I'm a new subscriber to the list and enjoy reading everyone's comments and
recipes. I am originally from Germany and, like a number of your readers,
enjoy German and other European breads. I might be a bit biased, but I
think European breads are vastly superior to American breads, especially
the pale, soft, doughy kind sold in most supermarkets nationwide. Here in
California and also in the New York area there are now some excellent
"boutique" bakeries that turn out wonderful, crusty breads, but in most
other areas I have traveled to there is still a dearth of decent bread,
hopefully this also will improve.
Someone asked what the German "dinkel" flour is and I'm not sure this
question was answered yet. Dinkel flour is called "spelt" in this country
and should be available in better supermarkets and also healthfood stores,
i.e. Whole Foods. One of your readers had commented on the wonderful
German rye breads she found there. Most of the really good ones are made
with natural sourdough, with no yeast added and this gives the bread the
tangy, moist quality.