Restart from bread. Because changing our idea of this atavistic mixture of flour, yeast and water, you can change your view of the world. He is convinced of it Davide Longoni, born in Brianza and Milanese for years, leader of that new generation of bakers that is revolutionizing white art. “Bread is above all a agricultural product, which arises from the transformation of the cereal: the raw material is wheat, not the flour”Explains Davide. “To make a good bread, therefore, technique is not enough, first of all it is necessary to recover the relationship with the earth. A modern baker must make conscious choices, know and control the entire supply chain, starting with the cultivation methods ".
Longoni a Chiaravalle, on the outskirts of Milan, grows on its own rye and spelled, with which he realizes the 30% of the flours of its products. An urban regeneration project of abandoned land, today worked with organic method is crop rotation, an ancient practice that does not impoverish the soils, keeps them fertile and protects them from parasites and weeds. The other flours come from farms that follow the same philosophy: from historic and indigenous grains (Longoni does not like the now abused definition of “ancient grains”), such as Perciasacchi, Tumminia, Senatore Cappelli, Solina, Verna; stone ground, not very refined. This new sensitivity is naturally reflected in the processing of bread, where the other protagonist, in addition to flour, comes into play yeast: for Longoni it means mother yeast, the spontaneous and natural one of a simple dough of flour and water, where the wealth of yeasts and lactic bacteria that develop during the fermentation gives bread very varied aromas and flavors.
It requires though long leavening (6-8 hours at least), slow processing and great dexterity, because the mother must be preserved and refreshed to keep her alive, she is sensitive to temperatures and less strong and stable than the brewer's yeast. But the end result is another bread. Fragrant, tasty (the taste of wheat is clearly perceived), digestible and durable, up to 5-6 days (acidity protects against molds and some enzymes slow down stale). And mainly large format, loaves and loaves 500 g, made to be stored and shared; Furthermore, technically, large pieces retain moisture better and dry less. “It is a return to origins but it is not the bread of the past, it is the bread of the future"Underlines Davide, who has always been open to sharing and teaching: many young people have trained in his workshops, some of whom have followed his path by opening new workshops, from Brisa oven of Pasquale Polito to Bologna to the Modern Bakery by Matteo Piffer to Trento, to LePolveri by Aurora Zancanaro in Milan. All followers of a new vision of bread: with Davide and many others they gave life to the movement of the gods in 2018 Urban Agricultural Bakers (PAU), which recently published its manifesto.
Today in the large Longoni laboratory in Milan, in the former industrial warehouses of Via Tertullian transformed into cultural spaces and ateliers, 10 people work, all between 22 and 35 years old: employees at bread, focacceria and pastry (coordinated by pastry chef Mauro Iannantuoni, former right arm of Ernst Knam). The laboratory has a production of 400-800 kg per day between country loaves, rye, ancient cereals, the Bourbon (with self-produced flours from the Abruzzo supply chain) and other special ones, such as the alle chestnuts of the service and the challah, Jewish specialty of Saturday. In addition to focaccia, pizza tongues and desserts: brioches, croissants, tarts, babka in the weekends. Finally, a surprise. In the laboratory office, copies of The Integral, Magazine of bread and culture, a novelty of which Longoni is editor. But it's not a house organ. He wants to provide the tools, to bakers, but also to enthusiasts, to understand reality through bread.
By Marina Cella
photo by Michele Tabozzi
Find 3 Panificio Longoni recipes on the magazine Salt and pepper January 2021
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