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The first real bakeries were found by Greek. Before that, most of the bread were baked at home for personal consumption. The Greek knew an enourmous range of breads, thanks to a veneration of the godess Demeter, godess of bread, who was very popular in Athene. Some sources speak of more than 70 different types of bread mingled with milk, olive oil, pepper, cheese, herbs, olives, etc...
In Persia, it was common to bake bread the size of the table. Dishes were served on top and guests broke pieces to clean their fingers. A habit that last till the early Middle ages in France.
End the 18th century, the French Assembly declared that bakes may only bake one type of bread, made from 3/4 of white wheat-flour and 1/4 rye-flour. In order to generate more equality amond the population after the French revolution, the price became fixe. Only a few years later, they gave permission for a bread which was 100 % white : the creation of the French baguette.
Another, well-known French speciality is the croissant. Round or strait, its reputation remains untouched.
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Italians, on the other hand, are very proud of their Focaccia. Each village has its own version. Some regions use this Focaccia for pizza. Another speciality is the Ciabatta. This bread is very generaly adopted is our regions and can be found in different tastes : with tomatoes, with olives, spiced, ...Typical of these breads is their preparation with olive oil and the baking proces on stone. With respect of the traditional recipe, off course. |
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Germany is espcialy famous for its dark rye bread. The sourdough used is this dark bread, keeps the bread fresh and gives it its typical powerful taste. Not so fond of this sour bread ? You could try the typical kaiser rolls. This rolls are often Semmeln in South-Germany and Schrippen in Berlin and Hamburg.
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In contradiction to other neighour countries, Belgium has a long and rich bread culture. Is it because of our Burgundian background ? Or did we keep different tastes of the various 'conquering' countries ? Who knows ? The fact is that the everage belgian is an important bread eater. Recent studies showed that 95% of the Belgian population buys bread and that two bread dished a day is a very common thing.
That is way, maybe, that Belgium knows a lot of national specialities such as sugar leafs, raisin loafs, butter rolls (which were specially developed for the world exhebition of 1958 in Brussels). In addition, there are a lot of regional or even local specialities such as the Brussels or the Antwerps pistolet, the Antwerps 'Rogge verdommeke', the bearded wheat bread from the Ardennes, the Eastern-Flanders buttermilk bread, the 'Rumbeke' from the Polders, the mastelles from Ghent, the Western-Flanders country bread, ...Not to be forgotten the various sweet specialities such as the 'mattentaart' from Geraardsbergen, parliament cake (Speculoos), gingerbread, the waffels from Liège, ... | |
