Brot has a countable aspect - you can ask the baker to give you "zwei Brote" - but it has an uncoutable aspect as well , like in "Brot für die Welt" ********************************************************************** So in daily life there is not much need to talk of "ein Laib Brot" - you can express the same by saying "ein Brot". Anyway, ein Laib Brot sounds more poetic than "ein Brot" , so it is possible you might some day hear that expression, e.g. on stage. ****************************************************************** The plural of "ein Laib Brot" is "Brotlaibe". So if you want to tell a fairy tale, where the dragon swallows 12 loafs of bread, it will be "zwölf Brotlaibe" - but if you are at the bakery, you'd rather ask for "zwölf Brote". Leib and Laib probably have the same indogermanic root, but they are different in modern German. Leib means 'body'. Laib means 'loaf'.