At the beginning you can smell the scent: wood, wheat and spices are the notes that announce the presence of the delicious donut, crunchy on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside: it is the traditional Lentini bread, a symbol of Lentini in the whole country.
Words are not enough, you have to taste it, but if you haven't left for one yet holiday in Lentini, take advantage of this article to discover the ancient history of Lentini bread and enjoy the delicious tasting…
The recipe for Lentini bread
Durum wheat semolina, sea salt, water and sourdough: the ingredients are few and simple, but the process necessary to obtain a special bread like that of Lentini is anything but easy. You have to knead the bread by hand (it is a 100% artisanal product!) but before that, you need to take care of the mother yeast: every day, in fact, the mixture must be fed with water and semolina. This complex process has led some master bakers to abandon the traditional recipe in favor of faster procedures; but by asking for Lentini bread in the village, you can taste it ancient recipe and traditional.
Before being baked, the bread is given the typical donut, S-shaped or chicken shape and the surface is sprinkled with sesame seeds, while the weight of each loaf is generally equal to half a kilo. Once baked, Lentini bread has a hazelnut-coloured, thin and fragrant crust.
The guarantee in the name of Lentini Bread
As mentioned above, not all loaves are now made according to the ancient traditional recipes, but as regards the Lentini bread that you buy in town, you have the guarantee of a product that has received the title di Slow Food Presidium, thanks to respect for the centuries-old recipe and the use of genuine ingredients. Compliance with high production standards is currently protected by Slow Food foundation through project "Ark of Taste".
Lentini Bread and other attractions
We can say it with certainty: today many tourists travel in search of unique flavours, 0 km ingredients, inimitable recipes. And the gastronomic tourism, which in our country goes perfectly with traditional tourism and so, it is not uncommon that, as soon as they arrive in Lentini, tourists immediately go in search of the baker!
Bread, kneaded and baked by the women of the town, has always been a great glue of the community and has passed through an entire century of history, reaching us. What better way then, to discover the monuments and beauties of Lentini, if not by organizing a tour of this country, also enjoying its typical product par excellence?
At 53 meters above sea level Lentini is a town where you will find many churches: the Mother Church it's the ex Cathedral of Santa Maria la Cava and Sant'Alfio, in Baroque style, built in 1693; other sacred buildings to visit are the Church of the Holy Trinity and San Marziano, the Church of San Luca and the Church of Jesus and Mary. The Prison of the Three Saints is instead a rock church, which you will find among the other churches in the city.
Among civil architecture, there is instead the Scammacca Palace and Palace Benevento and leaving the center, you will encounter the remains of the Norman Castle. The castellaccio, restored by Frederick II of Swabia, was also a famous prison for many years. The site is protected by natural barriers and ancient walls built by man, who also dug an underground room here, which can be accessed today.
During your stay in Lentini, you will discover all the attractions that are hidden in the surroundings of the town, while in the centre, you can also enjoy the other typical dishes of tradition, naturally accompanied by Lentini bread: spaghetti with lobster, fried sasizza and cold cheese sauce.
Lentini is located just 13 km from the beautiful Agnone Bagni beach, a stretch of coast overlooking the Ionian Sea perfect for those who want to add a bit of total relaxation under the sun or a romantic walk on the beach at sunset to their holiday.
How to get to Lentini to taste the typical bread
To reach Lentini, in the Free Municipal Consortium of Syracuse, visitors can choose to travel by car or train.
With the driving feel, the route we recommend is via the Catania-Siracusa motorway, exiting at the Lentini-Carlentini junction, just 6 km from the town; on the train, you can get off at Catania Central Station and take the bus or shuttle to the center, about 26 km away.
