Whole wheat Bread

A Staple Food in the History of the Alps

For centuries, black bread made from rye and wheat flour has been the cornerstone of the daily diet for families in the Upper Valley. In a region with a harsh climate, rye was the ideal grain for withstanding low temperatures and high altitudes.
Baking bread was a special event that marked the rhythm of rural life: it took place only once a year, in early November, before the snow cut off the villages for the long winter months.

Community Ovens and the Ritual of Baking

In every hamlet of Étroubles, Saint-Oyen, and Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses, there was a communal wood-fired stone oven. On baking days:

• Collective work: Families took turns day and night to knead the flour with natural sourdough starter, heat the oven, and bake hundreds of loaves.
• Flantse for Children: With the last remaining dough, enriched with butter, sugar, raisins, walnuts, and dried figs, flantse—traditional sweet breads made especially for children—were shaped and baked.
• Storing on the ratelér: Once out of the oven, the loaves were taken to the attics and placed on the characteristic suspended wooden racks (ratelér) to dry. The dried bread was then eaten throughout the year, softened in milk or soups, or broken up using a special iron-and-wood cutting tool (copapàn).

The “Lo Pan Ner” Festival Today

Today, this precious collective memory is brought to life every fall (on the first weekend of November) with the cross-border festival “Lo Pan Ner – The Breads of the Alps”:

• Ovens Ablaze in the Villages: The villages’ historic ovens once again fill the air with smoke and bake warm loaves of bread using traditional methods and recipes.
• Tastings and sales: Visitors and residents can purchase fresh bread and “flantse,” enjoying them paired with Aosta Valley lard, alpine butter, wildflower honey, and Fontina DOP cheese.
• Workshops and tours: During the festival, educational workshops for children, bread-making demonstrations, and guided tours of the valley’s ancient water mills are organized.