Bread of Alfacar

History

The bakery industry in Alfacar and Víznar gained momentum after the Reconquista of the Nasrid Kingdom by the Catholic Monarchs at the end of the 15th century. The Christian settlers who arrived after the Castilian conquest increased the population, and the war had reduced market supply, prompting measures to secure food for Granada, including bread. This helped establish baking in both towns. By 1950, according to geographer Bosque Laurel, Alfacar and Víznar dominated bread production in the Granada area, with 9 ovens and 41 bakers working nights for Granada and days for local consumption.

Around that year, 7,000 kg of Alfacar bread were sold daily in Granada. In 1973, bakers from both towns formed a cooperative based in Alfacar, opening 15 offices in Granada with support from the Provincial Cereals Union of Grenade; most remain open, and signs already read 'Pan de Alfacar'. José Carlos Capel mentioned roscos de Alfacar in his 1991 book on Spanish breads. The sector's expansion is attributed to the product's reputation, confirmed by a provincial statistical study.

In 2013, the Alfacar Bakers Guild applied for Protected Geographical Indication status, making it one of 16 Spanish bakery products with that seal.

Features

To be sold as 'Bread of Alfacar', the bread must meet legal criteria for ingredients, techniques, times, and temperatures. The flour is wheat with a strength between W110 and 150. Water comes from a limestone-dolomitic aquifer in the Sierra de Alfaguara, with medium-high hardness (20-25) and pH (7.4 to 7.8). Fermentation uses leftover dough from the previous day (mother dough) and, optionally, fresh biological yeast. The crumb is soft, cream-colored, with abundant irregular honeycomb. The crust is thick (over 1.5 cm), slightly shiny and golden, not floured. Ovens must be authorized by the Certification Entity.

Types

Alfacar bread comes in four formats. Bollo is elongated with pointed ends called 'tits' and a single longitudinal streak, in 80, 125, and 250 g. Rosco is 250 g, elliptical with a flattened tubular section and axial asymmetry, with one longitudinal rib. Rosca is 500 g, circular with a tubular section and axial symmetry, recognized by a hand attachment point called 'mother-in-law'. Hogaza loaves are 250 g, 500 g, or 1 kg, nearly round and slightly domed, with a grid-like marking or 'pintao' within four perpendicular cuts on top.

Bread of Alfacar in literature

A 2008 monograph titled 'El pan de Alfacar': bakeries and traditional ovens (Reyes Mesa, JM et al.) documents the product's history from the 16th to the 21st century. Several historical and geographical works support the importance of the Alfacar baking sector and its trade in Granada and surroundings. These include the Book of Survey and Distribution of Alfacar (1571) and of Víznar (1572), Tomás López and Vargas Machuca's Geographical Dictionary of Malaga and Granada (1795 manuscript), the Cadastre of the Marquis of Ensenada (1752), and F. Heríquez de Jonquera's Anales de Granada (1987). Pascual Madoz's Geographical Dictionary (1835-1839) records 12 ovens and 17 mills in Alfacar, consuming 300 fanegas of wheat daily, with mills grinding about 19,000 kg per day—enough to supply local ovens and produce flour for distribution in Granada.