What is traditional German breakfast?

The 7 most important elements of a traditional German breakfast

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In a lot of countries, breakfast doesn´t play an important role in the daily routine. But for most Germans, breakfast is an important element in starting the day off. I guess it´s a relic of the times where most people were farmers or industrial workers with a physically challenging day.

Depending on different habits, personal preferences, and regional traditions there are a lot of different elements of a German breakfast. There is not one traditional German breakfast but a lot of variations of what people in Germany like to eat and drink in the morning before starting the day off.

Besides a variation of food and beverage you also have different versions of a German breakfast. At the weekend most Germans like to have an extensive breakfast with a little bit more food and some more time to enjoy breakfast with the family. During the week when people go to work and kids go to school, breakfast has to be more functional.

Another variation is the second breakfast or the mid-morning break. When you start your day very early you can put a second breakfast between breakfast and lunch. But this second breakfast is only to get through the morning and therefore you only eat just an apple or a banana or a sandwich.

The high point of the German breakfast is brunch. It´s a mix of breakfast and lunch and takes place in the late morning and lasts for hours. Usually, you do that at the weekend, often with friends or family members and most times in restaurants or hotels with such an offer.

Now let´s start with all the food and beverages.

Orange juice

The start of the breakfast is normally a glass of orange juice. In hotels and restaurants, you can find also pineapple juice or another kind of juices. When you have brunch with your friends (maybe a birthday brunch) the glass of orange juice is often replaced by a glass of sparkling wine like champagne.

Bread

The most important part of the traditional German breakfast is of course bread. Germany has hundreds of different pieces of bread and Germans like their bread. Almost every German…