Bread of Cerchiara
Although it is produced in very small quantities (only three bakeries make it every day), this bread is still an excellent baking product. The secrets to its preparation are yeast, wheat flour (60%), bran (40%), the right time to rise, the light mountain water (we are at about 700 meters above sea level) and the baking with wood, with the addition or the religious cross sign made with the baking pole once the bread is done.
The bread of Cerchiara is also exceptional for its dimensions: it weighs between 2 and 3 kilos, the shape is round with a bulging side (rasella) obtained by folding the dough over itself. The forms rest in large wooden chests lying on a towel before being shaped and baked in, brought to about 300 degrees and fed with chestnut and beech wood.
The result is a fragrant bread, never chewy, aromatic and pleasant even 10 days after its preparation.
