Brites de Almeida, known as the Baker of Aljubarrota (Portuguese : Padeira de Aljubarrota), is a legendary figure and Portuguese heroine whose name is associated with the victory of the Portuguese, against Castilian forces, at the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Portuguese, putting an end to Castilian ambitions to take over the Portuguese throne. [1]
Brites de Almeida is said to have been born in Faro, Algarve, in 1350, to poor parents. According to the legend she had six fingers on each hand. After both of her parents died, she sold her few possessions and began to travel. There are many stories about her life after she left home in her twenties. One says that she became a muleteer and that she killed a suitor in a fight. Another that she was on a boat attacked by Algerian pirates who sold her as a slave to the Imperial Harem in Algiers, from which she escaped. It is also said that she travelled in Portugal disguised as a man. She ended up settling in Aljubarrota, where she became a bakery owner and married a local farmer. Her bread was supposed to be the best in the country. [1] [2] [3] [4]
After their defeat in the Battle of Aljubarrota, the Castilian soldiers in flight were attacked and killed by the local inhabitants. According to the story, seven or eight of them found shelter at Brites' bakery, which was empty because she had gone out to help to kill the soldiers. On her return she found the door closed and suspected the presence of enemies. She found the men hiding in her baker's oven and killed them with a shovel. She then cooked them in the oven along with the bread. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Although it is undeniable that the story was a legend, Brites de Almeida came to be celebrated by the Portuguese in their songs and traditional stories and her deeds have remained as a symbol of Portugal's independence. [2] She was commemorated in a 1927 Portuguese postage stamp.
Afonso V, known by the sobriquet the African, was a King of Portugal. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa.
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
A baguette is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough. It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust.
Beatrice was the only surviving legitimate child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Teles. She became Queen consort of Castile by marriage to King John I of Castile. Following her father's death without a legitimate male heir, she claimed the Portuguese throne, but lost her claim to her uncle, who became King John I of Portugal, founder of the House of Aviz.
The Battle of Aljubarrota was fought between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile on 14 August 1385. Forces commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, opposed the army of King John I of Castile with its Aragonese, Italian and French allies at São Jorge, between the towns of Leiria and Alcobaça, in central Portugal. The result was a decisive victory for the Portuguese, ruling out Castilian ambitions to the Portuguese throne, ending the 1383–85 Crisis and assuring John as King of Portugal.
Joanna la Beltraneja was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.
The 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum was a civil war in Portuguese history during which no crowned king of Portugal reigned. The interregnum began when King Ferdinand I died without a male heir and ended when King John I was crowned in 1385 after his victory during the Battle of Aljubarrota.
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises. Confectionery items are also made in most bakeries throughout the world.
Dom Francisco de Almeida, also known as the Great Dom Francisco, was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Granada in 1492. In 1505 he was appointed as the first governor and viceroy of the Portuguese State of India. Almeida is credited with establishing Portuguese hegemony in the Indian Ocean with his victory at the naval Battle of Diu in 1509. Before Almeida returned to Portugal he lost his life in a conflict with indigenous people at the Cape of Good Hope in 1510. His only son Lourenço de Almeida had previously been killed in the Battle of Chaul.
Saint Irene of Tomar was a Christian who was martyred for her faith in Visigothic Portugal. Her parents, wishing to protect her, sent her to a convent school and a private tutor. The only times she left her house was to attend Mass or pray at the sanctuary of Saint Peter. The legend of her life is possibly little more than that.
Pandesal, or pan de sal, is a common bread roll in the Philippines. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt.
Os Grandes Portugueses was a public poll contest organized by the Portuguese public broadcasting station RTP and hosted by Maria Elisa. Based on BBC's 100 Greatest Britons, it featured individual documentaries advocating the top ten candidates. The final vote took place on 25 March 2007, the winner being António de Oliveira Salazar, Portugal's Prime Minister from 1932 to 1968.
Bakers Oven was a British bakery chain. In May 1994, it was acquired by Greggs; in December 2008, the shops of Bakers Oven were renamed as Greggs.
Apollonia Poilâne is a Franco-American third-generation baker, CEO and gallerist based in Paris, France. She is the eldest daughter of Lionel Poilâne and Irena (IBU) Poilâne and sister of artist Athena Poilâne. Together with her sister, they own the world renowned, independent, family-owned Poilâne bakery, that has been based at 8 rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris, France since 1932.
The Battle of Toro was a royal battle from the War of the Castilian Succession, fought on 1 March 1476, near the city of Toro, between the Castilian-Aragonese troops of the Catholic Monarchs and the Portuguese-Castilian forces of Afonso V and Prince John of Portugal.
The Battle of Valverde was fought on 14 October 1385, near Valverde de Mérida, Castile, between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, and was part of the Portuguese Crisis of 1383–1385.
Mexican breads and other baked goods are the result of centuries of experimentation and the blending of influence from various European baking traditions. Wheat, and bread baked from it, was introduced by the Spanish at the time of the Conquest. The French influence in Mexican Bread is the strongest. From the bolillo evolving from a French baguette to the concha branching out from a French brioche even the terminology comes from France. A baño maría, meaning a water bath for a custard type budín or bread pudding comes from the French word bain marie. While the consumption of wheat has never surpassed that of corn in the country, wheat is still a staple food and an important part of everyday and special rituals. While Mexico has adopted various bread styles from Europe and the United States, most of the hundreds of varieties of breads made in the country were developed here. However, there is little to no baking done in Mexican homes; instead, Mexicans have bought their baked goods from bakeries since the colonial period.
The Lenda de Gaia is a medieval Portuguese legend recorded in two manuscripts, the Livro Velho (1286/1290) and the Livro de Linhagens do Conde Dom Pedro (1340/1383), both of which are collections of aristocratic genealogies embellished with a mix of history and legend. The Lenda de Gaia concerns the tenth-century king Ramiro II of León and the origins of the Maia family. The main events take place in Gaia at the mouth of the river Douro.
