Sergio’s Bakery & Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico
In Italy, the oft-used idiom “Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano” translates to “without bread everyone is an orphan.” That’s how important bread is in Italian culture. Is it any wonder bread consumption in Italy is higher than in any other European country, even France. Many loaves are made by artisan bakers operating out of family-owned and operated bakeries. Most work on a small scale and are heavily influenced by family recipes and regional traditions. Those secrets and techniques have been handed down from baker-to-baker over the years. Family is essential to retaining the continuity of bread-making excellence in Italy. Whether baking bread for home or operating a panetteria and (or) a panificio, traditions are passed on from one generation to another. Note: In Italy, a panetteria is a shop that sells bread while a panificio is a place where a baker bakes bread. Those lines , however, are often blurred, and the two places may be the same, called a forno (a term which also means oven). Many of Italy’s bread-baking traditions have largely transcended the distance between the old world and the fruited plain. One readily apparent example in the Land of Enchantment is Sergio’s Bakery and Cafe. …
