Alentejo Bread

Alentejo Bread, a walk into the past

Bread is one of the most characteristic symbols of the Alentejo. It is a shared link with the culture and heritage of the region. It is often said that “if there is no bread, there is nothing to eat”. For the people of the Alentejo, this food is something that cannot be missed at a meal.

Interesting facts about Alentejo bread

In the Iberian Peninsula, it was the Romans who encouraged the production of this product. From the same point of view, it was they who introduced yeast (which at the time was made from beer foam) into the process of making it.

With the Moorish invasion of Portugal, a very Muslim culture was introduced into the food, thus aligning it with Alentejo cuisine. If today we like to accompany this food with various sauces, we owe it to the Moors, who passed this type of custom on to us all. In fact, it was they who taught us how to taste olive oil.

You may also know that throughout the history of our country, a person's social class could be discriminated against based on bread, so that the lower class was associated with a darker color. On the contrary, the upper class was associated with a lighter color.

Did you also know that, for believers in the Catholic religion, this is the symbol of the body of God?

In the past, consumption of this product was very restricted, as not everyone could afford to buy the bread they wanted. As such, bread made from wheat was only for a restricted group of people with certain social characteristics. On the other hand, bread made from rye was made for everyone. Whether intentionally or not, it was the most expensive.

Nowadays…

Bread is a food that does not have a specific time to eat. It can be eaten from a starter to a main course, or from breakfast to dinner, and can be served as a snack or as a side dish to the main course.

Also, be aware that there are some people from Alentejo who get offended when people call normal bread Alentejano.

If you would like to know more about this topic, or even learn how to make good Alentejo Bread, at Convento do Espinheiro on June 9th at 10:30 you will have the opportunity to do so.