produttori — Mariglianella · Campania
In Mariglianella, in the inland area behind Naples, Panificio Altea has been carrying forward the art of Campanian bread-making for over thirty-five years. They call her «Maria do pane» (Maria of the bread): one of the very few left who still make bread with criscito (the local live sourdough starter), following the pace set by climate and season rather than the clock.
Selected flours and the criscito — the living sourdough starter that allows no shortcuts — arrive on the work bench. This is where everything begins: choosing the raw materials is already an act of craftsmanship. No additives, no haste: only flour, water, salt, and a yeast culture kept and fed over time, day after day.
Hands shape each loaf directly in the wooden trough, as was done in the past. The loaves are then left to rise for as long as climate and season dictate, not the clock. Baking takes place exclusively in wood-fired ovens with floors of biscotto di Sorrento (a traditional local firebrick), which spread the heat evenly and give the bread its authentic fragrance.
On the shelf stand the fruits of this discipline: pane cafone a palata and a palatella, freselle, pizza allambriata, casatiello napoletano. Products with precise shapes and names, tied to a tradition that Mariglianella has known well for over thirty-five years. Each piece differs from the next, because it is born of hands, not molds.
From the shop window, the scent of the wood-fired oven speaks of thirty-five years of the baker's craft. The full page awaits beyond the threshold.
