The Nibbler: Bread worth waiting for

Could any food be slower than good bread? It takes a long time to ferment and proof, and you can feel that age in a firm crust.

For Massimo Maviglia at Bread Artisans (4442 Park Blvd., Pinellas Park; (727) 548-1400), a new generation baker restoring an old craft, it takes almost a full day -- 18 hours -- for his dough to rise into magnificent mountains.

The taste of the bread under the crust -- rich, chewy, tart and slightly acidic -- took even longer. It comes from an old-fashioned starter, for Maviglia is one of the few who does not use commercial yeast, just natural fermentation. Some starters, a mixture of flour, water and active yeast, are hundreds of years old. He got the recipe in Italy 20 years ago and started his starter five years ago, long before he opened his bakery.

Together the ingredients cause bread to rise, help structure the dough, its holes and the gluten and give the distinctive taste. Fans of San Francisco sourdough will find Old World starters have a still richer taste.

In Bread Artisan's small rosetta loaves or big campagna rounds, the starter accounts for more flavor than the flour (he uses rye, whole wheat and white), although it's a tiny part of loaves that weigh in at well over a pound each. Even in flavored breads, you can taste the starter's influence as much as the rosemary or poppy seeds.

Maviglia's venture combines baking skills learned in his native Italy with savvy acquired with a business degree in Arizona. Likewise, his shop depends on thoroughly modern ovens and the small yeasty starter that he "feeds," refreshes and uses day after day, as bakers did for thousands of years before him.

He also bakes artisan tarts and pies and ricotta cheesecake and makes sandwiches with salami and olive oil, but the most satisfying flavor is in bread, the stuff of life.

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