{"id":12703,"date":"2020-04-30T14:48:35","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T14:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feetoutofbed.com\/?p=12703"},"modified":"2020-05-04T13:27:21","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T13:27:21","slug":"treasures-of-puglia-cuisine-altamura-bread-d-o-p-pane-di-altamura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.feetoutofbed.com\/en\/treasures-of-puglia-cuisine-altamura-bread-d-o-p-pane-di-altamura\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasures of Puglia cuisine: Altamura bread D.O.P (Pane di Altamura)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big, lush, with a crispy brown crust, inside has a yellowish color and good flavored – it is all about the famous Italian bread from Altamura D.O.P. <\/span>\u2014<\/span> pane di Altamura DOP <\/span>\u2014<\/span> a jewel of the city and of the entire region of Puglia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"PugliaAltamura is a city north of Bari, not far from Matera with a population of 70 thousand people, located on the <\/span>Murge<\/span> plateau, which<\/span> lies within <\/span>Puglia <\/span>and corresponds with the sub-region known as Murgia or Le Murge<\/span>. Altamura has been called the City of Bread for several centuries, because of about 90 bakeries working for 70 thousand inhabitants, which process tons of special flour daily to produce bread not only for the region, but for the whole Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The mail cathedral of Altamura dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built by will of emperor Frederick II<\/p><\/div>\n

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So what is Altamura bread?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is a 1 kg loaf on average with a very ancient origins. The tradition of creating this bread finds its first mention in 37 BC in the works of Roman poet Horace. During his journey to the area now called Puglia, the poet discovered “the best bread in the world.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Pane di Altamura till today preserves its qualities and characteristics that were important in the old times <\/span>\u2014<\/span> thanks to the large crust and less moisture the bread could be stored for days.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was a very important aspect for who settled the Alta Murgia subregion, because most of people were engaged in agriculture, grazing animals and transhumance (<\/span>a seasonal movement of <\/span>livestock<\/span> practiced in Southern regions of Italy)<\/span>, so they had to leave homes for a long period of time. Also, bread conservation was important for those who worked in the fields to feed themselves with simple ingredients: some bread, salt, a piece of cheese, if any, and olive oil.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The typical form of Altamura bread<\/p><\/div>\n

The Altamura bread is classified as \u201cDenominazione di Origine Protetta\u201d, i.e. Protected Designation of Origin since 2003. The originality and secrets of the bread are guaranteed and protected by the Altamura Bread Consortium. In Italy, probably, each product is protected by presidiums of Slow Food and similar organizations. Indeed, the future generations should know what Italy is proud of and should know what they\u2019ll have to continue to safe as the Italian gastro heritage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is what the Pane di Altamura certificate looks like. Let’s say it is like a bread\u2019s passport. It contains basic characteristics that the bread must have in order to meet the quality mark:<\/span><\/p>\n