Bread Culture in Germany

In many cultures, bread is an integral part of society. Germany is one of the countries with strong bread traditions. As a matter of fact, German baking culture was even added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO in 2015. The German Institute for bread counts 3200 officially recognized types of bread.

With 10.491 registered traditional baking businesses and with 266.000 employees, bakeries are an enormous factor in Germany’s economy. Every year, approximately 14.700 bakery students complete their education and enter the workforce as accredited bakers.

Four Generations of Baking Knowledge

We wanted to look behind the scenes and learn about the daily life and motivation of those who deliver our daily piece of bread.
Torsten Wöbse and his wife took over the business from his parents, becoming the 4th generation of bakers in his family. For more than 20 years, the German baker is mainly concerned with planning the daily business and setting the direction for the future development of the bakery. Today his bakery branched out with 11 additional locations in and around Verden in Germany.

Quality for Happiness

He describes that the essence of his motivation is to treat both customers and employees with respect.
As a quality master baker, which is an accredited official term, he relies on regional raw materials, long dough runs, and continuous tasting routines, to create unmistakable baked goods. This is his approved method to make his customers happy, every day.

As head of the business, he is not getting his hands into the dough anymore. He is rather responsible for managing the daily business, overseeing internal controls, and comparing deliveries, to make sure, that his bread production meets the highest standards and to create smooth routines.

Perfect Temperature, Perfect Dough, Perfect Bread

When asked what he does to optimize his routines and product quality, he stresses that he meticulously monitors the temperature and storing conditions of his products before baking. Dough is a very delicate material. The quality of bakery products is highly dependent on successful chemical reactions of the different ingredients. To make sure that correct temperatures are maintained at all times, Torsten Wöbse has built a clever cooling and proving routine. One of his main tools for maximum quality is the process cabinet’s touch display controller. It provides eight standard programs for easy start-up. The baker can also modify or create individual cooling programs, and the display provides a clear overview of the process status.

Watch & Learn about Baker Wöbse's Baking Process