The two best things about Malta are its weather and the traditional Maltese loaf; not necessarily always in that order!
I am constantly surprised to learn of the bakers’ worries about the retail price of their Maltese bread. They have no competition when it comes to flavour as any other loaf tastes awful by comparison. Whatever the price, unless deliberately extortionate, people who love it will carry on buying it. I know I shall!
What prompts me to write this letter is some articles that have appeared in the press recently. I refer, in particular, to the one in The Malta Independent (3 February) about assistance to bakers to upgrade their bakeries.
There will, no doubt, be some bakers who will consider that switching to gas-fired ovens would be an upgrade of their bakeries. I would urge them not to even consider this option, though they may deem them easier to maintain than wood-fired ovens. Even if they are, it would be a downgrading in the quality and taste of their bread.
I am fortunate enough to have found a bakery that still uses wood for fuel and comparing the flavour of their loaves to others I have tried, simply because they looked enticing but had been baked in gas or electric ovens; I can safely say there is no comparison. The wood-fired oven wins every time!
There must be plenty of wood which is collected or taken to bring-in sites or simply thrown away (dumped). Would it not be possible for it to be collected, separated and given to bakers for their ovens at a very small cost or even free of charge?
The other needless worry that was being expressed in the article was the plastic carrier bag. Plastic makes bread go soggy-soft, almost like raw dough. Good bread should never be wrapped in plastic. Plastic spoils it. A paper bag, even if freezing it, always allows it to retain its crustiness, though frozen bread, whether frozen after baking or before, never tastes as nice as the really fresh day’s item.
Come on, you bakers! You have an exceptional product! Be proud of it and always try to improve it, not downgrade its flavour and quality!
Alexander Cortis
Zabbar