Two Brötchen

A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round. They are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversally, with fillings between the two halves.

Bread rolls are much more common in Europe, especially in Germany and Austria, than in the USA. The German name for rolls is Brötchen (Northern Germany), which literally means small bread, or Semmel (Southern Germany and Austria). In Germany and Austria, there is a large variety of bread rolls, ranging from white rolls made with wheat flour, to dark rolls containing mostly rye flour. Many variants include spices, such as coriander and cumin, nuts, or seeds, such as sesame seeds or sunflower seeds.