{"id":16678,"date":"2017-09-08T18:45:35","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T09:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/welcome.city.matsumoto.nagano.jp\/modules\/xpressme\/?p=16678"},"modified":"2018-03-20T09:34:53","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T00:34:53","slug":"germany-japan-baking-exchange-in-norikura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.visitmatsumoto.com\/en\/gourmet\/germany-japan-baking-exchange-in-norikura\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany – Japan Baking Exchange in Norikura"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend in Norikura, I got to participate in a fun cultural exchange event hosted by the Norikura Highlands Tourism Association and a German-style bakery, Brot H\u00fcgel, in Matsumoto. For a 2 day event, two master German bakers from Saxony, Torsten Eckert<\/a> and Erik Wunderlich<\/a>, were invited to Matsumoto to share one of Germany’s most celebrated cultural traditions – baking! <\/p>\n\"21231159_1673091Germany\n

The first day consisted of a welcome party with a taiko drum performance by the Norikura elementary school taiko club, locally brewed rye beer, German bread, sausages, and regional dishes, and a speech by the German guests.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Norikura elementary school taiko club<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The German and Japanese Bakers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mountains
Mountains of pretzels!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the second day, the bakers taught a special baking (and cooking) course. We made different kinds of bread made with sourdough rye dough (baked in a wood-burning oven!), eclairs, creme puffs, a beautiful buttercream cake, and a potato salad and radish salad from Saxony. Because truly authentic German bread and food is a rarity in Japan, it was a unique opportunity for all of to get a taste of the real thing and see how it’s actually made.<\/p>\n

\"Participants
Participants eagerly watching the bakers demonstrate how to make the bread dough<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Preparing
Preparing the bread dough<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Squeezing
Squeezing out dough for creme puffs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Eclairs
Eclairs and creme puff shells baking in the wood-burning oven<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The finished cake!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The whole Germany – Japan Baking Exchange got started when the baker from Brot H\u00fcgel connected with the German bakers on Facebook. After building their friendship online, Brot H\u00fcgel traveled to Saxony last year to teach about some quintessentially Japanese breads like melon pan<\/em> (a sweet roll with a cookie-based crust), anpan<\/em> (roll filled with sweet red bean paste), and creme pan<\/em> (roll filled with custard cream). As a continuation of the cultural exchange, the German bakers were then invited to Matsumoto this year. The bakers are eager to continue their friendship and offer more cultural exchange in both Saxony and Matsumoto, so let’s hope we see more events like this in the future!<\/p>\n

\"Finished
Finished rye bread!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the meantime, if you’re interested in German bread, beer, or food, there are a couple of options right here in Matsumoto!<\/p>\n

German-style bakeries:<\/h3>\n