Pane di Altamura; Altamura, Puglia
Once upon a time in Puglia, dense-crusted, tender-crumbed semolina loaves were the lifeblood of roaming shepherds, who could count on the bread to stay good for a week of wandering with their flocks. Today, the shepherds have cars and smartphones, but pane di Altamura is no less vital to life in these parts. It is the only bread in Italy to receive DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) status, a loaf that Italians hold sacred. Panificio di Gesù is a keeper of the flame, an institution in Altamura that still makes the bread way it did in 1838: kneaded by hand, slow-proofed with wild yeast, cooked in an ancient wood-fired oven. Run by brothers Giuseppe and Giuseppe, the fourth generation of Di Gesù bakers, who famously chased McDonald’s out of town with a bread offensive years back. Go for the famous namesake bread, but stay for the earth-shattering tomato focaccia pocked with cloves of roasted garlic.