4 ms·

There is no "bread" in the USA

underlines 4y ago
Unpopular opinion: Bread in the US mostly is of low quality. Whole wheat or multi grain bread with a hard crust as it is common in Germany or Switzerland is superior in taste, texture and nutrition.
- Rnonymous 4y ago
  Why is that unpopular? Generally speaking german bakeries are top notch, quite old fashioned, which is good. But the taste/style of german bread is debatable.
gambiting 4y ago
Same in the UK. "bread" is the spongy toast bread that somehow stays soft for 7 days+. I find even actual bakeries that make "artisinal" bread(and of course it has to be "artisinal", no one can just make a normal loaf of bread anymore without treating it like it's some special thing) must have only seen pictures of good sourdough, because it's almost never properly risen, it's about half height of what a good sourdough should be. And it doesn't even taste like a real thing. Same with rolls(buns?) - you get these really awful "baps" everywhere, which are again this soft dough without any crust to them. I've lived here for 12 years now and I yearn for some good bread. I know of one Polish bakery that does the real stuff, but it's 20 miles away so it's a very rare treat whenever I happen to head that way.
- ranko 4y ago
  Blame Chorleywood; sounds like the setting for a children's TV programme, actually the name of the process whereby we get a bread-adjacent product that's suitable for mass production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process
  - omnicognate 4y ago
    Chorleywood has its place - "floppy white bread" as we call it. It's improved over the years, too. Chorleywood brown bread is no longer the grey loft insulation of my childhood. Nowadays, there's a much broader range of breads available. I have 2 excellent bakeries within walking distance and can get good quality sourdough from several supermarkets, including from Poilane in Paris to my door via Ocado.
- omnicognate 4y ago
  It sounds like you're after a particular kind of bread. Sourdough doesn't have a regulation height. There's a vast range of recipes and techniques. Is it bułka you're looking for, perhaps? Looks like you can get it online here if they'll deliver to wherever you live: https://www.grodzinski.co.uk/product/bulka-bread/ https://www.grodzinski.co.uk/product/bulka-bread/
- jve 4y ago
  Ahh, one thing that people love about Latvia is the vast choice between different type of breads. You can get some very tasty, high quality stuff here. Sorry I don't know the proper names of different types of breads (rye, sweet/sour) and then for white bread, different tastes. Rye bread with garlic or fruits, with carrots. White bread based on kefir (if that is a word in English). Bread with different seeds. OR just plain tasty bread. I wonder why rye bread and the sweet/sour one is nonexistent, for example, in Germany. But when someone comes here, he takes that bread with him :)
  - gumby 4y ago
    > I wonder why rye bread … is nonexistent, for example, in Germany. Don’t be silly: rye is called Roggen in German and you can find Roggenbrot in any market from a farmer’s market to an Edeka.
    - jve 4y ago
      It's what we call grey bread here. Yes, I know, it kind of looks like that, but the taste is a far cry... Anyway, taste is the most subjective stuff and everyone has their own. But interesting that folks like our bread. I don't know if it is because someone lived here and migrated and remembers the bread. I have only 1 datapoint that is not the case - native foreigner that loves our bread too. TLDR: If you ever come hear, try different kinds of our bread and see if you find something that you really like :)
- TremendousJudge 4y ago
  You can make bread that stays soft for 7days+ at your own house. You just need to add less water and more fat and sugar (in my case, I use butter and whole milk). I store it in a plate covered by a bowl, and lasts at least a week. Afterwards it starts to get moldy, but it doesn't harden.
tallanvor 4y ago
Of course there is. When I go visit family, I can still go to the supermarkets and find several types of freshly baked bread, not just mass produced white bread. Even among the mass produced stuff, there's plenty of decent options if you ignore the plain white bread.
ericbarrett 4y ago
I disagree, I have even seen Walmarts with bakery-made bread that's flour, water, yeast, salt, not too much sugar, and has a normal shelf life of 2-3 days. Most grocery stores have it. It certainly won't be the best you've ever had but it's real. Now if you said "there's no bread in the USA's bread aisle" I'd completely agree.
cafard 4y ago
And here I thought I ate some for breakfast. But perhaps that was just bread, not "bread".

Unpopular opinion: Bread in the US mostly is of low quality. Whole wheat or multi grain bread with a hard crust as it is common in Germany or Switzerland is superior in taste, texture and nutrition.

Rnonymous 4y ago
Why is that unpopular? Generally speaking german bakeries are top notch, quite old fashioned, which is good. But the taste/style of german bread is debatable.

gambiting 4y ago

Same in the UK. "bread" is the spongy toast bread that somehow stays soft for 7 days+. I find even actual bakeries that make "artisinal" bread(and of course it has to be "artisinal", no one can just make a normal loaf of bread anymore without treating it like it's some special thing) must have only seen pictures of good sourdough, because it's almost never properly risen, it's about half height of what a good sourdough should be. And it doesn't even taste like a real thing. Same with rolls(buns?) - you get these really awful "baps" everywhere, which are again this soft dough without any crust to them. I've lived here for 12 years now and I yearn for some good bread. I know of one Polish bakery that does the real stuff, but it's 20 miles away so it's a very rare treat whenever I happen to head that way.

ranko 4y ago
Blame Chorleywood; sounds like the setting for a children's TV programme, actually the name of the process whereby we get a bread-adjacent product that's suitable for mass production. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process
- omnicognate 4y ago
  Chorleywood has its place - "floppy white bread" as we call it. It's improved over the years, too. Chorleywood brown bread is no longer the grey loft insulation of my childhood. Nowadays, there's a much broader range of breads available. I have 2 excellent bakeries within walking distance and can get good quality sourdough from several supermarkets, including from Poilane in Paris to my door via Ocado.
omnicognate 4y ago
It sounds like you're after a particular kind of bread. Sourdough doesn't have a regulation height. There's a vast range of recipes and techniques. Is it bułka you're looking for, perhaps? Looks like you can get it online here if they'll deliver to wherever you live: https://www.grodzinski.co.uk/product/bulka-bread/ https://www.grodzinski.co.uk/product/bulka-bread/
jve 4y ago
Ahh, one thing that people love about Latvia is the vast choice between different type of breads. You can get some very tasty, high quality stuff here. Sorry I don't know the proper names of different types of breads (rye, sweet/sour) and then for white bread, different tastes. Rye bread with garlic or fruits, with carrots. White bread based on kefir (if that is a word in English). Bread with different seeds. OR just plain tasty bread. I wonder why rye bread and the sweet/sour one is nonexistent, for example, in Germany. But when someone comes here, he takes that bread with him :)
- gumby 4y ago
  > I wonder why rye bread … is nonexistent, for example, in Germany. Don’t be silly: rye is called Roggen in German and you can find Roggenbrot in any market from a farmer’s market to an Edeka.
  - jve 4y ago
    It's what we call grey bread here. Yes, I know, it kind of looks like that, but the taste is a far cry... Anyway, taste is the most subjective stuff and everyone has their own. But interesting that folks like our bread. I don't know if it is because someone lived here and migrated and remembers the bread. I have only 1 datapoint that is not the case - native foreigner that loves our bread too. TLDR: If you ever come hear, try different kinds of our bread and see if you find something that you really like :)
TremendousJudge 4y ago
You can make bread that stays soft for 7days+ at your own house. You just need to add less water and more fat and sugar (in my case, I use butter and whole milk). I store it in a plate covered by a bowl, and lasts at least a week. Afterwards it starts to get moldy, but it doesn't harden.

tallanvor 4y ago

Of course there is. When I go visit family, I can still go to the supermarkets and find several types of freshly baked bread, not just mass produced white bread. Even among the mass produced stuff, there's plenty of decent options if you ignore the plain white bread.

ericbarrett 4y ago

I disagree, I have even seen Walmarts with bakery-made bread that's flour, water, yeast, salt, not too much sugar, and has a normal shelf life of 2-3 days. Most grocery stores have it. It certainly won't be the best you've ever had but it's real. Now if you said "there's no bread in the USA's bread aisle" I'd completely agree.

cafard 4y ago

And here I thought I ate some for breakfast. But perhaps that was just bread, not "bread".