Votive Bread of St. Joseph - Chiusa Sclafani

The Altars are set up in the premises of the former Benedictine Monastery Badia a Chiusa Sclafani and in the homes of many families.

One of the most demanding and difficult tasks of the preparation of the altars consists in the realization of the votive loaves, a job carried out almost exclusively by women. The ingredients are: durum wheat flour, enough salt, water, home yeast, tip seed and beaten egg yolk. The dough must contain little water and must be hard to favor the modeling of the loaves. Characteristic of votive bread is that it is kneaded together with sesame; with it, shapes of little horses, birds, plates full of fruit, sacred objects, cucciddati are modeled in an artistic way.

It is usual in Chiusa Sclafani to summon the most skilled women to the bakeries of the neighborhoods, who also make use of the water with which they moisten their fingers and through which they glue the small forms of decoration to the loaves, obtaining as a result real works of art. 'art. Before being baked, the bread is brushed with egg white and removed from the oven only when it has reached a golden color. Loaves that present artistic difficulties, to prevent them from breaking, such as the name of Maria, Varva and vastuni di San Giuseppi, a Sfera etc., are placed and baked in trays, while all the others are placed directly in the oven.

Bread constitutes the centrality of the feast: as a vital substance, a symbol of light and earthly life. The next day, the blessed loaves are given to neighbors, friends and relatives. The most artistic, troubled (worked) bread, the "stick" of St. Joseph, the "heart" and the "name" of Mary, etc., are given to the most intimate people. No waste is allowed.