Instant Grandma! That’s what I got my final morning of my Portugal Please road trip when I dropped by the a traditional home bakery in the village of Vidigueira where Joana Roque’s been baking the same bread in the same method for more than 40 years.
So, while rambling across Portugal in an attend to devour everything edible in my path, I got to try numerous Michelin starred dishes, to dine at award winning restaurants, and to stay in some of the most gastronomically inclined hotels on the Iberian Peninsula. Still, I reckon the single most satisfying thing I ate during that trip was a freshly baked stick of bread with some chorizo in it made especially for me at Padaria Joana Roque.
Elderly Joana has been getting up early six days a week for decades to bake one specific type of bread (the chorizo breadsticks were a treat just for me stopping by) in an oven fired with cuttings from olive trees. She uses a local flour to make her loaves and nothing else – aside from water, antique and mostly wooden utensils, and ample amounts of elbow grease.
These days Joana’s daughter Gracinda pitches in to help with some of the muscle work (and there seemed to be plenty of it). But Gracinda’s daughter, who dropped by briefly during my visit, explained to me that she had no interest at all in carrying on. And I can’t say I blame her. From what I observed, baking bread in an old school Portugues manner is incredibly basic but extremely tough, with little financial gain to be had. Joana sell her loaves for €1 each, and I gathered makes more money hosting demos for the small number of tourists who now come by than she ever did actually selling her bread.
In addition to helping with the manual labour, Gracinda also assists by speaking English with the small but steady stream of foreign guests her mother welcomes to the bakery. Being a fly on the wall while these ladies carried out a ancient custom felt like I had been granted special privilege. But if it sounds like something you’d like to do, it’s easy enough to arrange. Padaria Joana Roque is one of a select group of producers listed as part of Sunvil’s Festival of Food. A visit to her bakery can be included in a bespoke Alentejo itinerary designed by the independent British tour operator.
Be sure to check back soon for future instalments of my Portugal Please miniseries.
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