Global InformationBread in Spain information
Bread in Spain has an ancient tradition with various preparations in each region. Wheat is by far the most cultivated cereal, as it withstands the dry climate of the interior of the country. Since time immemorial, bread (pan in Spanish)[n. 1] is a staple food that accompanies all daily meals, all year round. In fact, the Iberian Peninsula is one of the European regions with the greatest diversity of breads.[1][2] The Spanish gourmet José Carlos Capel estimated a total of 315 varieties of bread in Spain,[3] although the barra (baguette-shape bread) is, by far, the most consumed variety of bread (75%).[4] In addition to food, bread in Spain has a historical, cultural, religious and mythological function.
One of the hallmarks of the Spanish bakery is the candeal, bregado or sobado bread, which has a long tradition in Castile, Andalusia, Extremadura, Araba, Valencia or Zaragoza.[5] This bread is made with Candeal wheat flour, a variety of durum wheat endemic to Iberia and the Balearic Islands (where it is called xeixa) and which is highly appreciated. The dough for this bread is obtained by arduously squeezing the dough with a rolling pin or with a two-cylinder machine called bregadora. Similar «hard dough» breads can be also found in Portugal (pão sovado, regueifa),[6] France (pain brié), Italy (coppia ferrarese, barilino, coccoi a pitzus, pane gramolato) and Croatia (ragusano or u pani ri casa).
Unlike the brown breads made in northern Europe, white flour is preferred in the South, because it provides a more spongy and light texture –but less nutritional value. This is also related to the universal prominence of wheat in Spanish bakery, while from the Pyrenees to the north it is more common to mix it with rye flour and other grains (like the French méteil), as well as the use of wholemeal flour. Few cereals grow as well in Spain as wheat, which is the agricultural product with the most dedicated land in the country.[7] Wholemeal breads have only come to have some relevance in the recent history of the country, when a renewed interest in healthy diet is introduced. On the other hand, throughout its history (and especially during the Franco regime), rye, barley, buckwheat, or whole wheat breads were considered "food for the poor".
In addition, bread is an ingredient in a wide variety of Spanish recipes: ajoblanco, preñaos, migas, pa amb tomàquet, salmorejo, torrijas, etc. Traditional Spanish cuisine arose from the need to make the most of the few ingredients that have shaped the diet of the peninsula for centuries and centuries. Bread is the main of them, and especially in the inland.[8] Historically, the Spanish have been renowned consumers of bread.[9] However, the country has experienced an alarming decline in bread consumption, and reorientation of the Spanish bakery is noticeable. People eat less and worse bread, at the same time that the baker's job is becoming mechanized and tradition is simplifying.
Cite error: There are <ref group=n.> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n.}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Gil Hernández, Ángel (2015-02-02). Libro Blanco del Pan (in Spanish). Ed. Médica Panamericana. pp. 53. ISBN 978-84-9835-505-5.
- ^ Fiset, Josée; Blais, Éric (2007). El libro del pan (in Spanish). Éric Blais. Barcelona: Bon Vivant. p. 12. ISBN 978-84-96054-34-9. OCLC 433656204.
- ^ Capel, José Carlos (1991). El pan: elaboración, formas, mitos, ritos y gastronomía, seguido de un glosario de los panes de España (in Spanish). Barcelona: Montserrat Mateu Taller Editorial. ISBN 84-88158-00-9. OCLC 29999024.
- ^ Resa, Sylvia (2012). "El pan apuesta por la innovación" (PDF). Distribución y Consumo (123): 17. ISSN 1132-0176 – via Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación.
- ^ Yarza, Ibán (2019). 100 recetas de pan de pueblo: ideas y trucos para hacer en casa panes de toda España (in Spanish). Barcelona: Editorial Grijalbo. p. 79. ISBN 978-84-17338-64-0. OCLC 1128195689.
- ^ Fernandes, Daniel (2001). "Pão sovado". Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ "Cereales". Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-30.
- ^ Ayuso, Miguel (2021-06-15). "La cocina en la España vaciada (o cómo los romanos, la trashumancia y el hambre configuraron el recetario del interior de la península)". Directo al Paladar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ Contreras, Jesús (1996). "Estadístiques i pautes de consum: Sabem realment què mengem?". L'Alimentació mediterrània (in Catalan). Vv.Aa. (1 ed.). Barcelona: Edicions Proa. p. 133. ISBN 84-8256-170-7. OCLC 35305279.