# Any Other Good German Bread



## JohnA (Dec 23, 2007)

Is there any other great German Bread besides Stollen that you make?


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## xmascarol1 (Jan 3, 2008)

*German bread*

how about pumpernickel? I get my pumpernickel meal from the coop and it really makes good bread. Just get a good recipe and use fresh ground meal along with your bread flour. 
In the past when I wanted to put in a lot of work, I've made the really dense  German rye bread that doesn't rise much, and you eat it with your bier kase cheese or liversausage. MMMMM.


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## justplainbill (Jan 4, 2008)

To me Stollen is more of a cake than a bread.  I use recipes from George Greenstein's "Secrets of a Jewish Baker" to make breads similar to those found in countries that used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Some of Greenstein's recipes , however, are offbase- E.G. his Hutzelbrot doesn't contain pears.


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## flukx (Jan 4, 2008)

Stollen is more like a cake than bread. Having lived now for 4 years in Germany, I can never imagine eating what we call bread in the US again...these soft spongy loaves. In Germany people eat bread with numerous textures, grains, flavors, sizes, etc. Depends on what you like, I guess.


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## justplainbill (Jan 5, 2008)

Yeah but that spongy stuff has it's place- eg frankfurter and hamburger buns and toast for a BLT, turkey sandwich or tuna salad.


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## flukx (Jan 5, 2008)

yes indeed. I agree.


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## buckytom (Jan 5, 2008)

flukx said:


> Stollen is more like a cake than bread. Having lived now for 4 years in Germany, I can never imagine eating what we call bread in the US again...these soft spongy loaves. In Germany people eat bread with numerous textures, grains, flavors, sizes, etc. Depends on what you like, I guess.


 
flukz, where did you live in the u.s.?


come to nyc for good bread. wonder bread is sort of a joke here, but it has it's place.
my family and i are bread people. that is to say that while first impressions are often dominating, the bread served with a meal in a european style restaurant sets the tone for how the rest of the dishes are recieved.

imo, you can't beat nyc bagels, but i wonder how they are in north eastern(ish) europe?

the local sesame/semolina/italian loaves (round or long) are known for the crust, toasted wheat and nutty flavors.
or the polish rye - good crust, moist but not doughy center. same goes for the pumpernickel, but with a deeper flavor.
then there's the whole grain breads that have everything from dried fruit, seeds, and nuts in the mix with several type of grain flour. 

while spongy white breads still takes up about half of the supermarket shelves in the suburbs, there are now a myriad of breads offered from many different bakeries. everything from 15 grain, to artisan breads, to european ethnic types.


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## jpmcgrew (Jan 5, 2008)

We never ate soft spongy white bread my mother is German and I grew up in Germany till I was 10. We ate alot of dark bread none of it was ever sliced.When I lived there my grandmother would send me every day to the bakery,butcher and dairy farmer. Their fridge was a tiny dorm room type fridge as in those days everything was eaten fresh. When we moved to the states in 1966 there was no real bread to be found. The best my mother could do is Roman Meal brand of bread. Oh! TV did not come on the air until about 5:00 PM as the government believed people would not work anymore and watch TV instead.I kind of agree on that one.
My dad once brought us some American white bread from the commissary and my German uncle and grandparents thought it was cake.


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## xmascarol1 (Jan 5, 2008)

*German bread*

I know there are wonderful breads in NY, Chicago, West Coast, and then there's homemade in the homes of the midwest, and probably other places because we can't stand Wonderbread.  When I moved to a small town in Michigan (pop.3000) back in the 80's, there were 3 wonderful bakeries, all long existing, giving us Chicago rye, artisan breads, challah, etc as well as sticky buns, snails, and so forth.  But those bakers finally retired after 50 yrs. in the bus. and no one wanted to work those long hours anymore.  By 1990, there  was nothing in the way of good bread except 100 miles away!  Thank God I 'd been making bread for years and could supply our family. I'm so happy to see young artisan bread makers appearing again on the scene.  
Being a bread snob, I often judge a restaurant by what kind of bread they serve, (as well as if they have a pepper grinder.)  LOL.


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