The Bread of the Gods began as an experiment and was presented last September at Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, but right from the start it has proven to be popular with consumers. So much so that about 40 loaves come out of the Marzo bakery's workshop every Saturday, and they are quickly sold in the two stores in Venaus and Susa and in the two Rivoli stores.
A clear expression of territoriality, the Bread of the Gods, made with rye flour, is the result of the marriage between the experience of baker Matteo Marzo and that of Paolo Listello, producer of Taurini Mead. Two valley realities that have collaborated, giving rise to a product that, weekly, reaches an increasing number of dinner tables. Ready to accompany different types of courses, without ever disfiguring, on the contrary, often enhancing them.
Matteo Marzo and Paolo Listello at the Salone del Gusto
"Mead," explains Matteo Marzo, "is a beverage with a very high nutritional intake, rich in beneficial substances derived from fermentation, which give the product a special imprint. Obviously, mead to be bottled must be "stopped," otherwise it would continue to ferment, bursting the container. I intercepted it at the previous stage, when it was still fermenting, and by mixing it with the other ingredients, I obtained a nutritionally elevated product, not commanded by an alcoholic fermentation but by a bacterial one, similar to that of sourdough, thus with better digestibility. Bread of the Gods is made with local flours, characterized by the low presence of gluten, which gives it another added value."
Bread of the Gods in production at March Bakery
And if March goes into the details of the recipe, Listello, which supplied one of the raw materials, mead, claims paternity of the name given to the product. "Mead comes from the fermentation of a mixture of water and honey," he explains, "which by this process reaches an alcohol content of around 13 degrees. It is the oldest alcoholic beverage produced by man: the Egyptians, Celts, Greeks, Romans and Germans made use of it, and they called it the nectar of the gods: it seemed only right that the bread in which it is featured should recall this ancient name. It was not a big effort, I just suggested the name that we then chose."
Tasting the Bread of the Gods at Salone del Gusto 2018
Just these days Listello is celebrating the coming of age of his business, which he has been engaged in for 18 years in Caselette. "Mead is a niche product," he points out, "and until now it did not have much competition. Let's say that, until now, I have enjoyed a certain solitude: now other realities are appearing on the production scene, but I am still convinced that its use in the bread recipe produced by March has been an excellent investment."
The divine properties of the Bread of the Gods can be felt at the first bite, which is impossible not to follow up with a second, a third and many more. Because the first official taste was in the fall at the Salone del Gusto in Turin, but the taste of goodness continues, over the course of the various seasons, to cross the entire Susa Valley. And, in this case, it does so by expressing itself through double craftsmanship marked by artistry.
Much interest at the Salone del Gusto for this Valsusian product!
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