[part-II] Yes, you could say – Germans are obsessed with bread! Our bread culture is kind of a sanctuary. Whether it is for breakfast with ‘Brötchen’, especially on cozy Sunday mornings, on the go as sandwich or for dinner called ‘Brotzeit’ or ‘Abendbrot’. Brotzeit is a typical and traditional cold dinner, when family members come together and enjoy fresh bread with cold cuts, cheese and pickles or tomatoes.

Some translations you may have seen often:

‘Bauernbrot’ –                        Farmers bread              (often a mix-bread)
‘Landbrot’ –                           Country bread               (often a mix-bread)
‘Vollkornbrot’ –                   Whole Grain bread      (must contain >90% Whole Grain)
‘Brezel’ –                                 Pretzel                             (just wheat flour, dived in a lye bath)
‘Brötchen’ / ‘Semmel’ –     rolls

There are two more important and indispendable bakery treats for Germans: ‘Brezeln and Brötchen‘, means Pretzels and rolls. Pretzels are part of the everyday life in the southern part of Germany and there is no way around it. Our rolls have nearly  as much variations as breads and have different names in each part of the country. As a generic term they were called  ‘Wecken, Semmel or Brötchen’ in the west and south or ‘Schrippen’ in the eastern and Berlin area. To make it even more confusing, a lot of rolls have own names like ‘Stangen’, ‘Bürli’, ‘Krusti’,…. 😅

Artisan Bread vs. factory-made

Big milestones in the history of the German bread culture are bakeries that have been around for decades, even centuries. The oldest bakery in Germany is in Northern Bavarian, ‘Bäckerei Adl’. It is already in its 14^th generation! Yes, unbelievable! It was founded in 1392 and opened the first official bakery later in 1573. Some bread making machines are even over 100 years old. Until today all doughs are traditional handmade. One of their specialties is a sweet yeast bread with a nut filling (‘Hefezopf’), baked according to a recipe that is over 300 years old. People come from far away to get one of these treats.

Unfortunately, more and more small and traditional family bakeries have closed in recent years. In the bakery trade it is difficult to find successors. Large supermarket chains open at every corner and offer factory-made bread. It’s cheaper and saves the extra way to the bakery. Sadly not everyone cares or appreciates the craft the baker learned over decades.

This is also a reason why we try to keep a tradition alive. With bread baking kits from BREADISTA we offer a pre-measured flour-mix with everything included what’s necessary and nothing else. All recipes are favorite bread treats and belong to the bread culture either in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. High quality ingredients and time are the key factor for delicious and traditional bread.

Try it and be surprised what you can do. Bake like a pro!

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