Matera Bread
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"Matera bread" - that obtained in 2004 the IGP label (Geographical Protected Identification), from the European Community, according to the CEE Rule 2081/92 - is made exclusively from the "fine durum wheat semolina" by mixing the varieties of hard wheat cultivated on the Matera hills and on the highlands of the north-central Murgia which are the most extensive and important areas of wheat production in Basilicata and in Puglia.
Full of history and of tradition, the "Matera bread" is good just because of the special raw material used, the "fine durum wheat semolina", (plus water, marine salt and yeast) and because of a traditional working process (articulated in five stages:1. Dough; 2. Forming; 3. Yeast; 4. Shaping; 5. Cooking in the oven fed with firewood or with other source of energy). And thanks to the winning combination of these two elements, the genuine high-quality ingredients, the method of processing and preserving the instruction guides of the local tradition, eventually the "Matera bread" obtained the IGP - Geographical Protected Identification.
More than its taste and its digestibility, another important characteristic of the Matera Bread is the long shelf life (the bread keeps the good taste as late as two/three days from the date of take out of the oven).
The "Matera bread" in its traditional "high" and "low" shapes (so called "high-bread" and "low-bread") and in its most popular and unusual shape, so called "croissant-bread" (since its shape reminds the famous small rounded sweet brioche well-known all over the world), shows on the outside a pleasant crust of brown colour, and in the inside a soft part of yellow flaxen colour.
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