Oct 08, 2013
- Products & Solutions
- Feature Story
A meal in Germany would hardly be complete without bread, of which there are over 600 main types along with more than 1,200 varieties of rolls and pastries. And it's not just at breakfast that Germans eat bread, but also at dinner (during which it is referred to as Abendbrot or "evening bread") accompanied by platters of cold ham, cheese and salad. Holidays are also times when yeast-based seasonal cakes and sweetbreads appear on tables throughout the country.
Hi! I'm Nanako. To find out more about Germany's love affair with bread, I went to Munich where I visited the Mahler's and their two boys, one three years old and the other six months.
Panasonic makes its products and technologies available to a diverse range of consumers around the world. These articles show some of the ways the company is changing lives in different cultures from the views of local reporters.
Breadmaker brings smiles to the entire family
Although bread is Germany’s staple food, the Mahler’s three-year old was never really keen on it. Not only that, but Mr Mahler had difficulty finding bread he liked after his favorite bakery changed its recipe. The solution: An automatic breadmaker. “Our bread really tastes fantastic and we don’t have to go to the bakery anymore,” he said with a smile.
His family agrees. Hard bread, made with whole wheat or rye flour, is baked every two or three days and served for breakfast, dinner and Pausenbrot, a second breakfast that their preschooler eats at around 10 a.m. Before her children were born, Ms Mahler used pre-mixed flour to assure palatable results without much of the mess associated with bread-making. But her Panasonic Breadmaker changed all that. Now she uses healthy raw ingredients for great breads sans messy kitchen. “It came with loads of recipes for some really tasty breads like Italian bread (white bread), raisin bread and onion bread,” she explained. “It’s so satisfying seeing how much my family enjoys my breads.”
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First, weigh all the ingredients and add them to the breadmaker.
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Then add water and that’s it! Making bread couldn’t be easier.
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Enjoy a video about bread-baking.
Easy home-baked bread: Ideal for people on the go or those with small children
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Snack time is a scrumptious goat cheese sandwich.
A breadmaker is not only a winner taste-wise, but also convenient since it’s so easy to use. Busy mothers like Ms Mahler especially appreciate this. After dropping her three-year old off at preschool she starts the bread, doing housework and tending her youngest son while the bread bakes. By the time she picks up her eldest and returns home, her bread is almost done. “
”My youngest cries and demands lots of attention,” she says. “So I don’t have time to fuss with bread. All I have to do is weigh the ingredients and pop them in the breadmaker.”
Her Panasonic Breadmaker is also quiet. When I visited them, bread was baking in the kitchen while the children slept in an adjoining room. That anyone can enjoy delicious bread without time-consuming preparation is very attractive to busy families, who have precious little time together.
In six months Ms Mahler returns to work. When she does, her Panasonic Breadmaker will undoubtedly be much more appreciated as her days become more hectic.
Breadmakers a must-have for birthdays and Christmas
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Bread on the left was made with a Panasonic Breadmaker and contains chopped olives, which are easy for small children to eat.
Birthdays are truly special in Germany, where it is customary to greet well-wishers to the home with baskets of choice breads and pastries. When the Mahler's eldest turned three recently, their breadmaker proved invaluable. Normally Ms Mahler would have been slaving over a hot oven to make all the breads and pastries required of a proper hostess. This time, however, her Panasonic Breadmaker was a big help, allowing her to spend more time with her kids. Her own recipe -- an Italian bread containing olives, which her three-year old adores -- was also a hit with visitors, who couldn't believe it was homemade.
Now Ms Mahler is considering making Adventsbrot, which entails baking a different bread everyday until Christmas, filling her home with the pleasant aroma of cinnamon and cardamom throughout the holiday season.
Satisfying demanding German consumers
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Stainless silver design is very appealing.
Germans are astute shoppers who pour over reviews in magazines and on the web in order to carefully compare products before making a purchasing decision. A frequent e-shopper, Ms Mahler was largely persuaded in her choice of Panasonic by the many favorable customer reviews her breadmaker had garnered. Comments such as "This is the best breadmaker I've ever had" and "I've been using Panasonic breadmakers ever since I bought my first one" definitely influenced her decision. She purchased her Panasonic camera in much the same way. Mr Mahler is particularly finicky when it comes to home appliances, but both he and his wife have a great deal of faith in Panasonic for their home.
Home baking for wholesome and healthy bread
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Grocery stores offer a wide variety of flour that can be used for bread.
In January 2012 a problem concerning a major bread manufacturer rocked Germany, prompting increased public awareness about food safety. Since then, avoiding food allergies -- such as pursuing a gluten-free diet -- has become a hot topic, as has heightened interest in traditional spelt wheat bread and organic bread.
Panasonic Breadmakers are ideal for the evolving German bread culture, providing anyone with the means to use safe, healthy ingredients to bake bread from a galore of tasty recipes.
(Reported by Nanako)The latest breadmaker sold in Germany
