TRADITION
Our tradition began back in 1880 with Giuseppe Zucca, in a small bakery, then located in Via Garibaldi in Casnigo (BG).
Run solely with a passion for producing bread, from him the later family generations, namely his son Giacomo Zucca and his grandson Giuseppe Zucca, inherited the most important lessons in bread making: “It does not matter what you do, but how much passion you put in what you do.”
Today the company Zucca consists of a bakery and a bread production business, both located in excellent locations in Val Seriana. It’s products are made using the latest technology in both machinery and software, prepared according to the highest standards and quality, offering “food traceability”, supplying companies/institutions/schools and catering companies.
Marco Zucca, the great-grandson, and now the fourth family generation, carries on what his great-grandfather created in the past with love, passion and hard work, still maintaining this line of great quality and success.
FAMILY
Bread is the story of a family – the story of four generations. It is also the story of the beginning and growth of a tradition based on quality. It is a story of adventure and diligent effort, of work and wisdom, of overcoming difficulties and of success obtained with sacrifices, a history of bread and goodness.
Today, even though we use the latest technologies, we still maintain the production of the sourdough following the family traditions made in1880.
THE USE AND VALUE OF SOUR DOUGH OR NATURAL YEAST
Natural yeast, also called sour dough, is in fact a mixture of flour and water acidified by a complex of yeast and lactic acid bacteria, which are able to start fermentation.
Unlike the so-called brewer’s yeast, natural yeast includes several types of lactic acid bacteria and their fermentation produces organic acids and enables a greater rise in the product, higher digestibility and preservability (even eaten the next day it seems like it has just been bought).
Once obtained the sourdough is kept alive or made for subsequent refreshings, that is, regular mixtures, with a certain amount of fresh flour and water.
The microorganisms that make it have to be constantly fed and placed in a condition to reproduce. The easiest way to keep the dough alive is to use it to make bread, separating a small portion before adding salt. The particular organoleptic, rheological and fermentative characteristics of natural yeasts vary in relation to their geographical location, to the production method, to random factors and to the aging implemented by the baker; they can be modified by varying the environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity, or even those of the mixture such as: the hydration level or the type of flour.
Sourdough’s origins are most likely from ancient Egypt around 1500 BC and it was the first form of leavening available to bakers.
Baking with sourdough remained the main form of leavening in Europe until the late Middle Ages, when it was replaced with brewer’s yeast.
At the Zucca bakery, this mixture was discovered by the baker attentive to consumer health, looking for traditional flavours and the use of natural yeast (sourdough), it is used for preparing cakes such as: Panettone, Easter Colombe, Pandora, etc. … and, as already mentioned for particular types of bread.
The products obtained from working with natural yeast are also characterized by a specific and pleasant aroma, produced by composed elements resulting from the traditional and unique secondary fermentation of the sourdough.