The Breads of Eastern Lunigiana

An the shadow of the Apuan Alps, in addition to the famous Marocca di Casola made with chestnut flour, we find many other types of bread, more classic but always unique and delicious. To the layman’s eye and palate they may look very similar, but small details such as the texture of the crust, the crumb and fragrance or the ingredients used, water and flour, will make you appreciate the merits of each.

Our itinerary starts from Agnino, a village in the municipality of Fivizzano from which there is a beautiful view of much of Lunigiana. Here in the local bakery for years they have been baking the  Agnino bread of round shape, with a size of about 700 grams, suitable for storage several days. We also recommend the excellent focaccia prepared with the usual dough.

We move a little further north of Fivizzano and in Signano we find another type of bread, made in a small family-run wood-fired oven with flour from the local mill, still round and large in size, but characterized by a very soft crumb and a crisp crust.

We go up the Strada Statale del Cerreto road again and turn in the direction of the village of Po, where we find a bakery that for decades has been making a very well-known and popular bread, baked in a wood-fired oven and which can be enjoyed on site, freshly baked, accompanied by local cold cuts.

We change valleys and to Vinca, a village at the foot of the peaks of the Apuan Alps we find the local bread dark in appearance and is generally round in shape. The size is about 2.2 kilos. the dough is made from wheat flour, bran, water, yeast and salt. After dividing the dough into loaves, they are allowed to rise for 12 hours, and then baked in a wood-fired oven.

We end our trip in Regnano, in the municipality of Casola in Lunigiana, to taste Regnano bread made from wheat flour and boiled potatoes. Local potatoes, grown up to the high elevations, were added to lengthen the fragrance of the breads.