Homemade bread from Calabria

Calabrian bread has the ancient flavour of Magna Graecia and brings with it identity and tradition in its complex anthropological symbolism of sociality, sharing and religion. In Calabria, tradition dictates that a cross-shaped cut is made in the bread when it is left to rise, and sometimes a blessed olive branch is put inside.
Bread should not be thrown away, if it falls, it should be picked up from the ground and kissed, if it is accidentally placed on the table upside down, it should be turned over and kissed; during the festivities, special breads are made as a sign of devotion and offered in church or to friends and relatives. The levatina, the magic sourdough used to make u pani i casa, was passed from woman to woman and each of them took care of it to then make bread for their own family; those who had an oven gave it to women who didn't.
Bread was thus a collective rite, a food that feeds the soul... All Calabrians carry its fragrance and memories inside them forever. To honour the memory of their ancestors and to restore body and spirit, the ancient rite of preparing bread can be repeated today, to be done at home and at any latitude. a whole loaf weighs about 1.5 kg