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When I visited the island of Ischia, Italy in 2006, I decided I wanted to visit a local bread bakery. There is a village on the island named Buonopane, which means "good bread", and there is wonderful bread here. So I asked at the front desk of the hotel, and Claudio--who had many excellent suggestions--set up a visit for me to Panificio Montevergine, which is very near to Buonopane.
So at 8:00 one morning, I took a taxi to Panificio Montevergine and watched them make bread for two hours. Because I speak about twenty words of Italian--and those badly--I didn't get to ask many questions. But I loved watching the bakery. There was a beautiful rhythm--everyone knew their job, and everyone did it well without seeming to be in a hurry.
The head baker had been working in a bakery for 53 years, since he has about seven years old. At first, his skill wasn't obvious because he seemed to be doing easy jobs. But as I watched, it became clear that he was enormously skilled.
The bakery has two kinds of ovens: a modern electric convection oven and two wood-burning ovens. The modern breads are baked fairly quickly and while they are good, they are in a separate class from the breads baked in the wood-burning ovens. I took a loaf back to the hotel, and it was one of the best loaves I've had. A thick crust with some chew, a hint of a sourdough flavor, and a beautiful crumb. Really, really good.
Near the end of my visit, they made me a pizza in their wood-burning oven. I've had quite a few pizzas in Italy (mostly in the Naples area and in Bologna), and many have been excellent. But this pizza, made with awesome dough, was the best pizza I've had. The crust was absolutely perfect, the tomatoes were great, and the mozzarella was just right. The epitome of pizza. I shared it with my taxi driver, who had returned for me by now, and he agreed that it was excellent.
My taxi driver helped me converse with the baker before I left. I think he was pleased because I was interested in his work, and many young people are not interested in baking today: it is hot work and it starts early in the morning. I told him that if I could quit my job and make a living as a baker, I would. He smiled and said that I could come work with him.
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