Spain is the home of cheap breakfasts with a set menu comprised of toast, coffee and orange juice often coming in at least than €3.00(N699). However, a baker in the village of Algatocín near the Andalusian town of Ronda is daring to be different by selling what he has dubbed ‘the most expensive bread in the world’.
Instead of just whole wheat flour, spelt and water-the usual ingredients used to make bread-the ingenious baker adds edible gold and bam! Wealthy clients from all around the world are stepping on each others’ toes trying to secure a loaf of the ‘golden bread’.
Made by Pan Piña bakery in the small Spanish village of Algatocin, the ‘gold leaf bread’ costs $150(N27,450) per 400-gram loaf.
Pan Piña baker and co-owner Juan Manuel Moreno said that he came up with the idea for the bread after he saw the ‘world’s most expensive coffee’ on sale at another shop in the region. So he decided to dazzle up his own bread with a dash of edible gold worth over $100 both inside and on the surface of each loaf. However, he does agree that the shiny metal does nothing to enhance flavor.
The 400 gram (14 ounce) loaves made at the Pan Piña bakery contain whole wheat dough and spelt with dehydrated honey. Of course, the loaf also contains the key extra ingredient: 250 milligrams of gold dust with a value of €100.
“The gold itself has no real taste,” the 41-year-old said. “It just adds a certain sparkle, a lustre to each loaf. The rest of the ingredients are organic and super healthy. People believe small amounts of gold are good for the digestion.”
Moreno’s family has been running Pan Piña for the past 70 years. They produce over 50 varieties of bread, and the gold leaf is their most expensive loaf yet.
Interestingly, the bread has buyers from various parts of the globe – it is insanely popular in the Costa del Sol region, in Russia, and even in Middle eastern countries.
“We have a lot of wealthy visitors from Russia and China here and they are always looking for something new to show how rich they are,” Moreno explained.
