Panadería (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Edgardo ReinaGustar
Temples of flavor
Bakeries are an essential, traditional part of daily life in Argentina’s towns and villages. They sell bread to accompany pastas and roasts, as well as numerous sweet pastries that are the perfect accompaniment to the infusion known as maté.
The history of Argentinian bakeries is closely linked to Italian immigration in the late 19th century. However, as with many culinary influences, their development in Argentina took on an identity of its own as a result of local produce and tastes.
Cremonas
Argentina has breads to suit all tastes. Some are made with fat (such as the ring-shaped cremonas), some are French-style (often bought to go with a roast), while others, known as figacitas, are ideal for making sandwiches.
Loaves
Sandwich loaves are long in shape and bought for slicing. Some are made in the style of German bread, with bran or seeds.
Puesto de comida (2021-01-15) by Pablo ValdaGustar
Focaccia
Argentinians also have a fondness for focaccia, a traditional Italian bread and the forefather of pizza. It is a kind of flat bread that is covered in herbs and other ingredients, which may include olives, tomato, or even locally produced salami or cheese.
Leña (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Juan Pablo LanciottiGustar
Country style
Bakeries in towns and cities are businesses that bake their products in industrial gas ovens, while in the countryside, bread is usually baked in a wood-fired oven.
Panadería (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Juan Pablo LanciottiGustar
These ovens can reach very high temperatures, and the wood fuel gives the bread a very particular flavor. They are also used for cooking pizzas.
Panadería (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Juan Pablo LanciottiGustar
Panadería (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Edgardo ReinaGustar
A time-honored ritual
Every Argentinian neighborhood has at least one bakery, and every resident will have his or her favorite. Sundays are their busiest day, with people buying sweet treats to enjoy with their morning coffee or maté, as well as bread to go with their lunchtime roast or pasta.
Panadería (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Edgardo ReinaGustar
A moment of sweetness
If you’re looking for something to have with your maté or coffee, bakeries have an abundance of baked goods to choose from. There are several varieties of cookie, such as polvorones (a type of shortbread cookie), palmiers, and other treats such as sweet and savory scones, sponge cakes, and alfajores (a type of sandwich cookie).
Medialunas (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Juan Pablo LanciottiGustar
The queens of the bakeries
The popular pastries known as facturas are sweet rolls that have different names, depending on their shape and filling. The most famous are medialunas (half moons), a local version of the French croissant that can be sweet (made with butter) or savory (made with lard).
Facturas (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Juan Pablo LanciottiGustar
Facturas and political ideas
It is believed that many of the earliest Argentinian bakers were associated with the anarchist movement. Argentina celebrates a National Bakers’ Day every August 4 to commemorate the day in 1887 that the Italian anarchist, Errico Malatesta, founded the country’s first bakers’ union.
Deviously named cakes
This is why several Argentinian pastries are somewhat ironically named after the enemies of anarchism, such as the Church, the army, or the police: vigilantes (guards), bolas de fraile (friar’s balls), sacramentos (sacraments), and cañoncitos (little cannons) are delicious treats that are still very popular in bakeries today.
Merengue (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Edgardo ReinaGustar
A unique meringue
Originally from France and Italy, meringues in Argentina have a decidedly local twist. They are often found in bakeries filled with dulce de leche.
Pepas (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Edgardo ReinaGustar
Quince!
Another treasured ingredient in Argentina is quince jelly, which goes perfectly with a range of baked goods such as pepas (sweet cookies filled with quince), or as a filling in the pastries known as sacramentos.
Pastafrola (2021-02-05/2021-02-05) by Juan Pablo LanciottiGustar
Far and away the favorite quince-filled Argentinian treat is pastafrola, a handmade cake decorated with thin strips of pastry, which give the top of the cake its eye-catching grid pattern. It can also be filled with candied sweet potato or dulce de leche.
Editor: Diego Marinelli/Text: Ayelén Iñigo
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.