I first published this post on another site, 2015. It's now updated here, and I hope you'll enjoy!
The days are shorter here now, in the northern hemisphere. The parched heat of the summer is becoming a memory as each nighttime falls sooner. It's a case now of hanging in until spring brings new life and those precious longer hours of daylight. |
At that time we were focused on getting out of Gozo. All the ferries had been conscripted to run back and forth to Libya, bringing refugees and nationals back to Malta.
Join me as I take you to the most interesting and divine bakery in the village of Qala on my beloved Gozo.
Getting around
Walking around
Nevertheless, there is something quite beautiful about walking on tiles that have probably been there for going on a hundred years. In typical Gozitan fashion, each homeowner also seems to claim the sidewalk outside their home as their private space, and decorate it accordingly.
This leads to a fascinating patchwork of different textures as you walk along.
Finding the bakery, at last!
I asked the question, and she looked at me a little strangely, then motioned to her left. I still couldn't see any bakery in the vicinity.
She walked a few more steps with me, chattering. I couldn't understand. She pointed, jabbing her broom to the sky. I looked up, and saw an ancient, blackened chimney, extending up from the flat roof, and surrounded by equally blackened hunks of logs.
Now I noticed several cats eating food that had obviously been put out there for them. I later discovered that there are about 14 of them, all feral, but considered to be pets by the bakery owners, who take responsibility for their food.
There are many of these cats all over Gozo. The ancient and dustinctive rubble walls provide multiple little harbours for pests, and the cats are responsible for keeping the mouse and rat populations under control.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, I walked another few steps, and saw a dingy canvas-type curtain. My navigator with the broom had followed me, and stopped her chatter for a moment, motioning me to go.
I gingerly pulled back the curtain, and saw there were some old steps leading down into what could only be described as a dark pit. Through the gloom I saw two women and a man sitting on a very rustic, make-do bench. They looked at me silently, perhaps a little suspiciously, to be quite honest.
Then I saw it. On the wall opposite them was a huge old stone oven, tightly closed. This was what I had come for.
"Bongorr,"( Hello) I said, with a huge smile of delight. "you have some bread for me?"
Their faces relaxed a bit. They started asking questions of me, how I had found Gozo, where I was from, and so forth. Turned out they loved Canada. We sat, all of us on the old bench, very diverse folks, yet connected by a love of wood fired ovens and bread.
Making the bread
My new friends seemed to grasp my interest. They explained that the oven would open soon, because it was almost 11 a.m. That would be the first bread of the day. I sat on the rough bench with them, and we chatted a little. It turned out they could speak English quite understandably, once my ear became attuned to their pronunciation. Sign language helps, too!
Opening the oven
from a branch embedded in it, was sealed tight with ash paste made from the ashes of the previous day. All that had to be removed.
One woman picked up an enormous long-handled peel, while the other opened the door.
A waft of the the most incredible perfume of fresh-baked bread filled the space we stood in. Inside the glowing light of the oven were several of the most beautiful rustic loaves I had ever seen. This was part of the heritage of Malta that was right in front of my awestruck eyes.
Hobz bread--out of this world!
Throughout Malta bread is revered. I'm not talking about supermarket bread, which in pretty well all countries has become just something to be endured and used to make sandwiches. I am talking about real bread, with a thick crunchy crust, and a satisfying chewiness, with an indefinable natural flavour in each solid yet custardy bite. That is Gozitan bread. It's so good that visitors take it home as a souvenir.
A family heritage
How they make it
This bakery would never pass our food production regulations in North America. As the bakers trusted me, eventually I was allowed to enter the actual mixing area, accessed through another curtain.
I was amazed to see that the three giant mixing bowls were actually scooped out of a huge slab of marble.
The scales are very old, the weights look as though they came from Biblical times.
I could never do justice to a description of the breads that come out of that oven! Besides the daily Hobz, there are wonderful aniseed flavoured rings that can be picked up hot from the oven, and munched happily walking down to the bar just the other side of the village square, where you can obtain a steaming cup of cappucino for €1. The rings are just the perfect accompaniment.
Take-out pizza, Gozo style!
Now, try the aniseed rings!
Ready in: 14 min
Yields: approx 25 rings
Qaghaq tal Hmira (aniseed sesame rolls)
- 2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 3 tsp yeast, instant
- 1 1/2 cups water, tepid
- 2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 1/2 cup sugar, berry or castor
- 31/2 oz (100gms) butter
- 2 tsp aniseeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 whole lemon lemon zest
- 1 egg, beaten with 1Tbs water
Instructions
- Mix first 3 ingredients together. I use my stand mixer for this. It is a really sloppy mixture called a sponge.
- Leave to stand for a minimum of 2 hours. it should bubble up, and then start to sink.
- Rub the butter into the next quantity of flour, add to this the sugar, aniseeds, cloves and grated lemon zest
- Add this mixture to the sponge, mix until the bowl is clean. cover the dough, with either clingfilm or a damp cloth. leave to stand for several hours until well risen.
- Divide the dough into portions the size of a hen's egg. Roll out into long thin tubes. place a a dab of water on each end and join firmly into a ring.
- Place on baking sheet allowing room to double in size. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top (optional)
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until brown and glossy. They should never bake more than 15 minutes.
Waiting, then eating
The need to hurry is probably why most of us feel such stress in our lives today.
A last note: it is almost impossible to just eat one of these little bread treasures! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!