European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 03, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday june 3, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 19 consume watch modern living americans new to Germany Are usually impressed by the country s bakery goods. The assortments of tasty bread and Rolls and such just Don t seem to end As a Case in Point there Are 30 types of crackers alone. Looking at the Rich array displayed in every bakery and supermarket it s pretty hard to dispute the boast of the country s bread Industry that Germany is the bread richest country in the world.". And the germans put High Stock in their bread per cent of the populace rate the staff of life1 As just that the most important of All food a Safe food that can t be tampered with. Who would think that in Inch a bread reverent set Ting there could be any controversy about the output of the country s Bakers scepticism As to whether its All it should be. There s All very similar to the controversy that has raged for so Long about the Worth of the american Fluffy Fine sliced White bread. In fact criticised for so Long about having removed nutritional value by super refining of the wheat the . Bread Industry started adding vitamins. But the bread is still strongly criticised by Many nutria gently devoted seven pages to the subjects also receiving criticism from nutritionists and scientists. Again most of the criticism stems from modernization and a speeding up in the bread making Industry. Prof. Adolf Schulz expert in baking technology employed by the government office for wheat processing in Detmold views today s German bread with a Long time it has t been what it used to be he s quoted As saying in the article. Apparently he in the Only German authority on bread who feels that Way. The problem there Aren t enough government regulations specifying what a Baker can or can t do in turning out his product. Says Spiegel whether the Brett Chen comes to the store Crisp and fresh from the oven whether it is offered up in Pale soft form from an automated bread making machine that works so profitably that it can turn out 120, 000 Rolls an hour or whether it surfaces out of a deep " for a Long time it German bread has t been what it used to be " freeze or is baked from first or third class Grain or is puffed up by artificial additives nowhere arc there Clear bread watchers like the professor would like to see regulations put into effect that would let the Public know just what they Are getting and among other things do away with false advertising limit the addition of preservatives and set standards for just what has to go into a loaf to qualify it As a certain s pointed out that As it is now be Erb Roj Pepper bread for example can be called that whether the loaf contains just a couple of Peppercorns or so Many that a bite can Burn the Tongue. The same goes for bread to Tedas having been made with Beer whether the dough Actu ally does contain Beer is up to the discretion of the bakery. A bread catalogue was put out by toe government in 1971 detailing standards for 3z sorts of bread butus Only a guide not a Law that can be enforced. The German bread critics also note that most of those country breads Are really super Citi fled straight out of a automated factory bakeries. And those breads with advertisements that Lead the buyer to believe he is buying a product baked in farm style Wood burning ovens follow ing old Farmer s recipes rarely Are telling the truth. One Large firm in 1976 sold German bakeries All Over the country a dry dough mix containing artificial Lea veners that was called Holz Lucien Bauern Orot Holz Lucken Farmer s bread rustic mixed Rye the bread was sold in packages announcing that it was baked for the customer from an old farm recipe from Nat ural Lea veners. The picture on the packages led the buyer to believe that the bread had been baked at the hot Luck in farm where bread has been baked in the Sam fashion for breakfast Brit trip w and then some by Lea Larkin Suff writer an does not live by bread alone. So they say. But if there is anywhere he might be a Leto survive on a diet of the stuff made of flour and yeast it Hasto be Germany. German bread bears no resemblance to those synthetic tasting styrofoam Tex tured loaves on supermarket shelves that americans Call bread. Most of it is As Good and Hearty As the Beer that folks Here often drink with it. It s Chuck full of vitamins and minerals another healthy things. There Are some 200 species of it in All sizes shapes and color from the whitest White to the blackest Black. Most people consume lots of it. Infant it s the main ingredient of toe morning and evening meals. For breakfast it s often Bra Chen. Those Small Rolls with the crispy Crunchy crust that come in several varieties with differ ent regional names including some sprinkled with sesame poppy or Carraway Brotcher must be oven fresh not continued on Page 20 German neighbourhood bakeries thrive on variety. In fact. Spiesel ascertained that there Are no Wood burning ovens at All at the hol Lucken farm and bread has t been baked there for a loaf of bread that has been baked in a Wood burning oven just would t be All that easy in any Case. Of Germany s 38,000 bakeries Only 30 Haw them. Toe old Days Way of doing things Are All but gone. According to the newsmagazine of to a third of the country s bakeries now make use of Commer Cial prepared dry dough mixes and artful Cal leaven ing agents to Speed up their operations. Bread made with the artificial Booster turns Mould quicker than that made with naturally leavened dough. The result the Modem Baker uses chemical additives tonight the problem prop Onate and sorb Nate. These preservatives in turn can add an unpleasant country s Bakers Are also accused of sometimes swindling the Public when it comes to the weight of a loaf by not fully baking it the water left in adds ounces. One manufacturer even went so far As to sell Bakers product Fth 2000," that would enable them to use seven per cent less raw material in bread making As this remarkable dough additive allows the bread to retain up to 60 per cent More in the firm s prospectus was it advised that the Fth 2000" contained Beer sediment a brewery wast product that the head of one Large bakery concern noted sarcastically would even be the ruin of a government researchers found that if dough for Rye read contained just five per cent of the Fth 2000" it imparted an off taste and if it contained the is per cent recommended such a bad taste resulted it was hardly eatable. A set of regulations pertaining to bread has been in the legislative Mill for some time one that would spell out packaging rules require manufacturers to list ingredients set standards for different varieties of bread. But according to another member of the government office for research in wheat processing at Detmold there has been a difference of opinion on the value of such regu lations. Some members of the German food and health " seem to take the attitude that the present void in5 is Best. All the aspersions being cast at the German bread Industry the country still offers Small neighbor Hood bakeries with bread fresh from the ovens and that homemade flavor. _._.,it s generally the mass produced bread designed for the supermarket shelves that draws the Wrath of the country s bread experts. But even ibis German supermarket bread is often a pleasent Surprise to americans used to toe pack aged products Back Home. According to one commissary Man who carries a full line from a German bakery it could t contain As Many preservatives As the american product. It does t stay artificially fresh As the bakery that delivers German bread to his commis and each loaf is tagged with a color code that tells the Davit was baked. By the Way. The German bakeries Selling to . Commissaries Are inspected to be sure they come up to Amer ican health to How much German bread a local commissary May Stock that is up to the individual commissary officer and the desires of his customers. Some commissaries carry a variety of product from As Many As three or More bakeries others Only a Tew popular breads from one source one thing always remains the same. The Price is Tower than would be paid in a German store the commissary customer pays Only the wholesale Price with exception of the surcharge of count. For example a 500-Gram one German Pound loaf of Hutte Brot that would have been priced at 54 cents at a German grocery was Only 44 cents at the commissary 250 Gramms of Cunt Entrot was 33 cents compared to 40 cents and loaves of v outworn Graham and Lei Samen were 48 cents each As compared to 59 cents. These bread prices fluctuate daily of course in relation to the value of the Dollar and commissaries also carry assortments of German cakes and cookies. The Small round Weber ii mini cakes seem to be popular snacks. Prices can vary a great Deal the Weber ii ring Ding was priced at 23 cents inthe commissary at 28 cents in a German store and amazingly at 35 cents when purchased from a cafes autom at
