Talltu’s Christmas proposal: sourdough panettone and Cajamarca coffee

He panettone is the undisputed king of pastries at Christmas, says Piero Linares, founder of Talltu, a boutique bakery that works with sourdough, long fermentations, and whole wheat flours from Ayacucho and Cajamarca, mainly. For this reason, because he is clear about the prominence that this sweet of Italian origin has on Peruvian tables, Piero began preparing the sourdough for his artisanal panettone in November, without additives or accelerators of any kind.

The work with the sourdough, which begins by combining the flour with natural fruit juice to create the yeast, took approximately 15 days. During this time, tests and corrections were made in search of a sourdough with balanced sweetness, acidity and freshness. Then, more days of testing followed with long fermentations and baking until Piero and his team found the ideal type of dough, flavor and aroma for their sourdough panettone that comes in two presentations: candied fruit panettone and 70% chocolate panettone. % and candied oranges.

The candied fruit panettone, which is the one we tried, was achieved after 48 hours of fermentation. It has cranberries, strawberries, orange and apricots inside and almond craquelure on the dome. It has a soft dough with long strands that come off easily when you grab it with your hand, without the need for a knife, and that melt in the mouth. As for the flavor, it is fresh, due to the presence of fruits, without leaving aside the dairy touch that characterizes the panettone dough. It weighs 550 grams and it is recommended to consume it immediately after opening the bag, since since it does not have any type of artificial preservative, its duration is short.

Although for the vast majority of Peruvians, there is no panettone without hot chocolate, at Talltu you can try a mini version of their panettones, about 90 grams, with Cajamarca coffee with floral notes, peach and mandarin that comes from a caturra blend, typica and bourbon grown in the province of San Ignacio at 1890 meters above sea level. In their espresso bar drinks menu they have espresso, Americano, cappuccino and latte.

Although Talltu is a boutique bakery, its offering of breads, desserts and pastries is complemented with coffee. The majority of their customers who come to their establishment located on Manuel Tovar Street, in the Santa Cruz neighborhood, in Miraflores, choose to take their drink with them, but it is also possible to consume it at the establishment and perceive the aromas that emerge from its baking area always in constant activity. You can try it accompanied by a classic croissant, chocolate bread (pain au chocolat) or a mix with sweet potato brioche bread.

“The coffee is selected and roasted by Bombilla Tostaduria, which gives its beans a slightly sweet, medium roast profile, which I was looking for to enhance what we produce at Talltu, because coffees with darker roasts and strong flavors overshadow the flavor. of breads or pastries,” explains Piero.

Talltu means yeast in Quechua, says Piero. He chose this word because it represents the vision he sought to give to his venture: to highlight the use of regional inputs (they use machica flour from Ayacucho and rye flour from Cajamarca) with European baking techniques that he learned when he worked in France and on trips around the world. Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Spain and Switzerland.

When the pandemic began, he was in Lima, so he decided to open his own bakery since he could not travel and had to find a quick way to generate income. He started in his parents’ house, with a single oven, selling bread from a window to his neighbors and distributing his production himself by bicycle among his friends and acquaintances.

Word of mouth and the quality of its breads made Talltu take off during the years that the pandemic lasted and she had to move to another location, very close to her family’s home. Currently, he has a team of six people with whom he works to supply various hotels, restaurants and cafes in Lima, but his most loyal customers will always be the neighbors and friends who watched him grow and who supported him at the beginning of his successful venture.