Vinschger Paarl, the Rye Bread with Monastic History
The Vinschger Paarl is a dark rye pair from South Tyrol, baked with whole grain rye and natural sourdough, seasoned with fennel, caraway, and blue fenugreek. Two flat loaves from a stone oven, the recipe for which dates back over 700 years.
Vinschger Paarl is the classic of South Tyrolean bread culture, a flat rye bread that owes its name to the Vinschgau valley, where it is simply called "Vinschgerl." Ultner Brot bakes these 300g pairs using whole grain rye flour and natural sourdough, seasoned with the typical blue fenugreek. This is what a piece of alpine history tastes like, just as mountain farmers have known it for centuries.
Whole grain rye, dark and hearty
The Vinschger Paarl is darker and heartier than a light rye bread, because the dough contains 42% whole grain rye flour, with the rest being Type 1150 rye flour. Pure rye, then, without a single stalk of wheat. This makes the crumb dark, dense, and nutty, with that earthy undertone that only fully milled rye provides.
Fennel, caraway, and blue fenugreek give it the warm, slightly sweet spice that characterizes the Vinschger. The natural sourdough provides a moist, compact crumb and a fine acidity that lasts for days. Hearty, spicy, and down-to-earth—that is how bread was intended to be when it still had to serve as a supply for the long mountain winters.
How to share a genuine Paarl
The name "Paarl" (pair) comes from the two loaves baked together; you break them apart in the middle, just as farmers have always done. In the past, farm wives would hang the hard Paarln on wooden poles under the ceiling of the parlor, where they would keep throughout the entire winter.
On a "Marende" (snack platter), the Vinschger Paarl goes perfectly with South Tyrolean speck, mountain cheese, and Kaminwurzen, accompanied by a glass of Vernatsch. In the morning, it is equally great with butter and a bold mountain honey. Classically, it is served sliced and thinly topped, or toasted briefly if you want the crust to crunch again. You can find the same bread in a smaller size as Vinschger Minis, just right for the bread basket or as a snack on the go.
A recipe from the 13th century
Vinschger bread was first baked in the 13th century by Benedictine monks at Marienberg Abbey, high above the village of Burgeis.
Rye was the grain of choice because it braves the harsh mountain climate and keeps for weeks; in the long South Tyrolean winters, every durable loaf counted. The monks seasoned their Paarl with fennel, caraway, and blue fenugreek from the surrounding meadows, and it is precisely this blend that still defines the character of the bread today. Over 700 years later, this monastery bread has become a symbol of the entire region.
Ultner Brot bakes the Paarl according to this traditional Vinschgau method in the Ultental valley, where farmers have historically harvested almost exclusively rye. Master baker Hannes Schwienbacher grinds the grain in his own mill, which has been running since 1982, and lets the natural sourdough mature slowly before the Paarl moves into the stone oven.
It travels to you frozen; 5 minutes at 180 degrees in the oven and it tastes as if it just came out of the bakery. Whatever you don't need right away will stay fresh in the freezer for several weeks with ease, just like the bread of the mountain farmers of old. The entire Ultner range and its larger brother, the Original Ultner Brot, can be found right next door.
