Flour from Alcañiz, a starter that is older than the hotel and a wood oven that takes an hour to heat.
Marta feeds the starter at ten every night. By six in the morning the dough has risen, the oven has been burning for an hour and the first loaves go in while the house is still asleep.
Slow on purpose
A long, cold rise gives the crust its colour and the crumb its smell. It also means we can only bake so much, so the bread runs out most days by lunchtime.
The flour comes from a mill in Alcañiz, half wheat and half old spelt, and the water from the spring above the village. We add salt and nothing else. The starter is older than the hotel: Marta’s grandmother kept it alive in a clay pot on the kitchen windowsill.
The oven
The wood oven was the first thing we rebuilt. It burns almond and olive prunings, which give a dry, even heat, and it takes an hour to reach the right temperature. When the bread comes out, the oven is still hot enough for the lamb that goes in for the day and comes out at dinner.
Bake with us
On Saturday mornings two guests can join Marta in the bakery from six to nine. You shape your own loaf, eat it warm with new oil and take the rest home. Ask at reception, as places go quickly.
If you only want a loaf to take home, ask at reception the night before.
