German Cuisine - Bread

Bread

Bread (Brot) is a significant part of German cuisine. About 600 main types of breads and 1,200 different types of pastries and rolls are produced in about 17,000 bakeries and another 10,000 in-shop bakeries.

Bread is served usually for breakfast (sometimes replaced by bread rolls) and in the evening as (open) sandwiches, but rarely as a side dish for the main meal (popular, for example, with Eintopf or soup). The importance of bread in German cuisine is also illustrated by words such as Abendbrot (meaning supper, literally evening bread) and Brotzeit (snack, literally bread time). In fact, one of the major complaints of the German expatriates in many parts of the world is their inability to find acceptable local breads.

Regarding bread, German cuisine is more varied than that of either Eastern or Western Europe. Bread types range from white wheat bread to grey (Graubrot) to black (Schwarzbrot), actually dark brown rye bread. Most breads contain both wheat and rye flour (hence Mischbrot, mixed bread), and often wholemeal and whole seeds (such as linseed, sunflower seed, or pumpkin seed), as well. Darker, rye-dominated breads, such as Vollkornbrot or Schwarzbrot, are typical of German cuisine. Pumpernickel, a steamed, sweet-tasting bread, is internationally well known, although not representative of German black bread as a whole. Most German breads are made with sourdough. Whole grain is preferred for high fibre. Germans use almost all available types of grain for their breads: wheat, rye, barley, spelt, oats, millet, corn and rice. Some breads are made with potato starch flour.

Germany's most popular breads are:

1. Rye-wheat (Roggenmischbrot)
2. Toast bread (Toastbrot)
3. Whole-grain (Vollkornbrot)
4. Wheat-rye (Weizenmischbrot)
5. White bread (Weißbrot)
6. Multigrain, usually wheat-rye-oats with sesame or linseed (Mehrkornbrot)
7. Rye (Roggenbrot)
8. Sunflower seeds in dark rye bread (Sonnenblumenkernbrot)
9. Pumpkin seeds in dark rye bread (Kürbiskernbrot)
10. Roasted onions in light wheat-rye bread (Zwiebelbrot)