IN MANY provinces I?ve been to, markets make for interesting stops because there, one can see the preferred ingredients and resources of the place. But as interesting are traditional bakeries because those have existed for so many years. History is in each cookie or biscuit though the present owners will mostly tell you that they don?t really know where it comes from or who gave the recipes.

In Iloilo City, there were four that were part of my itinerary. Panaderia de Molo still has its old wood-burning oven and workers still do the same cookies from recipes that are more than a hundred years old.

At the Ocampo bakery, workers do each barquillo by hand. It is said that the barquillos were derived from the hostia (host) recipe, only sweetened.

Panaderia Paa has a funny name but everyone goes there for the pan de sal and the owner just smiles when asked if it is true that they did the first biscocho. And Biscocho Haus has trays of products at their original shop.

At the old Villegas Bakery in Bulacan, several jars contained different kinds of cookies. Biascocho principe was my favorite there but so was the huge ensaymada with cheese and ham on top. The bakery was shut down because of a dispute with the original landholders so the recipe for that ensaymada, probably also the yeast used for the pastry, died with the owners.

In a Leyte town, the bakery churns out two particular biscuits, the buttery sweet roscas and saltier de caña. The bakery makes special orders especially during fiesta and Christmas season.

A recent visit to Bataan brought us to its most famous cookie ? the araro. Made from arrowroot, a rootcrop now grown in many countries though it is said to originate from the Caribbean, the process included the batter being rolled on decorative molds, then each piece was separated with a cookie cutter.

We were told that the supply of arrowroot is a problem because there are very few sources unlike generations ago. But today, Mindoro is the principal supplier of Bataan bakeries, baking ingredients, equipment, products, antique ovens.

Writing tilt

Our bakery culture is so rich that there?s so much to write about. And why not do it for the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award. Aug. 31 is the deadline. The essay should be at least 800 words printed out and saved to a CD. Write your pen name on the essay but enclose an envelope with your pen name and real name, address and contact numbers. Send to the DGF Food Writing Award Committee, c/o PRISM, 5th floor, PDAF Bldg., Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City 1200. Call Girlie at 8952021.

Feedback

Ellen Santos of Baguio City misses the tinapang banak from Bataan. She used to get her supply from her sister-in-law who worked as a doctor in Balanga, the capital, but who has migrated to Australia.

She wrote: ?I miss this tinapa. We have fresh banak, too, here in Baguio from Dagupan, but not as a tinapa. We call it bolasi, not banak. Maybe that is the Pangasinan term for it... I really miss this tinapa so much. Great with ripe tomatoes and hot steaming rice.?
She hopes that Armanda Batag can supply Baguio with the tinapang banak.