Bread with a Future: Innovation with Carob at the Artisan Bread Fair

Researcher Paqui Rández from IATA-CSIC presents projects to revalue the carob tree as a healthy and sustainable food.

Generic image of carob flour and artisan breads.
AI

Generic image of carob flour and artisan breads.

The City Hall Square in Valencia hosts the Artisan Bread Fair on October 15th, a free event featuring a talk on carob product innovation, tastings, and discussions on generational succession in the sector.

Researcher Paqui Rández, from the Industrial Yeast Fermentation Biotechnology group at the IATA-CSIC, will participate in the third edition of the Artisan Bread Fair. She will deliver a presentation focused on innovation in products made with carob flour, as part of the Ceratopía project, in which IATA is a partner.
The event, open to professionals and the general public, will take place on October 15th in València's City Hall Square. Coinciding with World Bread Day and World Food Day, the fair will commence at 10:00 AM with Rández's talk, titled “Bread with a Future: Sustainability, Innovation, and New Opportunities”.
The Ceratopía project aims to revalue the carob tree as a healthy and sustainable food source, while also promoting biodiversity conservation and reducing forest fires. IATA contributes to this initiative by studying microbial diversity in soils and carob trees, and developing new food applications from the fruit's pulp, a part traditionally of low commercial value despite its richness in fiber and bioactive compounds.
In addition to the presentation, the Bread Fair will feature artisan bread tastings, live comedy shows, and a roundtable discussion on generational succession. At 10:30 AM, the podcast ‘Disfrutons’ by Jajajers will present a live episode titled “Traveling Through Time with Bread,” followed by a tasting.
At 11:00 AM, the roundtable “Continuity and Generational Succession” will bring together master bakers from various Valencian bakeries to discuss the transmission of artisan workshops. Participants will include Carmen Rausell (Forn de Manuela, Campanar), Analía Bellstedt (Horno Bells, Patraix), Arturo Serrano (Horno Moliner, Mislata), Javier Vilaplana (Horno La Esmeralda, La Canyada), and Nieves Clemente (Forn pastisseria Violeta, Xirivella). The closing remarks will be delivered by Juanjo Rausell, president of the Guild of Bakers and Pastry Chefs of València.
Finally, starting at 12:00 PM, there will be a two-hour exhibition and tasting of various types of Valencian artisan bread, open to the public without prior registration.
Based on information from the official source: IATA-CSIC (Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos) (01/10/2026)