Bread in Spain

Bread in Spain (pan in Spanish) is a staple food that accompanies daily meals year-round. The Iberian Peninsula has some of the greatest bread diversity in Europe. Spanish food writer José Carlos Capel estimates there are 315 Spanish breads. The most popular, barra (baguette-shaped bread), makes up 75% of bread consumption. Bread serves historical, cultural, religious, and mythological purposes.

Wheat is the most cultivated cereal in the country, as it can withstand the interior's dry climate. While brown bread is preferred in northern Europe, white flour is preferred in southern Europe for its spongier and lighter texture. North of the Pyrenees, rye flour and other grains (like the French méteil) are commonly mixed, as well as whole-wheat flour. Whole-wheat bread has recently become popular in Spain due to interest in healthier eating. Throughout Spanish history (especially the Franco regime), rye, barley, buckwheat, or whole-wheat breads were considered food for the poor.

Candeal, bregado or sobado bread has a long tradition in Castile, Andalusia, Leon, Extremadura, Araba, Valencia, and Zaragoza. This bread is made with Candeal wheat flour, a durum wheat endemic to Iberia and the Balearic Islands. Dough is flattened with a rolling pin or a two-cylinder bregadora. Similar hard-dough bread is also found in Italy and Portugal (pão sovado, regueifa).

Bread is used in many Spanish recipes, such as ajoblanco, preñaos, migas, pa amb tomàquet, salmorejo, and torrijas. Bread became important in traditional Spanish cuisine, especially in inland Spain, as an efficient use of ingredients. Historically, the Spanish have been known to be high consumers of bread, though bread consumption in the country has declined and Spanish bakeries have reoriented. People eat less and lower-quality bread, while the baker's job is becoming mechanized and tradition is simplifying, according to Capel and author Ibán Yarza.