May 8, 2014 - 8:05am
Hi , I am Petra
Hi I am Petra, I live in the UK on the beautiful Isle of Wight, though I am German.
My husband is English , so that is how I came to the UK. LOVE:)
I am 51 years of age, I have 3 boys ages 19,21 & 25, and a Daughter age 15.
I started baking 1 year ago , May 2013 and wish I had started YEARS ago.
Missing German crusty bread was what finally drove me to bake bread.
One learns so much from baking a lot and trying out different methods.
I now bake my breads * most of them * in a Dutch Oven * and do the S&F method instead of kneading.
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis , my wrists and fingers aching a lot and I would not have been able to knead.
Well, that is it from me.
Happy baking.
Petra
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Hi,
Im missing crusty German Bread to, so I started baking 3 years ago.
Wish I a lot fun here and happy baking!
Nice greatings from Canada
Mirko
Thank you for the warm welcome:)
Are you German too or lived in Germany?
Just asking because you said you missed German crusty bread too.
Canada is one place I would LOVE to visit one day:)
Petra
Hi Petra,
I used to live in Germany for 18 years (1991-2009) and my wife is German.
I like good bread and as you all-ready know Germany has lot of good bread, so I'm missing good bread.
Mirko
I miss the Roggenmischbrot, but now with the Sourdough Starter it is no problem anymore.
I also miss all the crusty rolls with seeds and Kuemmelbrot.
Kuemmelbrot is made with Cumin * spelling * in it. so good when it is eaten with butter and cheese. * drooling *
I sometimes, when I make Sourdough rolls put bacon pieces in it, I fry them first, than I let them cool completly and mix them under the dough before shaping, very gently of course. YUMMY
In Germany they are called * Speckbroetchen *
I miss Kosakenbrot, Schweizerbrot, Laugen Croissant and all the sweet stuff! But now I'm baking some stuff by myself! If you are looking for good professional recipes go to http://www.abzonline.de/ Sign it for free and you can download many good recipes!
Mirko
Welcome Petra.
What were some of your favorite breads in Germany? Have you been able to replicate those? I've not done much with German breads.
My fav. Bread was always Kuemmelbrot, it has a very gentle Cumin taste to it and was just wonderful with butter.
Graubrot of cours and Roggenmischbrot.
There are so many good breads in Germany, I think I need to google, I forgot the name of most of them.tsss
Sounds lovely. I sometimes put cumin in bread, too. Does Kuemmelbrot have any rye in it? Rye and cumin sound like a nice combination to me.
I know someone with a German girlfriend who got into baking because she couldn't believe the poor quality of most bread in the US.
Hi cerevisiae,
I make my own version and use Sourdough Starter , Wheat Flour and Wholemeal flour.
But I understand that it is made from Wholemeal flour, Wheat flour and Rye Flour and yeast... I try to find a recipe and translate it for you if you like.
Hi Petra,
Welcome! I lived in Germany(Munchen) and I really miss the neighborhood shops, bread, beer, water, sweets, butcher. After 2 week I knew them all. My butcher has visited me twice since I moved to Japan. He just had to cut me some American style T-bone steaks while I was there. My beer lady gave me lessons and samples of the great Munchen biers. The bread with butter or goose fat, cheese and ham all together was a little scary at first. Well I getting all nostalgia. I hope that you enjoying yourself here.
Hi there Laurentius,
I LOVE it here, so much to read, so much to learn, so confused lol.
My Dad was from Vienna, so he liked bread with Goose fat and just salt.
Sometimes he put little bacon bits on it or mixed it with the Goosefat.
It is just WONDERFUL.
My 2 oldest sons prefer it when I cook German Dishes and of course the Sourdough Bread, when they are home from Iniversity you would think my house is a Bakery.lol They eat the Bread faster than I can bake it, and Sourdough needs time and love.
I can give it love but not time when they boys are home.
The other 2 have more English food taste, they are happy with the Sourdough enhanced White loafes I make BUT my Daughter had 2 Slices of Sourdough last week and said that it is ok. pffft ok.... it is WONDERFUL. lol
Welcome Petra.
UK member here too.
Michael
Hi Michael:)
Ex-Pat like you, but living in the US, I had the exact same reasons for starting to bake my own bread. My stomach refused to accept squishy supermarket breads. Meanwhile I'm not only baking for my family, but also sell my breads to a local natural food store.
By the way, German "Kümmel" is in English "caraway", NOT "cumin" (= "Kreuzkümmel", used in Indian dishes). Daniel Leader made the same mistake in his "Local Breads". But the taste (and color) couldn't be more different.
Liebe Grüsse aus Maine
Karin
Hallo Karin:)
You are a long way away from home, I thought England was far * g *
I was so upset with the bread in this country.
When you come from a Country with such a wide variety of bread it is quite depressing.
I NEVER knew that it is caraway and NOT cumin. No wonder my bread was lacking the taste I was so used too. tsss
Now I know.
I have caraway seeds at home, I shall put it in my next loaf.
It is amazing that you now also sell your bread.
I just have a normal oven, I can only make a loaf in mine, I think the ones in the US are much wider than the once we have.
Mind you, our local pup also serves great food, my hubby is in the Quiz Team, the Chef asked him if I could bake him a Sourdough loaf for next week, who knows.
Lightly toasting the caraway seeds will also increase their flavour.
Brotgewürz is a mixture of toasted coriander, fennel, and caraway and sometimes anise (Koriander, Fenchel, Kümmel) lightly pounded to break or crack the hulls. Very nice in mixed rye breads. Be generous. I also use it on pork roasts.
I normally bring caraway with me when visiting my folks in the South (Southern US) as it very hard to find. Whole caraway can be softened by boiling in the microwave in a little water and allowing to cool down. Save the water. A milk bread with 500g wheat flour and a shot glass of caraway makes a great Kummelbrot. In fact, I have some whipping cream that curdled from freezing but still good, I might bake a loaf myself adding water to make up the difference. That will make a nice loaf. I just turned 56.
Oh that sounds soooo good, I note down your tips and shall incorporate them in my next bake.
Caraway seeds are very easy to find here in the UK:)
In Germany you can buy Brotgewuerz and now I can make my own here!! Thank you so much.
There are so many things that one misses when living in a foreign Country.
But more and more German products coming over here AND I found a German Food Shop here in the UK to order food items online.
They might even have the Brotgewürz. hmmm
Your replies have helped me so much in all the threads that I am reading and asking questions.
The tip to use the Brotgewürz on pork roasts is INSPIRED!!!!
We have Roast Pork tomorrow, I shall use it:)
Off I go for one more coffee before I forget.
I think it is the Menopause that killed my brain! lol
You are right, American ovens are wider. Otherwise, my oven is a regular residential oven, not a commercial one.
Fortunately we have pretty good food here in Maine (like lobster, crab meat and blueberries), and some favorite German foods I can buy at the commissary (my husband is a veteran), like Pflaumenmus and Rouladen-cut beef.
LG, Karin
You are lucky with your Oven . sighhh
I live on the Isle of Wight, just a 5 minute walk to the beach, that is wonderful.
Food is also very nice.
Most people believe that British Food is only fat and grease BUT if you live in the Country... it is great food.
Just the bread.
Oh I have not eaten Pflaumenmus in AGES.
Our Butcher is so kind to cut the beef for me when I want to make Rouladen.