cheese pretzel tie for best over all snack.
We get several and take back to our villa for breakfast. Mmmmmmmmmm…
School Bread is everything I like rolled into one. I never would have known about it if not for Disney Food Blog. BUT…the one time I tried it it was stale. I will give it another chance next time I go. I have been burned by Disney before. One time I bought Grapefruit Cake at Starring Rolls and it was all dried out and gummy.
I had to try one after reading your reviews on the blog and I thought it was delicious! Yum!
I had school bread at Epcot sometime in the 90’s I think and it did not have icing and coconut. I loved it and have been asking about it for years-no one seemed to know anything about it. Happy to find here and also online recipes to try it for myself.
I avoid most food with coconut, too sweet for me. But after years of enjoying sweet pretzels (my favorite treat at Norway’s bakery, I decided to try the school bread. it was very good and it is now on my list of favorite treats at WDW. Looking forward to have it again in August.
We recently returned from our first trip to Disney World and I made a point to try the School Bread based off this blog’s recommendation.
And it was justified! LOVED it. First bite, which was mainly pastry/bread, and I thought oh no this isn’t going to so good. A tad dryer than expected and not very sweet. BUT then the cream kicked in and a large smile appeared on my face. The sweet cream paired perfectly with the dryer and less moist bread. I’m not ashamed to admit I ate the entire thing myself.
It was a little awkward to eat out of hand without getting cream all over my cheeks, but man it was worth it!
And for the non-coconut lovers you really don’t taste it so much, it’s mainly there for texture I believe.
Thanks for recommending it!!! It’s now on my list of must haves when we return next year (up there with the Dole Whips and Mickey Bars!)
I went to Epcot February 2014 and I tried to get the School Bread twice. Both times, the bakery said they didn’t have any. Is this something that is usually served? I’m going back February 2015 & I hope I have better luck!!!
Hi Jenny! They’ve always had it when I’ve been there (even through last month), so you just got really unlucky! I’m so sorry!
Just got back from Disney World (where we ate so many truly wonderful things) and this is by far the best desert ever. We had the school bread with Sweetish meatballs, mashed potatoes, and gravy. To our suprize the school bread stole the show. According to the counter clerk they sell more of these then any other item sold at Disnety World.
Likewise if you want something truly decadent next time try ordering it with the Norwegian beer {Yumm}
This was, hands down, the best dessert that I’ve ever had at WDW. It wasn’t too sweet. It was perfect for me. Looking forward to eating this again and soon!
Jonny — So glad you enjoyed!
Best dessert ever. !!!!! You should not leave Epcot without trying School Bread.
Eating one right now! This pasty is soooo good and fairly cheap when considering other Disney snack options. Great with a caffe latte!