The magic and symbolism of spring breads

Beyond its nutritional and everyday value, bread has historically been a vehicle for cultural and symbolic meaning, particularly in seasonal celebrations.

This talk will explore how different cultures have used bread to represent rebirth, fertility, and the cycle of nature associated with the arrival of spring. Using traditional European and Mediterranean examples, it analyses the links between bread shapes, ingredients and rituals and ancient agricultural and religious festivals, revealing that each loaf can also tell the story of memory, identity and the communal celebration of the changing seasons.