The tradition of our bread

1. “U PANI I CASA” (Homemade Bread)
Nowadays, in Calabria, to make bread at home is still a widespread custom and also the traditional bakeries
with wood-burning ovens , churn out the so-called " bread of the house " that, over a wood fire, has a
completely different flavor .The day established for making bread , everything had to be ready : branches in
abundance in order to " do" the oven , tablecloths or clean sheets , hot water etc ..
The bread is kneaded in "majijia" adding to the flour sifted with a sieve (crivu) the yeast dissolved in warm
water , slowly, to create a sticky dough.
It did well to dissolve the salt with warm water and was added while continuing to mix .
Usually the amount of flour was great because it was used to make bread enough and then kneading it
needed help.
After you turned the dough with fists slamming and giving strength to do the baking powder and mix well to
make sure that the air penetrated the bottom to make it lighter .
When everything was well blended and smooth consistency , the pasta was ready to be cut into shapes.
It was cut into pieces and on floured board in abundance from the cupboard , were quickly created donuts
and loaves that were lined up on a shelf well spaced.

2. At this point everything was covered with a sheet held on purpose or with a tablecloth and , if it was winter ,
they put more blankets to warm and let rise around quickly .
After an hour the bread was engraved with a knife and weighing it if you could tell it was leavened or not
deciding whether to leave it a little longer.
Meanwhile he had already taken steps to prepare the oven , usually with olive branches in our land that is
very easy to find.
The oven immediately warmed the environment and in the winter , especially in the early morning , it was
very pleasure to stay around and enjoy the warmth that emanated .
When the bread was leavened and the oven was ready , it pulled forward the coals and was covered with an
old tile (ceramida) not to burn yourself , and then the furnace was cleaned well well ash remained , with a
tool that invented consisted of a long handle with the far end of rags firmly attached with wire. Today on the
market there are specific scope derived from dwarf palm , especially in Sicily , where they are called
“scupazzi ".
This was soaked in a bucket held by, and with fast movements , in a moment the floor of the oven was very
clean . After wooden shovel was floured with a long handle and were lying on top of the loaves (paniatti) and
donuts (curuji) one by one and stuck it in the oven.

3. When the oven was nearly full , the loaves, stretched and stretched by hand, were placed in front of it
because it swelled so much and cooked immediately.
When all the bread was fired, the mouth of the oven was closed with the closure of iron , to retain and
expand the heat. The bread baked for a good hour watched over continuously, but not in the first half an hour
to stop the leavening and do not deflate . The first to cook were obviously the “pitte” that were usually cut
with the help of a string , into two parts and put back in the end to become toasted bread as smaller “friselle”
in trade.
Once cooked, it was removed from the oven and it was choosed, in the sense that someone was left for the
days to come, as it remained soft for a long time, someone else was given to the relatives and friends . The
rest was cut to "cutters" , other slices that would still finished in the oven to become hard bread toasted .
To become hard was put back in the oven for a few days and a few nights . In times when there were no
freezers and not everyone had the oven at home to do it often , this was a great way to keep long the
“homemade bread” which was then kept in cloth bags (Cirmi) and well- connected made safe in chests
(casce) or handouts . The need was soaked in water or broth for soups and consumed , but also eaten raw.
At the moment of consummation , the head of the family blessed him , it broke into pieces and distributed to
all members of the family .
When the bread fell to the ground it is always kissed and marked with a imaginary cross praying the "Our
Father".