Butterbrot
Comparison with sandwiches
Comparison with sandwiches
--------------------------

[thumb\|*Butterbrot* with ham slices and [bruschetta](/wiki/Bruschetta "Bruschetta") sitting atop a [hippopotamus](/wiki/Hippopotamus "Hippopotamus")\-shaped [cutting board](/wiki/Cutting_board "Cutting board")](/wiki/File:Belegte_Brote.jpg "Belegte Brote.jpg")
[thumb\|Salmon [roe](/wiki/Roe "Roe") *buterbrod*, typical Russian [zakuski](/wiki/Zakuski "Zakuski")](/wiki/File:Caviar_butterbrot.jpg "Caviar butterbrot.jpg")
A *Butterbrot* is commonly a single slice of bread and one ingredient on top of the butter or [margarine](/wiki/Margarine "Margarine"). For [breakfast](/wiki/Breakfast "Breakfast"), this ingredient tends to be sweet and can be [marmalade](/wiki/Marmalade "Marmalade"), [jam](/wiki/Jam "Jam"), [honey](/wiki/Honey "Honey"), [chocolate spread](/wiki/Chocolate_spread "Chocolate spread"), [hazelnut spread](/wiki/Nutella "Nutella"), or the less common [peanut butter](/wiki/Peanut_butter "Peanut butter"). For [dinner](/wiki/Dinner "Dinner") or as boxed [lunch](/wiki/Lunch "Lunch"), and often also for breakfast, the *Butterbrot* is eaten with something savoury on top, usually a large slice of cold meat or cheese or sliced German [Wurst](/wiki/Sausage "Sausage"), or one of the countless [cream cheese](/wiki/Cream_cheese "Cream cheese") varieties, or even an entire [Schnitzel](/wiki/Schnitzel "Schnitzel") or halved mince meat patty, or hard boiled egg slices or egg salad, or other spreadable creamy salads, or smoked [salmon](/wiki/Salmon "Salmon"), or various savoury spreads like [liverwurst](/wiki/Liverwurst "Liverwurst"), including also a wide range of [vegetarian](/wiki/Vegetarian "Vegetarian") spreads. Boxed lunch *Butterbrot* can be folded for easier handling, and as such resembles the [sandwich](/wiki/Sandwich "Sandwich"). In [Austria](/wiki/Austria "Austria") *Butterbrot* only refers to a slice of bread with butter. If a topping is added it is named after the topping (e.g. *Käsebrot* "cheese bread", *[Wurstbrot](/wiki/Wurstbrot "Wurstbrot")* "sausage bread").
[thumb\|*Wurstbrot* and *Wurstbrötchen*.](/wiki/File:Sandwich_wurstbrot-wurstbroetchen_2871.JPG "Sandwich wurstbrot-wurstbroetchen 2871.JPG")

The derivatives of the British sandwich and the *Butterbrot* of the German\-speaking countries differ in some ways: The *Butterbrot* is usually made from the typical bread types of German\-speaking countries, which are much firmer and fuller in taste, and with a crispy crust, compared to English sandwich slices. One popular type is *Vollkornbrot* (wholegrain bread), which has a sourish full savoury taste, due to the use of [sourdough](/wiki/Sourdough "Sourdough") as a [leavening agent](/wiki/Leavening_agent "Leavening agent"), and which often contains [rye](/wiki/Rye "Rye"), albeit bread made from [wheat](/wiki/Wheat "Wheat") flour is usually the most common variety. Vollkornbrot exists in dozens of varieties with respect to taste, shape, color, etc. However, Germans also know a large variety of white or mixed bread kinds, [baguette](/wiki/Baguette "Baguette") or [ciabatta](/wiki/Ciabatta "Ciabatta") are so common they are sold in every supermarket, and many modern German families simply eat [toast](/wiki/Toast_%28food%29 "Toast (food)") with topping for breakfast, as it's cheaper and faster. Another very popular bread type is *Brötchen* ([bread rolls](/wiki/Bread_roll "Bread roll")), of which countless varieties exist in any possible shape, size and made from any possible flour combination.
[thumb\|Some of the countless varieties of *Brötchen* in Germany](/wiki/Image:Korb_mit_Br%C3%B6tchen.JPG "Korb mit Brötchen.JPG")

Likely even more important are differences with respect to what is eaten on top of a *Butterbrot* or in a sandwich. Although exceptions exist, a *Butterbrot* is commonly not expanded the way sandwiches are. One slice of cheese and one or (in case of thin slices) maybe two slices of cold [meat](/wiki/Meat "Meat") are commonly considered sufficient; adding [lettuce](/wiki/Lettuce "Lettuce"), [tomato](/wiki/Tomato "Tomato"), [pickles](/wiki/Pickled_cucumber "Pickled cucumber"), [onions](/wiki/Onions "Onions"), [mustard](/wiki/Mustard_%28condiment%29 "Mustard (condiment)"), [mayonnaise](/wiki/Mayonnaise "Mayonnaise") etc. happens only following individual preferences. Also the ratio of bread and "topping" is relatively constant, thick fancy sandwich fillings have almost no equivalent for the *Butterbrot*.

German speakers differentiate between the German\-style *Butterbrot* and the British\-style *sandwich* by using the English word "sandwich" for the latter.


What are some examples of non-savory toppings used on a Butterbrot for breakfast?