Arcobaleno

June 1997
Update
Arcobaleno closed its doors late in 1999

Fabbio La Guardia has been learning about bread since he was 10. When his parents Adolfo and Alida opened Arcobaleno, hot bread kitchen, in St Georges Road, North Fitzroy, Fabbio used to watch and help the bakers every day. Then in 1989 he started work full time, completing his apprenticeship and a diploma at William Angliss College.

But his father, Adolfo, did not learn to be a baker until he came to Australia twenty years ago from Sicily. There he had worked as a salesman of kitchen and bakery equipment so he knew well how all the machinery should work. On arrival in Melbourne he first worked as a salesman and soon saw the need and the opportunity to produce good bread. After two weeks instruction in Port Melbourne with a baker from Calabria he was able to get work in a hot bread kitchen in Richmond. In less than a year he was ready to take over the lease of a shop in North Fitzroy and within another three years was able to buy all the equipment and the building.

It’s a success story built on very very hard work, Adolfo says wearily, “long, long days - starting at midnight and finishing in the afternoon of the following day. Eighteen hours was not unusual.”

“It is the only bread that we let rise naturally, not through the steamer. With the steamer, the other doughs take about an hour to make and prove and then cook. Pasta dura takes much longer, much longer, “ explains Adolfo.

But this is what Arcobaleno is famous for and the reason we have been buying bread from this small North Fitzroy shop for the past 15 years. Even now, with our restaurant closed we still go back to Fitzroy to buy our pasta dura rolls, the best in Melbourne.

There was a time when the small bakery was serving and delivering bread all over Melbourne, from Lalor to Thomastown, with orders for Moonee Valley Racecourse, the Veneto Club, many restaurants including Borsato and Mietta’s and many supermarkets all around the suburbs. At that time, there were five bakers working round the clock.

Now Adolfo and Alida have cut back their work load and have just one other baker working with Fabbio. They are concentrating mainly on their shop sales, though are still providing their delicious crusty pasta dura rolls to some restaurants including Borsato (in Nicholson Street) and to some local hotels.

As well as pasta dura (rolls and bread) the bakery does a whole range of other breads, scrolls, doughnuts and pastries. At Easter, Adolfo makes a rare and delicious Neapolitan style Easter Bread with eggs (of course) salami and parmigiana. On a recent visit I learnt about frizzili, a sort of toast which is sealed and packaged. It can be made from white or wholemeal dough in the form of a round bun with a central hole. After the bread is cooked, it is sliced in half and then left to dry out slowly in the oven as it cools down. It is then packed and can be kept and eaten for three weeks. Adolfo demonstrated how to use it, putting the bread quickly under the water tap and then sprinkling it liberally with olive oil. Then top it with what you fancy - sliced tomatoes, pecorino or olives. It has a delicious and very light crisp taste.

Arcobaleno has many regulars, people like us who’ve been buying bread there for years. Over time the La Guardias have introduced some new breads, as customers demand them. Alida La Guardia says the demand now is for “healthy bread, lots of herbs. No one wants sugar or butter any more.”

The La Guardias may not be baking as much bread as five years ago but they are still there serving their regulars from Tuesday-Sunday. Monday is their day off.

Arcobaleno Hot Bread Kitchen, 214 St. Georges Road, North Fitzroy, one of Mietta’s favourites.