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He shakes it like mad

It is half three in the morning. Everything is quiet and dark in Laion. The lights are only on in the bakery and patisserie. This is where Alfred Überbacher works and shakes at full speed, so that the fresh bread rolls, delicious Breatl loaves and, of course, the Laion Schüttelbrot (“shaken” flat bread) are all ready in the morning.

Natural ingredients, a long shelf life and the crispy hearty taste mean Alfred’s Schüttelbrot is a variety of bread that is known far beyond the Laion mountain. A South Tyrolean snack with Speck and cheese would not be complete without this flat hard bread.

To make the crispy flat bread, Alfred the master baker mixes together rye and wheat flour, caraway seeds, blue fenugreek, salt, water and malt flour. “In addition to the processing, the flour mix and spice mix as well as the temperature of the dough is important: it should be between 27 and 28 degrees Celsius,” reveals Alfred. After mixing, the dough rests for between ten minutes and one hour.

Many bakers need months to properly learn how to shake the Schüttelbrot because it requires lots of practice and skill.

Alfred Überbacher

Hand-size portions of dough are laid out on a round wooden board dusted with wheat bran. This is then followed by the action that gives this flat bread its name: shaking. In a circular motion, the board is thrown carefully into the air with the dough and turned, until the bread is shaken round and flat. “There is no machine for this,” says Alfred.

The shaking of the bread needs a lot of time, which is why several bakers help to produce 480 Schüttelbrote, lay them on the large baking trays and finally slide them into the oven. The flat breads are then baked at 200 degrees Celsius for around 20 to 22 minutes so they are nice and crispy and light, before Alfred fills up the baskets with them.

In total, we put around 80 different types of bread into our ovens.

In 2004, the Laion flat bread from the Überbacher bakers was awarded the Gold award from the South Tyrolean Bakers’ Guild. But Alfred has even more awards to his name: for the little Breatl loaves, of which they make around 600 loaves a day, for the Regio-Breatl loaves and for the Regio-Schüttelbrot flat breads. “We don’t use any chemical additives or emulsifiers and most of the ingredients come from Laion and the surrounding area,” states Alfred.

Information about the Überbacher bakery and patisserie

The Überbacher bakery and patisserie focuses on regionality and tradition. Selected grains from the surrounding area and from organic farms ensure daily freshness and bread of the highest quality.

Telephone: +39 0471 655771

Email: info(at)baeckerei-ueberbacher.it

Website: www.baeckerei-ueberbacher.it

Adress: Mitterweg 6b – 39040 Laion

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