Trukese Bread is That Good

Another staple in Truk Island is bread. The pastry, not the fruit. Popular amongst the locals is satawan bread, named after the outer Mortlock atoll of Satawan, where the recipe originated. Baking does not have cultural origins in Truk. But sometime ago, by chance, a Satawanese employee at a bakery must have deviated from the main recipe of the bread rolls while her "master baker" was not looking, and lo, the resulting flavor took a foot hold.

 

Another popular bread is sliced bread. Born of the marriage of the Filipino recipe altered to the preference of the locals. This bread is dense and heavy, rich with the flavor of eggs and milk. Unlike Julie's and Franz's (bakeries in the Philippines and the States, respectively), this sliced bread can be eaten on its own. By 'on its own' I mean not as a sandwich. It's that flavorful.

 

Satawan bread is laid out on a table to cool off before packaging. 

 

After Marki packs them up, Rain (pronounced "rah-yeen") and Coleman (no extraordinary pronunciation) deliver them to the store.

 

I'd like to add that Marki is from Satawan, Rain is from Tú, and Coleman is from Kütü, all atolls in the Mortlock region.

This is Takasi. He doesn't work here. He's a retired carpenter, and 'hangs out' during his free time. Which is everyday. He is from Lukunor, another atoll in the Mortlocks. 

 

May I add again... The Mortlockese speak a different dialect than the "lagooners". They pronounce "L's" and "Sh's", unlike the lagooners. I speak both dialects, Lukunorian being my default Mortlockese. My Trukese family is from Lukunor. Only in Lukunor do they use the word "kütüpüng!" Which means to fall, or a loud bang.  Only in Satawan do they pronounce the word that means 'carry' "pwaki". All the other Mortlockese say "pwokei". Only in Tú do they use the word "kuparapar", the color red, as opposed to the norm "par".

I bet you didn't expect to get a language lesson on this blog.

Moving on...

Cheese bread.

 

Enseymada.

 

Um, sweet bread?

 

All the breads are baked in these ovens.

 

This is the Master Baker.

 

 

The Assistant Baker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I was able to sweet talk the bakers into sparing me half a dozen cheese breads, which I ate in the span of fifteen minutes. Yes, THAT GOOD!