Who are Sommer & Co. ?

Sommer & Co. have been producing rusk and biscuits for five generations. Our traditional, family-run business offers a large assortment of rusks, cookies and crackers for sale in whole food specialty shops.

Naturally, all our products are made exclusively of material from certified organic farms. Due to the excellent digestibility and robust taste of spelt, or "German wheat" (Triticum spelta), we specialise in baked goods based on this grain.

Our recipes contain only that which is essential to achieve good taste while optimising digestibility. Artificial baking additives such as emulsifiers should not and shall not substitute for our craftsmanship.

The Taunus foothills lie at the heart of a large, fertile area, which produces grain with excellent baking characteristics. We obtain most of our principal raw ingredient, grain, directly from certified organic farms and mills right here in the region, which minimizes distances travelled between farm, mill and bakery.

Rusk: A Traditional Biscuit from Friedrichsdorf

Friedrichsdorf-im-Taunus is the birthplace of rusk. It was here, at the end of the 18th century, that a clever baker refined the lowly, hard ship’s biscuit into the crispy, yeast-risen delicacy we know today.

For 140 years now, we have been baking our rusk right here, following the traditional Friedrichsdorf production method. Much of the work in our production process is still performed by hand. It takes a sensitive touch to refine the organic ingredients into fine baked products of consistently high quality.

We offer a wide variety of rusks - including, in particular, pure vegetable rusks (vegan) made of spelt.

Cookies and Biscuits

In addition, we produce a broad range of spelt cookies. These include, for example, cantuccini, butter cookies, whole wheat cookies and various kinds of Christmas cookies.

Savoury Biscuits

The hallmark of Sommer & Co.'s crackers lies in their unconventional and unusually aromatic recipes. Wholesome organic ingredients such as olive oil, peppery spices or fine herbs add that little something special.

The Friedrichsdorf Rusk Baking Process

The German word for rusk, Zwieback, literally means "twice baked."

First flour, yeast, salt and water are kneaded together to make a yeast dough. After an extended rising time, during which the flavour develops, the dough is baked in long rectangular baking pans.

The German word for the resulting bread, Einback, literally means "once baked." It is removed from the baking forms and left to cool for 24 hours, during which time it hardens enough to be sliced. The Einback is then cut into thin slices, which are laid out flat and carefully toasted in the oven a second time.

The resulting biscuit is light and crispy. The two-step baking process renders the grain’s starches and proteins particularly easy to digest. That's why rusks, and especially spelt rusks, are so highly recommended as diet food and children’s snacks.