Chef Klaus
Bayerische Breze
The Bavarian pretzel lives by its lye bath: a pale dough goes in, a dark glossy Breze comes out, with thin arms, a proud belly, and salt that bites clean.
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Berliner Schrippe
Created by
Berlin's everyday white roll lives by one cut down the proofed dough and a hard, steamy bake that makes the back split open instead of sealing shut.
Breads
German
Weeknight
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
35 min
Active Time
18 min cook•12 hr 53 min total
Yield10 rolls
Schrippe is Berlin bread, the roll you split for breakfast, pack for work, or set beside soup when the pot has done its honest duty. It isn't feast bread. It belongs to the weekday table, which means it has to be cheap, crisp, and made properly. In Berlin the split down the back gives it the name; elsewhere they argue over Brötchen, Rundstück, Weck, or Semmel, and half the country thinks its word is the only sensible one. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders.
I make it with Type 550 wheat flour, a small overnight starter, and no packet trick. Nicht aus dem Glas, and not from a freezer bag either. The starter gives a plain white roll a little depth and helps the crust brown; without it, you get something pale and forgettable by lunch.
The cut decides the roll. Let the dough proof until it is light but still has spring, then cut it boldly down the middle and bake it hot with steam. Cut too early and the seam closes while it rises. Cut too late and the roll collapses. Skip the steam and the crust sets dull before the back can open. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.
Weggeworfen wird nichts: stale Schrippen become Semmelbrösel, breadcrumbs, or cubes for Semmelknödel, bread dumplings. A German bread basket has a second life built into it.
The word Schrippe is strongly tied to Berlin and Brandenburg and is recorded in regional use from the nineteenth century; it is usually linked to the verb schripfen, to cut or scratch, after the roll's split back. Across Germany the same daily wheat roll carries local names: Rundstück in Hamburg, Weck or Weckle in the southwest, Semmel in Bavaria and Austria, and Brötchen in much of the north and center. That naming map is one of the plainest everyday proofs that German bread culture is regional before it is national.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
German Type 550 wheat flour or bread flour
Quantity
100g
for the overnight starter
water
Quantity
100g
cool, for the overnight starter
instant yeast
Quantity
1g
for the overnight starter
German Type 550 wheat flour or bread flour
Quantity
400g
water
Quantity
190g
lukewarm
instant yeast
Quantity
8g
fine salt
Quantity
10g
barley malt syrup or honey
Quantity
8g
softened butter or lard
Quantity
20g
flour
Quantity
as needed
for dusting
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| German Type 550 wheat flour or bread flourfor the overnight starter | 100g |
| watercool, for the overnight starter | 100g |
| instant yeastfor the overnight starter | 1g |
| German Type 550 wheat flour or bread flour | 400g |
| waterlukewarm | 190g |
| instant yeast | 8g |
| fine salt | 10g |
| barley malt syrup or honey | 8g |
| softened butter or lard | 20g |
| flourfor dusting | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •Digital scale
- •Bench scraper
- •Baking stone or heavy baking tray
- •Razor blade or bread lame
- •Metal tray for oven steam
- •Wire cooling rack
Instructions
- 1
Make the starter
Stir 100g flour, 100g cool water, and 1g yeast into a thick paste, cover it, and leave it at cool room temperature for 10 to 12 hours. The starter should smell lightly yeasty and look bubbled through; this slow work gives a plain roll flavour and helps the crust brown without needing sugar enough to make it sweet.
- 2
Mix the dough
Put the starter in a bowl with 400g flour, 190g lukewarm water, 8g yeast, salt, malt syrup, and butter or lard. Mix until no dry flour remains, then rest it 10 minutes so the flour drinks the water; kneading dry dough straight away makes you add too much water before the gluten has had a chance to form.
Use Type 550 if you can. It has enough strength for lift and enough tenderness for a roll; soft cake flour bakes flat, and very strong flour can turn the crumb chewy. - 3
Knead and rise
Knead 8 to 10 minutes by hand, or 5 to 6 minutes on a mixer, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and just tacky. Put it back in the bowl, cover it, and let it rise 60 to 75 minutes, until nearly doubled. A strong dough traps gas cleanly, which is why the roll opens at the cut instead of tearing wherever it feels like it.
- 4
Shape the rolls
Turn the dough out, divide it into 10 pieces of about 80g, and shape each piece into a tight oval. Keep the surface taut because that skin is what pulls open cleanly in the oven; loose shaping gives you a squat roll with no proud back.
- 5
Proof lightly
Set the ovals on a parchment-lined tray, cover them with a cloth, and proof 35 to 45 minutes, until they look puffy but spring back slowly when pressed. Don't wait until they wobble like cushions. Overproofed dough has spent its strength already, and the cut will sag instead of rip.
- 6
Cut the backs
Heat the oven to 240C with a baking stone or heavy tray inside and an empty metal tray on the lower shelf. Dust the rolls lightly with flour, then cut each one straight down the middle about 1cm deep with a sharp blade. Cut with confidence in one pull; a shallow scratch bakes shut, and a sawing cut drags the skin flat.
- 7
Bake with steam
Slide the rolls onto the hot stone or tray, pour a cup of boiling water into the lower metal tray, and shut the door at once. Bake 10 minutes at 240C, then remove the steam tray, lower to 220C, and bake 6 to 8 minutes more until the crust is deep golden and crisp under your fingers. The first wet heat keeps the crust flexible long enough for the back to split; the dry finish makes it brittle.
- 8
Cool before cutting
Move the Schrippen to a rack and let them cool at least 20 minutes before slicing. Bread finishes setting as it cools, and cutting too soon squeezes the crumb into damp paste. Eat the first one with butter while the crust still crackles. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Chef Tips
- •The seam is not decoration. It is the controlled weak point, so the roll opens where you tell it to instead of bursting at the side.
- •Use a sharp lame, razor blade, or the thinnest sharp knife you own. A dull knife presses gas out of the proofed dough, and then the oven has less to lift.
- •For breakfast, shape the rolls the night before, cover them well, and refrigerate them after 20 minutes at room temperature. In the morning, let them stand while the oven heats, then cut and bake.
- •Day-old Schrippen are not waste. Dry them for Semmelbrösel, breadcrumbs, or dice them for Semmelknödel, bread dumplings. Weggeworfen wird nichts.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the starter 10 to 12 hours ahead; this is the easiest way to give the rolls flavour without turning a weekday bake into theatre.
- •Shape the rolls the night before and refrigerate them covered. Bake straight from a short morning warm-up, cutting the seam only after the oven is fully hot.
- •Baked Schrippen freeze well for up to one month. Reheat from frozen at 180C for 8 to 10 minutes so the crust crisps again instead of going leathery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 72g)
Calories
210 calories
Total Fat
3 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
4 mg
Sodium
395 mg
Total Carbohydrates
38 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
7 g
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