Barley bread

Flame and fire for extra-long bread enjoyment

Gersterbrot is a rye-wheat bread traditionally made from a sourdough starter prepared with whole-grain rye and wheat flour. So, despite its seemingly misleading name, the bread is baked without a single grain of barley—and yet this grain used to play an important role in the special preparation of this typical Hanoverian bread specialty. Today, the terms “gerstern” or “gersteln” refer to the process of singeing the still-damp loaf so that a crisp crust can form later during baking. The German Dictionary by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm from 1854 describes the meaning and origin of “gerstern” as follows:[...] “to repeatedly remove the bread from the oven and moisten it with water (sometimes mixed with egg white) using a brush made of barley straw, in order to give the crust a shiny, appetizing appearance [...]”.

Gersterbrot gets into great shape when pushed

In the past, this crispy crust was created right in the oven when the bread—moistened with a brush dipped in barley straw—came into direct contact with the open flames. The “barley” hardens the surface of the fresh dough and prevents the aromatic compounds from escaping during baking. The bread tastes better, is nice and moist, and keeps longer. Today, the same effect is achieved by searing the loaves with an open gas flame (using a blowtorch or a searing device, for example) before baking. After “searing,” the hardened crust with its characteristic dark speckles is scored several times to prevent the precious crust from cracking. Typical cuts include diagonal cuts on the surface of the bread as well as lengthwise cuts on the sides and bottom. Then the loaves are “stacked,” meaning the scorched loaves are placed close together in the oven. This is how the bread ultimately gets its angular block shape. This time-honored Hanoverian baking tradition still gives Gersterbrot its intense, aromatic flavor today and makes it particularly long-lasting.