LOAFING AROUND

BREAD is a staple in Altamura, I realise as I watch locals queue up for freshly-baked loaves outside the Di Gesu bakery. It’s a few decades since the family-run bakery hosted a neighbourhood oven – forno di quartiere – used by those living nearby to bake their breads.

With hundreds of loaves baked at a time, the bread would be branded with a family stamp to ensure everyone claimed the correct loaf.

I’m transfixed watching Giuseppe Di Gesu knead and twist the dough into shape with the speed that comes from a lifetime of experience.

The 44-year-old is the fifth generation of his family to work in the bakery, which now sells various products including focaccia, taralli (the traditional tiny doughnutshaped crunchy snacks) and Pane di Altamura – labelled to show it is only produced in that region, using local grain.

He jokes that he is really 65 but puts a youthful appearance down to the power of the bread.

His uncle Luca’s daily routine of rising at 4am after around five hours’ sleep to help in the bakery six days a week, has me wondering – if an 84-year-old can do that and still appear sprightly, maybe there is some magic in the bread...

So why is this E2 loaf, available to buy in the shop a stone’s throw from where it is baked, so good? “It’s written in the Bible. And because I make it!” says Luca with a twinkle in his eye.

I haven’t been able to find a passage in the Bible mentioning Altamura specifically, but I can certainly vouch for the local bread’s light taste and crispy crust. Eating it fresh from the oven is a bonus.

I finish my trip full of the most wonderful food – not to mention full of good intentions to bake my own bread and make my own pasta. I just have to wait until I feel hungry again.