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Morovis.- Many come to the Panadería La Patria in Morovis to savor the famous “patita echá” (“dangly leg”) bread. It is a Spanish recipe that overcame the changes brought on by important time periods, yet has remained unchanged since its creation in 1862.

Its name comes from the shape of the bread, which resembles the lower limbs of a person. The legs look as if intertwined and provoke the curiosity of those who visit the bakery which still maintains the original brick oven where it is made.

According to the owner, Edwin Ortiz-Rivera, “the brick oven alone was built by the Spaniards back in the 19th century. And over the years the structure was built around it, (eventually) creating the bakery. But it was always an oven in an open field.”

“This used to be an open field, and the bakery was on another street. When the new road access was opened, the PR-155 highway, the bakery was turned around this way. Bread was the only thing they baked. As they added extensions to the bakery, little by little, they began to make sandwiches and other products that are typically sold at bakeries. But before that, they only sold bread,” said the 41-year-old merchant.

The Morovis native noted that the property first belonged to the Spaniards and then passed on to several families in town, including “Parés, Ayala and now the Ortiz family.”

In fact, Edwin studied aviation electronics in Carolina and his only ties to business was through his father, Edwin Ortiz-Soto, owner of Selectos supermarket in Morovis.

“I was a salesmen supervisor in a large meat distribution company in Puerto Rico. My family has always been in commerce and, since I couldn’t find a future in Puerto Rico with what I studied, I ended up taking a supervisor course and started working at the supermarket with my family,” he admitted.

Ortiz-Soto highlighted that he acquired the bakery in 2010 and did not know how to operate the business at that time. But he kept the employees who already worked there, and they carried on with their duties. Now, he has 11 employees.

The merchant explained that “this bread has always been called this way; they’re two pieces of dough joined together till it looks like a leg dangling (over the other). It tastes different, it’s a Spanish recipe.”

“It’s a mixture of pan de manteca (pan sobao), pan de agua and a few additional ingredients that make the dangly bread. This bread has always been made here, for more than 161 years. So, a lot of people come from neighboring towns to look for the ‘patita echá’ bread,” he said.

Ortiz-Rivera said that the bread was baked with firewood before, according to what he was told by the town’s elders. Everything was handcrafted.

“The bread was made with firewood in the mornings. The oven has a chimney and the smell of bread would waft over the town. [This way] people would know that bread was being baked because of the smell coming out of the chimney. People would go up here to buy bread. It cost a quarter, 50 cents, back then,” he said.

“Now, because of Department of Health regulations, we can’t make it that way anymore. It’s now done with gas, after the oven is hot. In the past, everything was done by hand, no machine; kneaded by hand, made by hand. Although it is still handmade, the only difference is that it isn’t kneaded by a person anymore, but by a machine,” he added.

As it is, the baker turns on the oven at 4:00 a.m. and by 5:00 a.m. people are already waiting outside for their freshly baked bread.

“Apart from the ‘patita echá’ bread, we have sweet bread, pan de agua, all kinds of sandwiches that are made in-house, including the Selecto, Patria, Chupacabras, among others. For example, the Selecto is a mixture of all processed and roasted meats, such as roast pork leg, roast turkey, sweet ham, (and) sandwich ham,” he explained.

“The Patria consists of all the deli cuts: turkey ham, sandwich ham, bolo style ham, mortadella and salami. The Chupacabras is a mixture of both, with meat and cold cuts. They’re made with the client’s choice of bread,” he outlined.

“This bakery is a Morovis tradition. Let them come, let them visit and buy the product so that they know how delicious this bread is. It’s in high demand during Christmas,” assured Ortiz-Rivera.

For details: 787-862-2867 or on social media: Panadería La Patria.