Ahhhhh…The Staff Of Life

  We headed out early for our morning walk Sunday, hoping we might find the bakery in Paciano, the next village over, open for business. 

  We have been told that 'Lo Scoiattolo'(The Squirrel) is only open on Sunday and Wednesday…and you'd best get there early, as they sell out fast.

  We have had their breads before, but since last time we were here, they have an official place of business and are taking orders online and by phone. They'll bake some extra things to sell for walk-ins, as well, but we found out today that it's always good to order early.

  Lo Scoiattolo is a small shop, off the main drag, but just follow your nose, folks. You can smell bread baking as you get close. They are using a wood stoked oven, and it sends out the yummiest of fragrances….

Fausto tends the oven, as well as the wood fire.

  Step inside, and right away you know you are going to have a hell of a time deciding what to try first.

  We knew we would get at least one twisty, cheesy, herby breadstick. It was warm and fresh from the oven. Like everything when you arrive early.

The hard part? Stopping at only one!

  We enjoyed espressos as we chatted with Fausto, and the baker herself, Lia…We had met them last year, and had tried Lia's yummy breads the year before when she was selling at the Spring Festival in Paciano.

  At that time, word had it that she wanted to open a storefront, and we are so glad it has finally all worked out for she and Fausto.

  

The Magician at work, making pretzel magic.

  There are wonderful bakeries all over, but most don't sell real hearty whole grain breads. The usual fare here is the typical Italian white bread with a good crust, not much flavor, as its main job is to sop up all the goodness on the plate. 

  Lia's breads are full of seeds, nuts, and even fruit, in some cases. She makes whole grain rolls, farmers breads, and even flat-bread type pizzas.

Just some of this morning's offerings.

Far right, potato pizza, next to a margherita pizza.

     We don't eat a lot of bread, but we will be righteously tempted when we come here!

We wolfed down a warm-from-the-oven pretzel minutes after we left!
We only bought one…what were we thinking?

In reality, these tasty morsels were all pre-ordered.
We were lucky we got what we did.

Uhhh…yum.

    We joined the 'club', so now we will be emailed the weekly list of what's on the menu, so to speak. We can order to pick up later, which works. Just need to remember what day it is….which gets harder the longer we stay.

Plus, it's really warm in here.
I could hang out here all day, baby.

  We'll still be making regular visits to our favorite bakeries in the area, but it's so nice to have another option which offers something very different, indeed….

Thanks, Lia & Fausto, for making it happen.
You guys are an inspiration!

  Here's the new Facebook page they just began…become a friend! And learn more, too:
  Lo Scoiattolo