Czech and International Bread

The baked goods section of a supermarket or the local bakery may be a little bewildering at first. What do the various loaves contain? And how do they differ? We've prepared this guide of some of the more common varieties and places to get international bread.

Bread Loaves

Konzumní or šumavský is the typical loaf which you'll find in most supermarkets and bakeries. It is oval, with a golden brown chewy crust and light brown inside. It contains about 70% wheat flour and 30% rye flour. The crust is chewy and the inside spongy, a little moist and light brown. In some cases, šumavský is dusted with flour on top. Occasionally, šumavský loaves are smaller than konzumní . Basically, when you ask for bread in bakery, this is what you get.

Držkovský is a variation on the standard Czech bread. It is also oval with a copper-brown crust. The crust is shinier than most other breads and it has a dusting of flour on the underside. It is also chewier and denser than other breads. The name derives from Držkov, a small town in the Liberec region.

Maďarský – in English, Hungarian – looks quite similar to šumavský, though sometimes it is sold in circular loaves. It contains a type of whole grain, roughly ground flour called 'grahamová mouka' (Graham's flour). Who Graham was and why he deserved having a flour named after him is anybody's guess.

Hostivařský comes in large circular loaves with a hard crust, topped with caraway seeds. The inside is quite dense and spongy with more cumin seeds.

Slunečnicový contains sunflower seeds, hence the name. (Slunečnice is the Czech for sunflower.) The seeds are also baked on top, making it easy to distinguish. If you're fond of sunflower seeds, you can't go wrong with this bread.

Dýňový is pumpkin bread, made from pumpkin seeds.

Toasting and Topinky

Because the denser nature of Czech bread, it doesn't toast as quick or as well as traditional sandwich bread. However, if you're not too health conscious, you can make topinky – fried bread – with your old bread. Traditionally, it's eaten with garlic rubbed onto one side.