[therex]

So I tried this super healthy 3 grain bread by mestemacher today with some delicious curried lentil soup. The consistency of it was definitely a turn off and could only describe it as heavy, pound cake-y bread. I thought toasting it would get rid of the texture and it did to an extent. With something like 6g of fiber in each slice, and no preservatives, I really really wanted to like this bread. The point is- it tasted like sh*t and I was wondering if anyone has tried the other types offered by mestemacher (pumpernickel, rye, etc.) and enjoyed them.

thx!

[RunnerChemist]

I have had better luck baking my own bread. I have seen this bread, but it looked like it was made to sit on a shelf for a long time. That's not usually something I like in my food.

[saef]

I buy this type of bread -- which I think is German -- at Aldi's, where it's far less expensive than specialty shops in New York. (I suspect because Aldi's has European ownership.) It's sliced very, very thinly & has a very crumbly grainy texture. (It won't fold.) I find it slightly salty. (I don't use much salt in cooking & often find things salty, including San Pellegrino sparking water.) Basically, I consider it a delivery system for almond butter or natural peanut butter, with a dab of apple butter on top. It's the only bread I eat other my own home-made bread. I can't seem to slice my own home-made bread as thinly as they do this stuff.

[bellenoir]

I've seen this at whole foods and always wondered about it. Thanks, for your review. I will stick to my Wasa multi grain crisp bread.

[bronzeager]

I love these breads, but I grew up with them. They are very traditional German breads made with whole grains (barley, rye etc) and almost no flour, and really are all-natural. They have a sourdough base, that's why they keep well without preservatives. My German grandmother faithfully ate a slice every morning for her "Darm", which is to say, regularity. They probably are not easy to adapt to as a grownup though ... We would definitely not eat them toasted as dryness is what happens when they get old. Maybe yours was getting old and stale?

They need to be wrapped up carefully or even in the fridge to keep moist, and because of their strong taste are good with things that can stand up to them -- pickles, potato salads, strong cheeses or cream cheese. My favorite is to have them with low-fat cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill. Yum, maybe I'll go make some now.

[therex]

i didn't really try it with much food on them, but i think i will experiment a bit. They do seem super healthy, and i do want to get in the habit of eating really good bread. I think it might be the sourdough you mentioned that doesn't go over well, it has an acidity that i don't normally correlate with whole grain breads.

[bronzeager]

Try cutting it in small pieces as part of a "deli plate" kind of arrangement with cut-up tomatoes, pickles, cucumber salad, hard boiled egg, beets, thin slices of nice cheeses, etc. -- so you have a bite of something here, something there. This is what northern Europeans commonly ate at dinner (hot meal was lunch, which everyone came home from the office for).

A northern European dinner plate might also include some nice ham/proscuitto or liverwurst (not so lo-cal for a diet), or smoked or pickled fish. That might be getting a bit too ethnic, maybe, but there have been studies of the traditional Scandinavian diet exploring its health effects and comparing it favorably with the Mediterranean diet.

[therex]

Originally Posted by bronzeager

Try cutting it in small pieces as part of a "deli plate" kind of arrangement with cut-up tomatoes, pickles, cucumber salad, hard boiled egg, beets, thin slices of nice cheeses, etc. -- so you have a bite of something here, something there..

i actually tried this today and it was SO much more pleasant, i'll definitely try your other suggestions. I toasted the bread (so it's much more of a cracker consistency than bread, it also helps with the acidity) and put really good swiss herb cheese, yum! i can't wait to try it with cherry tomatoes, or even with soup again. i totally retract my initial review, it's great bread if you know what to do with it.