11.05.2021 15:05
“German Bread Style”: This toast nation loves our bread!
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London – For many Germans in London it is a piece of home, for more and more Brits a new pleasure experience: loaf according to a German recipe provides for bakeries in kingdom for long lines.
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The variety ranges from 100% wheat bread to dark wholemeal bread. © 123rf.com/Valerii Honcharuk
“‘German’ bread is still on the upswing despite Brexits, because over the past few years many supermarket chains have integrated bakeries into their stores,” says Ulrich Hoppe, head of the German-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry in London.
Whether Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco or Marks & Spencer – no large British retail chain does without “German Style Bread”, and the German competitors Aldi and Lidl do not anyway. The toast nation is becoming a rye lover.
Nobody wants to give numbers, but the sales are impressive, one can hear. “Not only has immigration from Central and Eastern Europe in recent decades generated a surge in demand, many British consumers now appreciate the variety of different baked goods on offer,” says Hoppe.
German bakers are also benefiting from the increased demand, and there is also a shop near Edinburgh in Scotland.
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An oversized pretzel for Prince Charles
The German bakery “Hansel & Pretzel” in the London borough of Richmond. © Benedikt von Imhoff / dpa
Petra Braun offers German bread in the south-west of London. Together with her partner, Peter Wengerodt, she runs the delicatessen shop “Hansel & Pretzel”, bread is one of the most popular products.
“Basically we were lucky,” says Braun. When she opened her shop in 2009, “artisan food” – foods made according to traditional craftsmanship – experienced a boom. With the popular TV chef Paul Hollywood (55) as a juror, the TV show “The Great British Bake Off” became popular and further fueled interest in baked goods.
There are now many British bakeries that rely on “artisan” and use sourdough. But in the end it is very wheat-heavy, says Braun. “We have a different variety, from 100 percent wheat to dark wholemeal breads.”
Meanwhile, the business is firmly anchored in the community, in 2014 even heir to the throne Prince Charles (72) came by and received an oversized pretzel from Petra Braun.
First of all, the large number of Germans who live in the Richmond district because of the nearby German school helped. That has changed. “At first it was about three quarters of Germans and a few daring Englishmen. Now it’s more like fifty-fifty,” says Braun.
But there are still differences: “German customers know which bread they want. The English are surprised, but they tend to choose lighter breads.”
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“It should taste like in Germany”
The diverse selection of Swiss breads in the “Swiss Bread” bakery in the London district of Richmond. © Benedikt von Imhoff / dpa
Tanja Gugger has also noticed that the British are now quite keen to experiment. She opened her “Swiss Bread” bakery just ten minutes’ walk from “Hansel & Pretzel”. The picture is the same here – long queues, even in bad British weather.
But there is one more thing that Gugger and Braun have in common: Brexit is depressing profits. “Since Brexit, deliveries to the UK have taken a little longer and customs fees are higher,” says Gugger.
Both shops bake their bread on site. But most of the ingredients come from Germany or, in the case of “Swiss Bread”, from Switzerland.
“Of course we try to get as much as possible in England,” says Braun. This is still possible with yeast, but there are already problems with wheat flour. Because it’s about the taste.
“Wheat flour in the UK often comes from Canada, which uses a different amount of glue,” explains Braun. “It will just be different then.”
Your bakers, who learned in Germany, are exactly there. “The basic idea is: It should taste like in Germany.”
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Brexit means more effort and higher prices
Importing the bread ingredients has not become any more difficult since the UK finally left the EU. Other items that Braun offers are more complicated: some, such as onion sausage or Harz cheese, are not available at all – because it is too time-consuming to provide the required proof of origin.
But the same applies to flour and co.: “It’s a crazy effort.” Above all, preparing the customs declarations now takes hours, says Braun: “Not only is it three times more expensive, but the time required is at least three times as high.”
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Title photo: 123rf.com/Valerii Honcharuk
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