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Bake your own bread –
a trend with a lasting effect

Bread and pastries are staple foods in many European countries. Especially in German-speaking countries such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland, there is a great variety of bread. Depending on the region, there are different recipes and taste preferences.

The "good old bread" - Was bread better in the past?

In the past, rye breads mixed with sourdough were more common. Today, souring agents are often used in bread to save time. However, these baking accelerators often lead to poor digestibility of the bread. Using too much yeast can also have negative effects on intestinal health. However, baking with sourdough is making a comeback today. More and more people are baking their own bread with home-made sourdough at home. Compared to the past, there are now stricter food controls and better labeling of products, which ensures transparency and safety. In addition, many bakeries also offer a wider variety of breads and pastries, which is better suited to different tastes these days. So whether bread is better today than “in the past” usually depends on many factors and cannot be answered with a blanket “yes”.

Traditional baking can still be found today

The desire to "do it yourself" and regionality

According to research, people baked more bread at home during the coronavirus crisis. As a result of the lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, many consumers had more free time and were able to devote more time to cooking or baking. The desire for regional products has increased even further as a result of the pandemic. Customers are buying more frequently from regional, small bakeries again, as products from their own country are perceived as more trustworthy.

So you can still find traditional artisan bakeries today. The manual work in bakeries is characterized by the use of high-quality, natural ingredients and sourdough for the dough. It is important that the dough is left to rise for a long time in order to break down the indigestible ingredients in the flour. The high effort and higher quality of the bread usually results in a higher price for the consumer. The price of mass-produced breads is lower because they are fully automated and standardized.

Baking bread takes time and patience

Bake your own bread - a call to all bread fans

Bread is probably at its best when it is bought as locally as possible or baked at home. If you want to know where your bread really comes from and which ingredients end up in your bread, then simply ask at your trusted bakery. Perhaps they will be able to answer many of your questions. If you have a general love of bread and want to try something new, you should definitely give it a try and bake your own bread.

You can use many regional grains to bake bread. In Austria, for example, in addition to the well-known classic varieties such as wheat or rye, there are also old, robust varieties such as emmer, einkorn, forest rye or kamut. If you want to bake bread sustainably, you can also choose organic and fair trade ingredients, use sustainably produced baking aids, make your own sourdough from rye flour and avoid using baking paper.

Kamut - an old variety of spring wheat

Baking bread can be a wonderful hobby for many reasons. The activity of baking can be relaxing and a way to take your mind off work. Many people also like the tactile feel and the artisanal, creative component of baking. On the other hand, home-baked bread often tastes and smells much better and fresher than store-bought bread. When you bake your own bread, you are independent of supermarkets and large bakeries and can decide for yourself exactly which ingredients go into your bread. However, good bread really does take time, patience and the right technique. Health aspects can also be a reason to give bread baking a try. Last but not least, this hobby can give you an incredible amount of pleasure, create moments of happiness and allow you to be adventurous or creative.

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