Estonian Bread and Indonesian Bread (a comparison)

          Bread is a kind of food mostly made from flour and grain and can be found in almost all countries. However, you will find that bread in one country is different to another country. The virtually infinite combinations of different flours, and differing proportions of ingredients, has resulted in the wide variety of types, shapes, sizes, and textures available around the world. Here I am going to compare Estonian bread and Indonesian bread in 3 main points of comparison; types and ingredients, the use, and  how it is served.

Estonian most common bread is Rye Bread (often known as Black Bread). Rye bread is made with flour from rye grain of varying levels. It is higher in fiber than many common types of bread and is often darker in color and stronger in flavor. The types can be as flat-bread, yeas ted bread, and soda bread. Pure rye bread contains only rye flour, without any wheat. Rye and wheat flours are often used to produce a rye bread with a lighter texture, color and flavor. 'Light' or 'dark' rye flour can be used to make rye bread; the flour is classified according to the amount of bran left in the flour after milling. Caramel or molasses for coloring and caraway seeds are often added to rye bread. Some unique rye bread recipes include ground spices such as fennel, coriander, aniseed, cardamom, or citrus peel. In addition to caramel and molasses, ingredients such as coffee or cocoa (or even toasted bread crumbs) are sometimes used for both color and flavor in very dark breads. Rye bread contains a large amount of fiber and only a little fat. Rye bread does not create high spikes in blood sugar as white bread and other breads do. All-rye bread can be made using a sourdough starter and rye meal; it will not rise as high as a wheat bread, but will be more moist with a substantially longer keeping time.

In contrast to the Estonian bread, the most common Indonesian bread, as in influence from East Asian bread, is Wheat Bread which is lighter than Rye Bread. White bread is made from flour containing only the central core of the grain (endosperm) which makes it lighter. This Bread is usually made from a wheat-flour dough that is cultured with yeast, allowed to rise, and finally baked in an oven. Owing to its high levels of gluten (which give the dough sponginess and elasticity), common wheat (also known as bread wheat) is the most common grain used for the preparation of bread. Bread is also made from the flour of other wheat species (including durum, spelt and emmer). Not like Rye Bread which is a little bit salty and sour, Indonesian bread is more likely sweet and soft. Traditional Javanese bread, for example, filled with sweet enjoyment from cinnamon and Javanese red sugar, where the brown color comes from. The types can be as fresh bread, sweet yeast, sweet bun, crisp and bagel. Because it is more baked and steamed than fermented, it only can be kept in a short time.

Secondly, the use of bread in Estonia is as a staple food. Black rye bread accompanies almost every savory food in Estonia. Instead of wishing "bon appetit", Estonians are prone to say jätku leiba ("may your bread last"). Estonians continue to value their varieties of black rye-based bread. Estonia has not been a land of plenty. If a piece of bread was dropped on the floor, it was good form to pick it up, kiss it to show respect, and eat it. When Estonians live abroad, they often say that they miss black bread the most. So if we talk about Estonia, the bread can not be separated from it because it is very important for Estonian people.

While in Estonia bread is such an important food, Indonesian people make bread as dessert or snack and sometimes as appetizer. It is not used as a staple food, because Indonesian’s staple food is rice. Some Indonesian people (mostly for those who live in poverty) think that bread is an expensive food that they can not afford to buy. Sometimes but not often, Indonesian use bread as breakfast because they do not want to eat a heavy meals. But it is never used as lunch or dinner.

Black bread has had the noble position in Estonian cuisine through the history and most of the local people eat it daily with cheese,meat, potatoes and fresh vegetables. Many households in the towns and rural areas still bake the bread at home by themselves which takes days to make it. In the olden days, sensible Estonians did not serve their families warm bread, because it could happen that the week’s reserves would be eaten in just one day. Moreover, bread that had dried for a few days was supposed to be healthier. However, it is hard to imagine anything better than a warm piece of bread with butter. Estonian eating habits have historically been closely linked to the seasons. Traditionally in summer and spring, they like to eat bread with fresh berries, herbs, vegetables and everything else that comes straight from the garden also fish and meat. During the winter months, bread with jam, preserves and pickles are brought to the table with fruits like apples, Mandarin Oranges, and ginger bread.

In Indonesia, bread is served commonly with tea, chocolate jam, and butter or even only the bread itself. Even modern bread is sometimes wrapped in paper or plastic film or stored in a container such as a breadbox to reduce drying which can be found in Mall or Supermarket. Indonesian households rarely make bread themselves. The typical bread they may make themselves is crispy cake, often for certain events like Christmas or Idul Fitri and it is served for guests.

These are the differences between Estonian bread and Indonesian bread. As in the function as a staple food for Estonian, it has become very different in use and how it is served with Indonesian bread. When foreigners think of Indonesia, they don't think "bread", and bread is not what they can see all around. In contrast, when we talk about Estonian, we can not separate them with their bread.