What if we do something similar to the contest that every year chooses the best baguette in Paris, but with the best bread in Madrid?… Indeed, it was the French contest, held in the City of Light for more than three decades (and whose winner supplies bread to the Elysée Palace for a year) that served as inspiration for the launch of the ‘Best bread in Madrid’ contest. A championship organized by the Matador Club who yesterday celebrated his seventh edition in the capital and that has become more popular every year. So much so that this year they have participated up to 35 workshops, of which 6 managed to advance to the final.
© club_matadorYesterday, each of these finalists presented their loaves (two kilo pieces, made only with wheat flour, water, yeast and salt) for evaluation by an expert jury. Magnificent breads, all of them with ‘an even and balanced level’, in the words of Ibán Yarza, popular popularizer of the ‘panarra’ universe and one of the judges of this contest.
However, after scoring parameters such as appearance, cooking, crumb, smell and taste, Finally there was a verdict: The award for ‘Best bread in Madrid 2024’ goes to… the Abantos bakery!
Located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorialthis establishment opened in 2019 and are three partners who are in charge: the brothers David and Alberto Solana and Mercedes Pérez, very happy after receiving this recognition: ‘We started making homemade bread and we have gone through many moments since we opened the business. We have worked hard for this award and the effort has been worth it,’ they commented after learning of the jury’s decision.
© club_matadorAnd what is special about this winning bread? According to the president of that panel of judges, the gastronomic critic José Carlos Capel, It is ‘a loaf with the elastic crumb, which caresses the palate, a crispy crust and an intense cereal flavor with a very long finish,’ he pointed out.
The owners of Abantos themselves explained their taste for ‘going to the limit with hydration’ when making their bread, and ‘playing with powerful baking’.
ALL COMPETITION FINALISTS
We note here the names of the six bakeries that managed to advance to the final of this edition of the contest, and whose breads are of high quality.
- Obrador Abantos (Winner)
- Alma Nomad Bakery
- Obrador Clan
- Levain Artisan Tahona
- Mission Bakehouse
- Panadario