I know, it's no contest. But even our specialized bakeries don't seem to taste as good, not to mention the consistency. Why is the European better? Flour? Yeast? Baking? Other?

What is European? There is no similarity among breads in Ireland, Greece or Slovenia. I find all foods to be very regional.

I have to agree with bobthenavigator. Something tells me this is one of those very naive posts which seems to say, "isn't the US awful -- everything in Europe is wonderful and everything at home is terrible." There is wonderful bread in the US too. And just as Bob says there is no similarity among various European breads, anybody who thinks there isn't also good bread in the US is just plain naive.

Are you talking about French bread? Tuscan bread? Greek flat bread? What in the world are you talking bout tomboy? I actually go to a local small French restaurant in Florida and I'll put their bread up against any I've had in Paris!! And a local Italian where their thick chewy Tuscan bread is as good as anything I've tasted in many trips to Tuscany.

Sometimes I think we are traveling and get a false sense of how great everything is. Like the same wine you drank at a bistro in Paris might be available at your local wine store, but I guarantee it will never taste like it did when you were in Paris drinking it.

hi,

I have to say, I think I may know what tomboy is saying. I live in a small town, I think we have only had one or two bakeries in my lifetime. Most of the bread sold here is from the bread factory.

I couldn't begin to compare the taste of a fresh french baguette or crouissant (sp?) to anything I could buy around my area. But that is comparing bread from a homemade french bakery in central paris.

The same bakery that has probably been open for several generations. probably the same as many bakeries in nyc or any of the larger cities, however, not everyone has access to them on a regular basis.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when a french woman and her husband moved here and open a bakery. Even though it still did not have the same taste, it was softer, less course, but also less flavorful, it was 10 times better than anything I could buy locally prior to their opening. To my utter dismay, they only stayed open about 4 or 5 years and then closed.

I love the french hot dogs and baguettes.. I have yet to be able to recreate that flavor and it is one of the first things I buy on the street when I arrive.

Tomboy, if you're talking grocery store breads, you are correct--no contest! But there's been a bread revolution in the US in the last few years, and the artisan breads that you can now buy here more than compare to what you can get in Europe. We have an excellent European style bakery down the street from us, and I live in unassuming Midwest city full of chain restaurants! Baguettes? Delicious! Peasant breads? Even better! Scones? Lovely!

I think that it has to do with the way that flour is processed. I have an old Eastern European cook book that has recipies for breads and cakes using an amazing variety of "types" of flour (wheat flour). I have never heard of anything like that here on this side of the pond.
It must be a question of quality vs quantity, we seem to go for "more is better".
Of course there are good breads here too, but you really have to go out of your way to find them, especially if you don't live in a major city.

I think part of the issue is also about preservatives - <i>some</i> breads in Europe don't include any - just the flour, water and yeast.

The flavour and texture are superb but the breads don't last as long (which is never a problem to me, since they taste too good to last long anyway).

Always a source of discussion in the UK where a few conglomerates came to dominate the production and distribution of processed food earlier than on the continent, and it's taken a long time for consumer education to make much of a struggle back. Years ago there was a much-touted cutting from a local paper in which some people who had been to France on a self-catering holiday boasted how the bread they had bought in a supermarket at home had lasted for three weeks.....!

I can remember on a visit to Turkey being surprised to notice the quality of the breakfast rolls: I'm no gourmet, so there must have been a substantial difference. Materials must have something to do with it, but my guess is it may be the way the dough is needed and the time it is allowed to prove. I stand to be corrected, but I believe in the UK there is some particular process (using steam) which produces fairly uniform long-lasting but dull bread, quickly.

The one things that the europeans have the most difficulty creating is the american style fluffy white sliced bread. I.E. Wonderbread. It seems it is impossible for them to make it as soft and as nice as our white bread. In germany they have a &quot;American&quot; brand of bread that shows american flag's all over the package. The bread looks like ours but when eaten doesn't taste or feel the same. I do agree however that european bread has much more varities and tastes much better.

I agree with bobthenavigator and Patrick - What on earth is &quot;European&quot; bread? There are countless types of bread and each country has its own habits, production methods and preferences. There is no one standard type of bread, thank goodness, otherwise I'd never manage to satisfy my cravings for hot buttered toast, or rye bread, or fresh baked baguette...

We have breads in the Baltimore area that are every bit as good as anything I ever had in Europe. It helps to be near a fairly large city that can support smaller bakeries.

It's all about the Water !!!

Hi all,

When I was but a wee lad, the bread in the US was every bit as good as in Europe. The independent bakers were driven out of business by the cheap bread, made in large factories, that was delivered to your door.

Later, the cheap bread was delivered to supermarkets.

Artisinal breads are, again, available in the US, but I have to drive at least 35 miles, one way, to get some, so I bake my own.

The major requirement fo making a proper bread is that you have to use yeast, not air, to make the bread rise. It takes about 4 hr to develop the flavor.

In most of Europe, bread is highly subsidized through payments to farmers, millers and bakers. Thus, it is possible to make good bread at low prices and make a living.

I lived in Georgia for a while about 15 years ago, and could not find any bread other than the &quot;wonderbread&quot; sort. But then, the coffee was awful too, and both things have changed now. On a recent trip to the US, there were good breads, and good coffee.
I think for bread, it's all to do with the preservatives that are put in; any bread that keeps good for more than two days tastes terrible, in my opinion anyway.
But in defense of the US; nobody cooks a better steak! I have never found steaks in Europe that are anywhere near as good as the ones I get in NY.

In fact, Ira, here in Belgium the bread prices are regulated by the government. They have just raised prices by about 10 cents (if I remember correctly, maximum price for a large loaf of white is 1 euro 80 cents). There are also minimum prices, below which you cannot sell bread. This protects the small baker (in my village of 35000 people there are at least 15 bakeries, probably more).

I'm in agreement w/Tupils, we ruin many foods in order to extend their shelf-life. The same can be said for beer in the US. That's why in many European places you will shop everyday for dinner that night. You can't beat things that are freshly made. I am fortunate to have a baker from Eastern Europe only a few blocks away who supplies bread for nearly every restaurant in town for that very reason.

Hi tulips,

Is that 1.8E for a 1 kg loaf? If so, that would be about 1/2 the price I would pay for a proper bread here in Georgia, USA.

I think both Bob and Patrick need to cut tomboy a little slack. He just asked a question, you're the ones who got on the soap box without cause.

As to the bread question, there are three factors that influence the outcome of the loaf.

1. The quality of the flour.
2. The oven used to bake it in.
3. Time.

American flour tends to come from softer wheat that European flour.
French bread requires special ovens that inject steam into the baking process at the correct time. Successful American loaves are made with specially imported ovens (read expensive) many bakeries won't spend the money.

Most important is time. It takes a minimum of 6 1/2 hours to make a decent loaf of bread. Americans are notorious for wanting everything NOW; and American businesses are even more notorious for refusing to view things in the long term (why take 6 1/2 hours when you can pop out of loaf of wonderbread in 32 minutes?).

If you want to try your hand at a decent load at home, get some Hungarian flour (it's a type of milling that does make for a better loaf of bread). Let the dough rise A MINIMUM of 6 hours, punch it down as often as necessary. The six hours rise time is critical for the yeast and flour to react and form the flavoring agents that make bread taste good.

i tend to think that it has to do with the fact that most of the breads we are trying to make over here are recreations of European breads, and of course we can't do them as well as they do, and also we tend to add our own aspects to them. but when we do american breads--bagels, sourdough bread, sliced white and wheat breads, muffins, etc.--we do fine. those kind of breads are American breads, and we aren't always trying to recreate something when we make them.

You may not believe this, but a local Albertson's bakery makes a whole grain bread that comes as close as my memory requires. J.