Regenerative Baking #1: Cascina Lago Scuro with Luca Grasselli
In the first episode of Regenerative Baking, host Dressler Parsons interviews Luca Grasselli, head chef of Cascina Lago Scuro, a biodynamic farm and restaurant in Cremona, Italy. (@cascinalagoscuro) While exploring what a self-sustaining bakery might look like, they get into what Cascina Lago Scuro makes/grows onsite right now--flour? Butter?--what they might grow in the future, Luca's favorite crop, the first time he tasted einkorn, praise for fresh vegetables, and more. Links:SWALE House and Mary MattinglyResidenza Lago ScuroEinkorn wheat papers: "Site of Einkorn Wheat Domestication Identified by DNA Fingerprinting" and "Crops evolving ten millennia before experts thought""The New Cucina Italiana: What to Eat, What to Cook, and Who to Know in Italian Cuisine Today" by Laura Lazzaroni (not an affiliate link or an ad)Julia Sherman/Salad for PresidentSelf-sustaining bakery thoughts: "The menu would need to be built around the kinds of flours that grow in that area. The flour the bakery has access to would determine the kinds of pastries and bread you’re able to offer. And, of course, this brings up other questions about the wide world of gluten-free baking. What if you’re in an area where the flour you’re after doesn’t grow so well, but you’re able to supplement with oats or corn or rice? Ingredient limitations don’t necessarily cut you off when it comes to recipe development. Sometimes you can still get there, you just need another way around." Instagram: @regenerativebaking and @dresslerparsons