The Great Importance of Italian Bread

Civilization’s relationship with bread goes back many hundreds of years. Today, it plays an important role in many culinary traditions. However, few countries can claim to have quite the same significance attached to their bread that is attached to Italian breads.

The average Italian will consume roughly a half-pound of bread every day, seldom eating a full meal that doesn’t contain some form of bread. This is a tradition that traces its roots back to ancient times in the Roman Empire. Back then, it was considered highly prestigious to be a baker; even temples would often have their own bread ovens, where they would prepare breads as a form of ritual. In the first century AD, Rome founded an entire school devoted to baking so as to perfect and propagate the trade.

In modern-day Italy, bread remains just as important as it was in ancient times. You can still find distinct regional recipes from town to town, all baked in real brick or stone ovens. At our Bothell Italian restaurant, you can experience the magic of Italian bread in the form of our bruschetta al pomodoro, our salumi grinder, and a whole lot more.