Matera bread baked by the Quintanos

The bread of Matera, made using repeatedly ground durum wheat semolina, sports a yellow colour in the crumb and a very thick and crispy brown crust, above all a cornetto or panella silhouette that makes it unique. Reaching the Panificio Quintano in Via Lucana early in the morning, now in its fourth generation, means not only seeing Mr Nicola at work, who has been devoting his nights to flour since he was a boy, but also smelling the unmistakable fragrance of his breads and taralli, which will remain in the nostrils forever, in the hope that his children will continue the long tradition.