Ideally I would be finding it in a charming little boulangerie in France or, if life were fair, making it in my own kitchen with home made butter. Imagine my surprise, delight, chagrin to find perfect French bread in the form of plain old supermarket brötchen in Berlin. These particular Brötchen were still hot from the oven. They were just perfect. Crisp, thin crust and tender, airy crumb. Delicious. I had intended to make a sandwich for lunch but the bread was so good that I just ate it, still warm, with Irish butter. I think they are 19¢.
And can we talk frankly about the German language? Bread is Brot, no umlaut. Bread roll or bun is Brötchen (little bread) and has an umlaut. Excuse me? Wha?
Interestingly, the word “frank” the base word of “frankly” comes from the Germanic Franks, a group of Germanic peoples who lived in what is now Germany and France around 400. And the Germans are nothing if not frank.
