Bread is us

Corrado Assenza has the physique du rôle of an ascetic and the wise, calm, meditative words of a philosopher even and especially when speaking of food. So, even though his subject – pastry-making – is perhaps the most voluptuous and epicurean side of gastronomy, it is surprising to hear him say that without bread he wouldn’t even sit by the table. Or listen to him – with a certain mouth-watering reaction – as he speaks of u pisci d'uovo, a poor people’s Sicilian dish made with eggs, salt, pepper and herbs, or cheese and bread crumbs; it is a sort of omelette wrapped in the shape of a fish, paired with fried aubergines, artichokes or potatoes. Or when he says that stale bread is an essential ingredient to prepare the crispy crust of rice arancini.

Because today, in a time of abundance, bread seems to be an extra, a pure concession for the palate that should be limited and only needs to accompany other, more noble, food. Assenza, instead, does not forget the first-born nature of bread, which by itself can nourish and please. «I eat it by itself too, bread with bread is enough for me. If then it is enriched with another flavour, it’s enough for lunch and dinner. Sicilian gastronomy can transform a piece of bread, some herbs and one ingredient into a lunch: for instance the durum wheat semolina bread, seasoned with a little oil and oregano. On this base you can add whatever you want: an anchovy, tuna, tomatoes, but this is an extra. Wheat, oil and oregano are enough for a lunch, no matter if poor; with them, even a farmer will dine as a lord, and in a balanced way».

This very “regal mouthful” could sum up the approach of the Sicilian pastry-chef with regards to bread, and in general to all his work: the research for simplicity and origins, but also the constant study in order to reach the perfect balance of flavours without ever forgetting health and well-being. Nor the deepest meanings of what we eat: «For us westerners, bread is a symbol of life; bread and water represent life; bread belongs to an archaic, childish symbolism, it is food and nourishment, it has been the base of our diet for millennia. Bread is us».

So this year, at the Congress, Corrado Assenza will speak of bread – even though the point of view will be that of a pastry-chef, presenting a preview of a new offer at Caffè Sicilia based on the “archetypical shape” of Sicilian leavened food, that is to say the brioche – and he will do so with nutritionist Pierpaolo Pavan, with whom he is collaborating thanks to common objectives.

So after cakes and pizza, it will be the turn of bread. As a starting point, there’s always flour: an almost magical ingredient on which a large part of his work and research is based, be it ancient indigenous Sicilian wheat types – such as tumminia, russello or perciasacchi – or whole-wheat varieties stone-milled by Molino Quaglia in which a significant quantity of bran and wheat germ is preserved.

«Flour seems a humble ingredient, so much so that people don’t pay the highest attention; but when you get closer, it unveils a whole world; the more you understand, the more you want to know. Working with different types of flour has heightened my sensitivity for all the other ingredients. Everything starts from flour: the quality of the dough, for instance, or even that of the mother yeast, which means health and well-being and not just more work to be done».