Reither Bread: Tradition to Bite Into

With a broad grin, he introduces his colleagues, all young men with suspiciously good moods. You get used to everything, even the early morning routine, the bakers laugh. A hard craft that is rewarded with very special moments, the master smiles towards the sunrise. He leads names and family businesses today in the third generation – so Rudi Hueber the Third, so to speak. On May 1, 1928, Grandfather Rudi Hueber put his first Farmer's bread into the wood oven here – in a few years, the traditional business will turn a hundred years old. Back then, the small bakery also had a typical grocery store, today the Hueber family is once again fully dedicated to the baking tradition: Back to the roots, entirely without chemical compromises. Instead, craftsmanship with heart, honest and genuine, emphasizes the young baker. The bakery smells of nuts, fruits, and sweet honey, as today Tyrolean Zelten are being baked.

The Zelten is a traditional fruit bread wrapped in yeast dough – rich, delicious, and long-lasting. A winter classic in the Alpine region, its origins can be found in medieval customs. To this day, the tradition of “Anklöpfeln” is maintained in rural Tyrolean communities. An ancient fertility custom where men disguised as shepherds sing and recite poems (in dialect) to beg for alms. They are gifted donations and the nourishing fruit bread in a dressing gown. Around Christmas, the Zelten is then sliced and distributed by the head of the household, as the bakers explain their delicious baked goods. Meanwhile, all sorts of utensils are being presented before my eyes, fine yeast dough pieces and the mysterious filling of the Zelten. For bread and dough, brine is used instead of salt, I am informed. An important detail, as the brine is unrefined and original, richer in flavor and contains 84 essential minerals and trace elements. The enthusiasm of the bakers is contagious, and I secretly take notes.

There are a total of six Reither Brot branches in Tyrol, the last and most beautiful one recently opened in the village square of Reith – the flagship store, so to speak. Here I meet mother and father Hueber, as the early work of the young bakers ends already around midday. Rudi and Angelika greet me as warmly as the guys in the bakery, and it quickly becomes clear where their enthusiasm for the profession comes from. They lovingly guide me through tempting breads and baked goods, made with homemade sourdough according to Grandpa Rudi's original recipes. Love without any frills, emphasizes the father, delivered fresh from the oven to the sales branches every day. Everything is baked fresh and exclusively here in Reith – quality from the first hand, for three generations.

After a hearty bakery breakfast, my mother Angelika takes me once again into the baking room. As is well known, grandma bakes the best Christmas cookies, says the grandmother with a grin while sorting boxes of cookies. From tomorrow in the branches in Reith, Seefeld, and Scharnitz available, but I get to try them today. And I wish once again that perhaps I had become a baker back then.