Lesachtaler Brot

Appearance & taste

Lesachtaler Brot is baked only as a round loaf, small at 500 to 799 g or large at 800 to 1,200 g. In the middle of the top sits the “Eye of God”, a triangle with an oval “eye” inside it. Together with the uneven doming and the cracks that form on the top during baking, it gives the bread its typical appearance.

The crust is crisp, hard, lightly floured and about 0.3 to 0.8 cm thick on one and the same loaf; its colour ranges from matt light brown to dark chestnut brown. The ivory-coloured crumb is loose, moist and elastic but firm, with irregular pores, some of them over a millimetre in size, and tastes spicy to strongly aromatic.

Production

Two thirds of the flour is rye and one third wheat. Added to this are drinking water, at most 40 g of salt per kilogram of flour and, singly or combined, caraway, coriander, fennel and anise (at most 10 g each), linseed (at most 20 g) and pumpkin seeds (at most 30 g). A sourdough set beforehand, the “Dampfl”, leavens the rye, and yeast the wheat. The “Eye of God” is applied to each loaf before baking.

The grain is milled in the area, traditionally in stone mills, which run more slowly than roller mills and heat the flour less; it is not ground too finely, which according to the specification produces the loose, elastic crumb. The miller alone judges the fineness of the grind. Grain may be bought in, but growing it in the valley has picked up again. Making the dough and baking also take place in the area; about half of the bread is baked in wood-fired ovens, mostly without a thermometer. After cooling completely, the bread is packed in paper bags at the place of production so that it does not dry out.

Origin & history

The area is the Lesachtal between the Carnic Alps to the south and the Lienz Dolomites to the north: the municipalities of Lesachtal, Untertilliach and Obertilliach, the village of Äußerst in the municipality of Kartitsch, and Podlanig, St. Jakob, Strajach, Gentschach, Kosta, Passau, Aigen, Nischlwitz and Sittmos in the municipality of Kötschach-Mauthen.

According to the specification, the first evidence of the bread-baking tradition dates from the time when the pilgrimage site of Maria Luggau was founded in the 16th century; in Liesing a bread oven from this period was excavated, on whose site a communal bakehouse stands today. Because of its abundant water, the valley is called the “Valley of 100 Mills”: of almost 200 wooden watermills that once existed, five survive and are in operation. Until the middle of the 20th century the valley was practically cut off from the outside world, and it has had electricity only since 1962; self-sufficiency was necessary, and the knowledge of baking was passed down in families. Because rye grows better than wheat at altitude, the mixing ratio arose, which according to the specification makes the bread keep longer.

Since 2010 Lesachtal bread-making has been on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. Since 1983 the village and bread festival has been held in Liesing every year on the first weekend in September.