Black Bread Please

One of the cornerstones of the Austrian diet is the rich, dark bread that is served at nearly every meal and once you have become addicted, you will never go back to the white starchy carb we call bread in America. Baked fresh daily, black breads have wheat and rye flour in common but from there the possibilities are endless. Some are covered with seeds and baked to a rich chocolate color. Others are more of a caramel hue and dramatically dense.

Our favorite, Ursprunger Landesbrot is light and fluffy, springing like a sponge when you chew. The thick crackled crust holds each slice together and a acts as a perfect anchor for a thin layer of Nutella, a chunk of farmers cheese or a ribbon pile of prosciutto. If you talk with any Austrian family you will likely find out within the first 15 minutes of conversation which black bread they fancy. A chosen black bread is somewhat of a familial pride and once decided handed down for generations like a precious heirloom.

I decided to have a taste test to see if I could be convinced to switch my Ursprunger allegiance and the likely competitor was the wildly popular St. Peters bread. Baked with care in the same cellar bakery since the 12th century, St. Peters is a dense dark sourdough. You will find it baking daily in the original wood ovens at the Stiffsbäckerei St. Peter on the Kapitelplatz.

No need to give you directions, just follow your nose and the aroma will guide you down the stairs to the bakery.  There you can read a short history of Austrian bread baking and snap up a loaf of St. Peters but be prepared to do some weight lifting. Even the smallest loaf will weigh you down if carried for long.

After careful consideration and research that included both sweets and savories carefully spread, I am sticking with Ursprunger. Feel free to choose your own black bread while in Salzburg, but if you come to Opi’s Haus…only Ursprunger allowed!