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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
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Betsy
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 7:49pm | IP Logged Quote Betsy

When I spent a little time in Europe in college I fondly remember the breakfasts that I had in Germany. I was presented with a large tray of roles and bread, many different kinds of spreads, meat and coffee or tea.

I am considering trying to do something like this for my family for breakfast. The advantage to this is it quick and they could prepare it themselves!


I would love to hear from anyone who is familiar with this type of breakfast to give any advice/recommendations.

I would like to brainstorm things to include to have some variety.
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guitarnan
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 8:23pm | IP Logged Quote guitarnan

German breakfast! My family's favorite!

In a German home, you would typically see broetchen (rolls), perhaps some whole wheat rolls, perhaps with poppy seeds and/or other seeds on top, and soft pretzels, served with butter, jam, Nutella (yum!) and/or honey. Also on the table might be granola (muesli) and plain yogurt, which you would eat together, drizzled with honey. You might also find slices of ham and other cold cuts, although our German friends don't eat those on a daily basis. Cold cereal and flavored yogurts (eaten the way we do) are also popular.

In hotels you find all of the above plus hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, small sausages, perhaps bacon.

Beverages include tea, coffee and fruit juices.

To make this more economical, you could bake your own rolls/bread a couple of times a week and make your own granola. If you're really enterprising you could make your own jams, too. (I have friends who keep bees and harvest honey, but I'm not sure I could do this! )

The German philosophy is that the first two meals of the day should be hearty and that supper should be light - soup, or maybe bread and sausages or cold cuts.

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pmeilaen
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 9:45pm | IP Logged Quote pmeilaen

Our breakfast was always very simple. We never had Brötchen (rolls) on a regular basis. We had sourdough bread (Landbrot) or Schwarzbrot (similar to pumpernickel) and spread those with butter, Quark, apple jelly or red currant jelly. Sometimes there was honey or sugar beet syrup. We would drink raw milk with a little bit of black tea mixed in to warm it up. My parents drank black tea.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 9:50pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

a spread I like on bagels or croissants that might be simliar to what that site says to use Quark with..

cream cheese mixed with chopped walnuts and sweetened to taste with honey

And I'm not sure if the rolls mentioned are sweet or not.. but we really like some of the quick breads.. pumpkin bread, zucchini bread or banana bread for breakfast.. also oatmeal bars.. made ahead means morning goes so much smoother without needing to do much breakfast prep or clean up.

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guitarnan
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 9:56pm | IP Logged Quote guitarnan

Our German friends are trying to bake more bread at home (to save money). They invested in a bread machine and are happy with the results so far.

I have made rolls using my bread machine by mixing the dough in the machine, then raising it and baking the rolls myself. I have not found a bread machine recipe for broetchen, though. (Send it my way, anyone who has!)

German breakfasts are hearty and filling but they are also simple and easy to prepare. I'm sure they are healthier than the sugared-cereal type of breakfast.

I like Jodie's idea of quick breads using seasonal fruits and veggies, too - nutritious and tasty, and I'm guessing you could find a local gardener who would love to hand off some zucchini later this summer!

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JodieLyn
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 10:00pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

and if you get extra zucchini.. grate it up for use in bread and freeze in appropriate portions for your bread recipe..

I'm working on using up ours from last year from the freezer still.. I might have got slightly carried away

You can also make your own pumpkin puree pretty easily.. I bake the pumpkin, then chunk it up in a bowl and beat it with a mixer like making mashed potatoes (don't add anything to it).. then again.. measure and freeze.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: May 24 2010 at 10:12pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

I found this short discussion on Broetchen

It sounds like it may be less about the recipe being much different from any standard roll and more about cooking it with steam and high enough temps?

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St. Ann
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 6:29am | IP Logged Quote St. Ann

Here is our week:

Sunday: toasted white bread (homemade)and    
        1 soft boiled egg each
        butter, jam, honey, ham, cheese, quark*
        coffee (for me) , tea (for dh), milk and or
        juice for girls

Saturday: Broetchen (rolls)
           same as above without the ham
           plus Nutella! (this is the only time
           of the week that we have it on the table)

M - Fr.: homemade WW bread with butter, jam...
           bologne, liverwurst, cheese, fruit
           sometimes yogurt and granola

It is important to remember that it is a part of the german culture to partake in a mid-morning snack or 2nd breakfast or Brotzeit between 9:30 and 10:30. School children and adults alike! In most families the main meal of the day is eaten between 12:30 and 2pm.
I wanted to mention this, because if you choose to
breakfast this way, I would also plan a mid morning snack.

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Posted: May 25 2010 at 6:31am | IP Logged Quote St. Ann

I would also like to mention, that we like to eat typical american breakfast foods (scrambled eggs, pancakes, french toast) for our supper.

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Betsy
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 6:55am | IP Logged Quote Betsy

St. Ann wrote:
Here is our week:

Sunday: toasted white bread (homemade)and    
        1 soft boiled egg each
        butter, jam, honey, ham, cheese, quark*
        coffee (for me) , tea (for dh), milk and or
        juice for girls

Saturday: Broetchen (rolls)
             same as above without the ham
             plus Nutella! (this is the only time
             of the week that we have it on the table)

M - Fr.: homemade WW bread with butter, jam...
             bologne, liverwurst, cheese, fruit
             sometimes yogurt and granola

It is important to remember that it is a part of the german culture to partake in a mid-morning snack or 2nd breakfast or Brotzeit between 9:30 and 10:30. School children and adults alike! In most families the main meal of the day is eaten between 12:30 and 2pm.
I wanted to mention this, because if you choose to
breakfast this way, I would also plan a mid morning snack.



This is really helpful, especially the info about the snack. My idea would be to do this type of breakfast, get the day started more quickly than now, but to follow up with a bigger breakfast or lunch at 11ish.

Does anyone have any great ideas for contains to keep their bread. In my mind I keep thinking of a large Tupperware type container that I could just pull out of the pantry and have all the roles, etc. that we have read to serve. Is this unrealistically? I am really trying to provide a good breakfast (that doesn't include dry cereal) that is easy and good.

THANKS for all of the info so far...
Betsy
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CrunchyMom
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 7:50am | IP Logged Quote CrunchyMom

I LOVED German breakfast during the couple of weeks I spent living with a family in Germany!

However, I think that part of the appeal to me was the fresh rolls coming from the bakeries which were on every corner it seemed!

I have considered adopting a similar breakfast in our home, but I think I would need to have a baking day once a month or something and use the freezer.

Betsy, when I was doing well making homemade bread often, I saved the bread bags from store bought bread to store it in. I think that I would prefer the rolls in the plastic bag in a basket to a large tupperware. Also, bread stays fresher in the fridge, ime, especially homemade since they lack preservatives found in store bought.

I don't know that this is traditional, but when we make the trek into Philly to the German butcher, we like to get whole bologna (not red ring) and put it in the food processor with pickles and mayonnaise. It makes a simple but tasty spread for sandwiches that I think would be a good protein for this type of breakfast. It is something that dh's mother used to make, and his family is 100% German American with a local German style butcher, but I have no idea if this was a family recipe or some leftover from the 1950s.

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St. Ann
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 9:48am | IP Logged Quote St. Ann

Like Lindsay, I would freeze rolls fresh and re-bake? them mornings in the oven. If you bake the rolls yourself, just underbake them slightly.

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Betsy
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Posted: May 25 2010 at 10:29am | IP Logged Quote Betsy

CrunchyMom wrote:
I saved the bread bags from store bought bread to store it in. I think that I would prefer the rolls in the plastic bag in a basket to a large tupperware. Also, bread stays fresher in the fridge, ime, especially homemade since they lack preservatives found in store bought.



I was afraid that I would have to store my bread in the fridige. Fridge space is at a premium here due to my not so large family friendly side by side fridge !!!

However, I do like the idea of a bread basket to bring to the table.

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Posted: May 25 2010 at 11:25pm | IP Logged Quote teamommy

I also love European breakfasts! I lived in Italy as a child, and breakfas was always my favorite meal. I just stumbled across the book "Artisan Bread in Just Five Minutes a Day" and by using their technique, I am serving my family fresh bread every morning! I bake it the night before, and it is still perfectly fresh in the morning. I leave it out on the counter overnight, and it is not stale. You could probably adapt their technique for making rolls for breakfast if you prefer. I have told my children that good work during the week will earn them Nutella on their bread for breakfast on saturday!
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