Two bakeries in the municipality of Mértola were awarded in the 6th National Contest of Traditional Portuguese Breads, Buns and Pies, in the Alentejo Wheat Bread Category, promoted by the Qualifica Association.
Company Costa, Esperança, Dias and João Lda, based in São Pedro de Sólis, won the gold medal, while the company São Miguel Bread Harvest, in S. Miguel do Pinheiro, won the silver medal.
Alentejo bread is characterized by having a hard crust and compact, white crumb, which remains good for consumption, that is, with a firm crumb and no development of mold, for several days.
In Baixo Alentejo, and particularly in the municipality of Mértola, bread has always played a fundamental role, not only in feeding the population, but also as an activity linked to the cultivation of wheat and subsequent transformation into the final product.
The importance of this activity over time is still visible today through the various wind or water mills in the county, some of them working as a tourist attraction, in the villages of the county of Mértola, such as Moinho de S . Miguel.
The old ovens and threshing floors, communal or private, existing in almost every village in the municipality, are also a reflection of the importance of this activity for local communities.
With the evolution of society, small units of bread production emerged, which began to supply this indispensable food in Alentejo's diet to local communities, from door to door and in some cases, later, to the Algarve and Greater Lisbon.
Currently, 13 bakeries are in operation in the municipality of Mértola, reveals the local Council.
«Despite the decharacterization to which wheat bread has been subjected, due to the agro-industrial intensification resulting from the need to supply large quantities of bread to urban areas at affordable and competitive prices, the production of Alentejo bread from Mértola has maintained its genuineness and specificity », guarantees the autarchy.
Unlike most industrially manufactured breads, Alentejo bread made in Mértola is «characterized by prolonged fermentations, carried out by natural yeasts resulting from pieces of dough from the previous day and by prolonged, slow cooking in wood ovens».
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