Germans. Love. Bakeries.

by David Swift Content Crafter

german bread

There is something about Germans and their unending love for baked goods and bakeries which is hard to explain. If there is really such a thing as passions that are shared by the entire population of a country, then it’s got to be bakeries for Germans! No other nation seems to have taken to bakeries as much as Germans have and few others get stereotyped for their food as much as Germany does! Bakeries are more common than just about anything else. As a matter of fact, in Germany, bread is considered more than just food; it is an integral part of German culture and etched in their ethos. Here are some interesting facts about Germans and bakeries.

1. Germany is widely recognized as a country with the largest varieties of bread in the world.

2. Germany has a mind-blowing 47 bakeries for every 100,000 inhabitants. You will come across a bakery in possibly every nook and corner in this country. Even on Sundays, when the rest of Germany is closed, don’t be surprised to see a bakery open.

3. German eats an average of, wait for it, a staggering 53 kg bread per year!! It's just not limited to bread, even pastries are available in all manner of shapes, sizes, flavors, colors, and flavors.

4. Almost every single German train station will have a bakery for your pre-train breakfast.

5. UNESCO awarded German bread the status of being one of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. That's how much breads are revered in this part of the world.

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6. “The German Association of Bakery Trade” have a website where bakers can register the various types of bread available in their stores. As of now, there are nearly 2,753 kinds registered and the number keeps on increasing with every passing day.

7. There are German bakeries in almost all parts of the world including New Delhi, Bombay, Pune, Sydney, London, Rome, New York, Paris, and Shanghai.

8. Germans religiously follow the "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake) tradition. As per this tradition, Germans are allowed to help themselves to a serving (or two) of cake any given afternoon.

9. If your birthday is coming up, you're also expected to show up with a cake for your colleagues or friends.

10. Germans love to cut open their pretzels and layer it with butter. Moreover in Germany, the bigger the Pretzel, the better it is. Native to the southern German provinces, a standard Pretzel is about the size of your hand. However, don’t be surprised to see pretzels the size of a basketball being ferried around by women while walking through the streets of Munich.

11. Germans love wholemeal bread and it’s not unusual to come across multiple varieties of whole grains thrown into a single loaf of bread. Vollkornbrot is a very popular, hard bread which Germans love consuming especially during breakfast with cheese and meat.

12. There are bread-making groups in certain southern German villages where locals prepare the dough at home and then on Saturdays, they utilize a communal wood oven known as Holzofen, to finish baking. This is a social event which is done regularly where people congregate and share stories with each other.