Bread (ciopa) research in Venice, Bassano Del Grappa, Vicenza and Padua.

Starting in Venice I searched out the oldest and most traditional bakeries. There are three outstanding ones, two in the Castello district, the biggest being Panaficio Mauro Semenzato who supply many of the bakeries and cafes in the area, Rizzo Bakery, in San Barnaba in Dosodouro district and another in the Castello - the bakery with no name! A plain frontage bakery selling amazing, shaped bread with interesting flavour, such as tomato and parmigiana bread. All these bakeries had a range of twisted and knotted breads. They often display the most unusual loaves in the window, even if they don’t have them all to sell inside.

It was difficult to find the traditional ciopa or ciopette, but like all interesting research it was a springboard to discovering a wealth of shaped and flavoured breads. Twisted, plaited, rolled and cut shapes made with different types of flour, mostly white flour and many using milk for the hydration giving the bread a light and fluffy interior texture with a smooth yet crunchy crust. Each bakery I visited I talked to the staff, who were incredibly helpful in answering my questions – Did they produce Ciopa? What traditional breads are they making? What is most popular?

I then visited Bassano del Grappa, a stunning town on the River Po where there are a collection of beautiful bakeries selling both traditional bread and more contemporary whole meal and seeded loaves. I personally found the breads outside of Venice tastier and better texture. Bottega del Pane, a very old bakery in Bassano D-G with a stunning interior sold a range of breads plus panettone and cakes. Here I talked to the owner about the traditional ciopa bread. The typical knotted dough has evolved into a simpler shape, double twisted, looking a bit like a croissant. These little breads are still very popular, bought in the morning and eaten for lunch. They dry out very quickly, so eating them soon after baking is best.

The highlight of my trip was to visit and meet Lorenzo Bari, baker and owner of Antica Forneria Bari. This is just south of Vicenza and is the oldest and most historic bakery in the area. Handed down through many generations. Lorenzo showed me the bakery, the process of making the dough and baking it. He is famous for carrying on the ciopa tradition and has a machine that feeds in the dough and then double rolls it into the ciopa shape. The dough is flattened and rolled one way then rolled the other - 2 rolls. When the ciopa bread is thrown out the shaping machine Lorenzo handles them, to seal the doughs, tucking any dough ends that are sticking out.  Lorenzo made a video of this process the following morning and sent to me as this is a process that happens early in the morning (I arrived late morning). I am going to take this method and explore back in Uk to see if I can achieve the double roll by hand. 

When I arrived at Lorenzo’s bakery he was baking the bread in the oven. His oven is very old and once fired up using wood is now gas run. It was stunning to watch him scoop out the bread and pile them into baskets. There must have been over 400 of these beautiful breads baking in his historical oven. Each bread unique in shape, like mini sculptures.

Each day Lorenzo takes some of these baked breads and puts them in a drying oven to make his biscotti bread - twice baked breads. These become like biscuits. This is a very old process. Drying the bread gives the bread longevity, which would have been vital in the past when bread was taken on long journeys, such as on ships where food had to last for months. Since returning to the Uk, I have been in regular WhatsApp contact with Lorenzo who is so kind in sharing recipes, methods and video tutorials. 

Last stop was Padua, where I visited several bakeries, again a range of unusual, shaped breads on display. Every town has its own shapes and recipes. I found a star shaped bread, beautiful soft bread the size of a large star fish in a small supermarket. I also came across a bread that looked like a tortoise - the pattern of the tortoise shell formed on the dough.

I have learnt so much about bread in this region and the history of ciopa. The original coupling of two doughs to create a knot is very rare to find, but I found so many shaped breads, that was so much more than I expected. Having now visited a few regions in Italy to research bread I’m on a mission to visit all the regions in Italy to expand this research. Thanks to this wonderful grant this research has gained real focus and momentum. Not only will I take the practical knowledge I have acquired to develop my sculptural bread, but it has also highlighted my interest in the sustainability of food and art. Italy is so regional in its relationship to food ingredients and recipes and this I learn from. I’m now at the early stages of planning a project in the UK that will take grain from the field to the table – sculpture bread that can trace its entire history.