It doesn't seem so long ago when the only bread available in Washington came sliced in cellophane packages. Now you can't move for choice among loaves studded with anything from olives, raisins and walnuts, to cheese, tomatoes and herbs. Sometimes, though, you wonder if the humble loaf hasn’t got a bit above itself. Where can you buy good honest brown bread?

Sometimes all you want is something good and simple. Along with brown bread enthusiasts, the local German community knows, that for a chewy oatmeal or sesame covered six-grain, German rye, pumpernickel, challah or a New York bagel to go to Breads Unlimited, who have been making real bread since long before bakeries became fashionable meeting places. Their French boules and baguettes are less good, however. Bradley Shopping Center, Arlington Rd, Bethesda, 301 656 2340, and 20630 Ashburn Road, Suite 189, Ashburn, VA, 571 223 2465.

For other German favorites, the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, 2150 N. Culpeper St, Arlington, 703 527 8394, bake a Black Forest bread.

Firehook Bakery sometimes bakes Landbrot, a dense, dark German bread that goes well with cream cheese and smoked salmon. At 1909 Q St NW, 202 588 9296; 912 17th St NW, 202 429 2253; 3411 Connecticut Ave NW, 202 362 2253; 106 N. Lee St, Alexandria, 703 519 7681(fax).

The European Bazaar, 1488-I Rockville Pike, 301 230 9371, stocks several Russian breads make in New York, among them Bardavinski bread.

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