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85 percent of bread sold in Italy is 'fresh and artisanal,' study says

The Local Italy
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85 percent of bread sold in Italy is 'fresh and artisanal,' study says
Italian focaccia. Photo: Pixabay

This is an Italian language learner article. Test your vocabulary by trying to guess the Italian for the words highlighted in bold, then check the translations provided at the bottom.

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Bread and baked goods are apparently booming in Italy as more and more people turn to the local bakery or supermarket instead of baking at home.

The study, by the Italian Association of Bakery Ingredients (AIBI), found that demographic changes and an increase in smaller households and single-parent families had resulted in a big increase in the amount of bread Italians buy – a huge 1,600,000 tons in 2018.

But not just any old bread will do. The study also showed that Italians are shunning industrially-produced loaves, though there are few on Italian supermarket shelves, for something that tastes more like mamma used to make.

The study said there are some 20,000 bakeries of all sizes across Italy, and noted that eight percent of them are run by foreigners.

Demand is growing for high-quality multigrain bread with lots of flavour – but the products also need to keep for a while, and it’s even better if they’re eco-friendly. 

Since 2012, sales of bread made with “highly selected” ingredients have grown between eight and ten percent every year.

Today this kind of product accounts for 35 percent of the turnover of all Italian bakeries.

Not all bakeries are created equal in Italy. Some focus solely on bread, while in some towns they might also produce cakes and pastries, or fresh pasta. In cities like Milan, the study showed that cafe-bakeries are becoming more popular.

70 percent of bakers still concentrate on making bread, the study showed, but pizza and focaccia too have grown by 23.5 percent and sweets and pastries by six percent.

Vocabulary:

Bakery                                                              forno/paneficio

Changes                                                           cambiamenti

Increase                                                           aumentare

industrially-produced                                   prodotte industrialmente

few                                                                    poche

multigrain                                                        multicereali

even better                                                     anche meglio

grown                                                               crescuto

every year                                                       ogni anno

turnover                                                           giro d'affari

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