5 bakeries to check out in Milan

What an addictive place this is. Start with one breadstick and before you know it, you’ll have eaten half a dozen. They bake breadsticks here daily and every customer has their favourite flavour, including with water, oil, or herbs. And then there are the specials, with salt. Yum!

The huge suspended bronze olive tree, by British artist Adam Lowe symbolises the Mediterranean food and wine culture which you can taste here, from 500 square metres of food counters, with local products and producers that were selected together with the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo. Here you can find Grazioli’s bread, made with ground organic flour and sourdough.

The first branch opened years ago in Via Tadino, followed by three others. A cosy atmosphere, newspapers, freshly-cut flowers, and, from morning till evening, baked goods that are produced in house.

The bread sold by the Vialedeimille Consortium is produced in the bakery of Milan’s Opera men’s prison. Buy it here, along with pizza, focaccia and many other natural and artisanal products, from Tuesday till Saturday. They also sell products from the prisons of San Vittore and Bollate here.

In Italy there are many types of bread. The bread of Milan is called michetta, although nowadays it’s difficult to find. It is ‘blown’, meaning it is empty inside and smells heavenly. Here they pair it with local flavours: Pasini’s cured meats, Cascina Selva cheese and San Colombano wine, the only urban DOC-certified wine.