THE BREAD OF CARRAL

The town hall of Carral is known for the fame of its bread, similar to a muffin, which is characterised by having spongy crumbs and a crunchy crust. In its fabrication a good portion of wheat from the country is used, harvested in Galicia and ground in fine stone mills called “Albeiros”. Another characteristic is its slow fermentation using rice meal from previous batches. It is a type of bread that stays fresh for several days.

There are numerous things which add up to give this bread its fame. The first is the abundant production of cereal, especially in Barcia valley. The second is the abundance of water mills. Furthermore, it had good proximity to the city of A Coruña, a city of wheat shortfall and with a population that demanded white bread. Currently, it is in this city where the majority of this bread is sold, but it is also sold throughout Galicia and beyond and the bakers continue, as before, selling it at fares and pilgrimages.

In Carral, there are more than twenty bakeries, some of which are larger than the average artisan and family bakeries. In order to reinforce the local sense of identity of this product, but also to empower it, each year there is a festival dedicated to this bread and another pastry known as “Empanada” which is another famous gastronomic product from this area.