Rolls
The choice of rolls available in Germany really is a treat for visitors,
because there is almost as great a choice as for bread. Just point
to whatever you want. A good choice is a mixture of dark rolls,
although for breakfast you may prefer white rolls for a lighter
meal and for eating with jam, marmalade or honey. Indeed, plain
white rolls are baked continually in the shops, on trays delivered
from the bakery, so these are readily available. Also, because they
are available in the shops at 6am, fresh rolls are guaranteed. (This
will, of course, also apply to hotels, etc.) Milchbrötchen
(milk roll) are one type of soft white roll, but others are often
full of air and are sometimes derogatively called Wasserweck (water
rolls).
It
is polite to tell the girl before you start how many rolls you
intend to buy, so she can get the right size bag ready. If you're
buying over 20 rolls, it might be a good idea to reserve some
the evening before. You can pay when ordering or when you come
to pick them up. Give your name, to simplify matters, or in case
someone else comes to pick them up.
The
biggest problem with rolls is what to call them. You can never
go wrong with the word Brotchen - the word is difficult to pronounce,
but is universal across the country. It is the diminuitive of
Brot/bread. So squash the 'o' sound to an 'er' sound and don't
struggle with the 'ch' too much, 'sh' will do. Further north,
you can substitute the 'ch' for 'k'.
You
might also hear the words:
Semmel
in Bavaria (in the south east of Germany), so that Brezelnsemmel
is a Laugenbrotchen).
Weck
in Baden and the Palatinate (in the south west of the country).
Weckle
can be heard in the south. As the 'le' is a diminuitive, you will
find the sound used for everything there, including the endings
of most surnames.
Schrippen
is a Berlin term.
Rundstucke
are found in Hamburg, (literally meaning 'round pieces')
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