Bread from Dão

Bread from Dão

Corn is, characteristically, the king of the table in this region.

It's the food staple of the community and families, present in their daily diet in various meals and confections. More profitable than wheat, it finds the perfect conditions for its growth in the climate and in the labour of the people of Viseu Dão Lafões. It's so important that it's even been used as a currency.

The region's main crops are white corn, which is used for human consumption, and yellow corn, which in most municipalities is used for animal feed. "Miúdo" corn (Panicum mileaceum L.), "Painço" corn (Setaria italica L.) (for animals) and "Grosso" corn are also found in many parts of the territory. Less often mentioned, but also remembered, are "King", "Blue", "Revolt", "Serrano", "Large", "Collage", "Early", "Maís", "Beira Alta", "Duck's beak", "Stubble" and "Hare's ear" corn. We can say that everything is made from corn.

Bread, which, as they say, ‘binds everything together’, is still a staple food today!

There's bread for all occasions and of various types, sweet or savoury, sometimes not just corn, but with a mixture of other cereals (such as rye or wheat), to eat plain or to accompany meals.

• Sêmea bread
• Cornbread
• Ceremonial Bread
• Funeral Bread
• Plain Bread
• Bread with a filling (such as cheese or sausages)
• Egg Saints Bread
• St Benedict's Bread
• ...

The traditional production cycle of this food is a strong point of this region's food identity.

Even stale bread is reused and mixed into cooking broths, in a combination that results in new dishes, such as dry soup, in its different varieties (from Matança or Alcofra), sweet or savoury, and açorda.

(From Manual de Identidade Alientar de Viseu Dão Lafões, Ana Helena Pinto & Maria Inês Paula, 2023)