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Raw materials/Variety/Race
The flour used to produce the Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC is made of rye (90% at least) and wheat (10% at most) coming from the Valais canton.
Method of working/Cultivation/Breeding
Cereals are produced according to methods respectful of the environment. The pastry is exclusively made with water, salt, flour and yeast. All the ingredients are mixed and then kneaded in order to obtain a homogeneous pastry. The pastry should rest until its volume becomes twice more bigger. It is then shaped in dough rolls with a cone form turned into the flour, which rest until they clearly tear away. Tears are accentuated by a light pressure on the cone, made with the palm of the hand just before the batch. The Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC is baked in a hearth oven for about one hour. Each Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC has a different taste depending on the hand-turn of the baker.
Aspect and Taste
The Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC weighs 250 gr, 500 gr or 1 kg, with a 10% margin. It has a round shape, a cracked aspect and a flat bottom. Its colour is grey-brown and its texture has a compact porosity and a humid aspect. The Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC taste is slightly acid with a dominance of lactic acid or acetic acid depending on the production method.
Production Zone
The production area of Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC includes the canton of Valais located in the Alps, in the southwestern part of Switzerland.
History
The importance of rye bread in the diet of Valaisans people is already proved by written documents dating back to 1209. The rye is the only cereal able to adapt to the extreme climatic conditions and to the high altitude of isolated valleys. In Valaisans villages, the oven used for the collective production of bread was heated up only two or three times a year. It was thus necessary to produce a pain de garde. The sourdough rye bread was the perfect answer to this need because thanks to the sourdough, the bread could remain fresh for a long time. But over the years, with the increase of some other cereals productions, the rye bread became the symbolic bread of poor people and as a consequence, the surface area of rye growing started to decrease a lot. The AOC registration of Pain de Seigle Valaisan revitalized this traditional cultivation.
Gastronomy
The Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC can be conserved for a long time. The product is delicious natural or with butter, accompanied with a glass of Valaisan wine. It is also particularly tasty combined with the Viande Séchée du Valais IGP or with the Raclette du Valais AOC.
Marketing
The product is sold as Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC. It is marketed fresh, in bags or vacuum-packed.
Distinctive features
The long fermentation leaven used to make the Pain de Seigle Valaisan AOC gives the bread its cracked aspect and its specific flavour. Thanks to it, the bread can also be conserved for a long time.