Pistolet (bread)

While most people in Belgium are familiar with this puffy roll with a slit down the middle and characteristic crisp crust, the truth is that it did not always have this form.

Others argue that the name comes from the fact that these rolls, subject to a high taxation in the 17th century, cost almost a “pistol” (a form of currency at the time), and were so nicknamed pistooltje.

According to Maurice Piron, a philologist from Liège, the common connection between the pistolet as a weapon, currency and bread is the concept of smallness.

In 1852, French poet Gérard de Nerval extolled the pistolet roll of Brussels in his writing.

Today, however, while similar breads can be found commonly, only a few bakers in Brussels still make the pistolet according to tradition, with the long rising time and filled with local ingredients.