Qormi Bread Tradition

Qormi was known as Casal Fornaro, the baker's village, and bread has been its business for centuries: the town supplied Valletta and the harbour, and several bakeries still work wood-fired stone ovens producing ħobż tal-Malti, the round sourdough loaf with a hard crust and an open crumb that is the everyday bread of the islands. A bread festival, Lejl f'Casal Fornaro, is held in the autumn with ovens opened to the public.

Highlights

• The wood-fired ovens - stone ovens still worked in the older bakeries.
• Hobz tal-Malti - the round sourdough loaf with a hard crust and open crumb.
• The bread festival - Lejl f'Casal Fornaro, held in the autumn.
• The old streets - the bakers' quarter and its narrow lanes.

When to go

Year round; bakeries work through the night and loaves come out early in the morning. The bread festival falls in the autumn. Sundays are quiet.

Practical notes

Bakeries are working businesses, not attractions, and dropping in is not always welcome. Many have switched to gas and electric ovens. The town itself is unremarkable outside the festival.

Nearby

Valletta is northeast, and Zejtun is southeast.