The traditional Pan de Tramontana, on sale next month of October

The Irta Mas Badia of researchers have recovered the cultivation of two varieties of wheat which is not cultivated for more than 40 years to develop a new artisanal bread as the Anza variety and the Aurora Florence.

The bread of Tramontana, name given by his relationship with the area under cultivation, uses 75% from the Anza variety flour and 25% of the Aurora Florence, two varieties of wheat which were produced in the Empordà in the 1970s and before the Spanish Civil War, respectively.

Experts from Irta, attached to the Agriculture Department of the Generalitat of Catalonia, has been used techniques of production which make provision for a maximum respect for the ecosystem of the Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls of Empordà and the minimal use of chemicals. In this way, they claim, have been able to get a meal with higher quality than the conventional.

Thanks to the 100 tonnes of wheat collected this season, from the month of October, Girona bakers may develop and commercialize artisan bread with added value. It is expected that next year the product can have its own designation of origin.

The research project, carried out with the collaboration of the agricultural co-operative of Castelló de Empurias, and the Guild of bakers in Girona, is a clear example of innovation and transfer of scientific knowledge of the Irta to the development and dissemination of activities linked to the territory's history.