Between late 2021 and early 2022, Carito Lourenço and Germán Carrizo worked alongside Jesús Machí, a nationally recognized leader in the Valencian baking industry, to create a cremona that could hold its own on the menu. They weren’t trying to replicate the Argentine recipe, but rather to understand it, test its limits, and adapt it to a purpose for which it hadn’t originally been conceived: to accompany a culinary sequence.
It took numerous trials. They adjusted the proportions, hydration, fermentation times, amount of fat, and folding techniques. Each test allowed them to fine-tune the balance between flavor, structure, and lightness until they achieved the desired texture: a tall loaf that’s crispy on the outside, with a tender, moist, airy, and light crumb.
From that process came the IRON Cremona. A recipe born of the connection between Argentina and Valencia, between the memories of Carito and Germán and the culinary artistry of Jesús Machí.
A recipe born of two trades
The collaboration with Jesús Machí was essential to understanding how the cremona could evolve without losing what makes it recognizable. His knowledge of flours, fermentation, and dough behavior complemented FIERRO’s research on smoke, fat, and taste memory.
The dough is made from organic flours made from native Valencian wheat varieties, water, salt, yeast, and Jesús Machí’s sourdough starter. Finding the right balance among these elements required repeated trials involving hydration and fermentation. The crumb had to retain the moisture and fluffiness needed to complement the dishes on the menu, without losing the lightness characteristic of a laminated dough.
To this mixture is added one of the recipe’s distinguishing features: a combination of lard and smoked beef fat, smoked in the FIERRO kitchen. Its presence adds depth and connects the bread to one of the themes that runs through the restaurant: fire.
Each attempt brought us a little closer to the final version: a cremona that’s crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside, with just enough structure to hold its shape on the table.
To allow more people to enjoy it, we have also developed gluten-free and lactose-free versions that preserve its identity and its place within the experience.
Argentina is where it all began; Valencia is where the craft and expertise lie. FIERRO’s Cremona was born from the convergence of these two places.
Form also shapes texture
The jagged silhouette of the cremona is not merely an aesthetic choice. Its cuts and folds determine how the dough develops and cause each part to behave differently during baking.
Laminating was one of the central focuses of the research. Through successive folding and layering—using single and double turns—the fat is distributed among the layers of dough. The balance between the turns, resting times, and fermentation allows the cremona to rise without losing its lightness and to retain its characteristic crown.
During baking, the layers separate and create a succession of textures. The exterior takes on a golden hue and a very crispy finish, while the interior remains tender, moist, and flaky. Its texture invites you to break it apart with your hands and discover the different nuances within a single piece.
At FIERRO, we preserve the traditional shape because it also embodies part of the bread’s identity. The crown makes it easy to recognize the bread’s origins; the Valencian flours, sourdough, and smoked veal fat bring the recipe into the present.
The goal wasn’t to transform the cremona until it was unrecognizable, but rather to understand it, question it, and find the exact point at which it could become a bread in its own right—something more than just a side dish: a creation capable of leaving a lasting impression on anyone who tastes it.
Bread designed to stay on the table
Cremona is featured on every menu at FIERRO. Far from playing a secondary role, it is presented as a dish with its own identity and story.
On the menu, it appears as Cremona “From There and Here” 2022, a name that encapsulates the fusion of its Argentine roots and the Mediterranean region. It is served with butter and caviar, which provide the dish’s salty contrast.
The choice of caviar is, once again, based on memory. Carito Lourenço and Germán Carrizo explain that it serves the purpose of that salt that grandmothers traditionally added to lard. An everyday gesture that FIERRO revives and transforms using an unexpected ingredient, without losing the connection to the memory that inspired it.
After months of testing, the “cremona” ceased to be merely a reference to Carito and Germán’s roots and became the restaurant’s signature bread. A creation that brings together Argentine tradition, Valencian flours and craftsmanship, and the nonconformity with which FIERRO reimagines the flavors of its past.
It is also available at the FIERRO online store, a way to take home from the restaurant a loaf of bread that embodies its identity in every crumb.
La Cremona is IRON in its purest form: Argentine heritage, Valencian craftsmanship, and a new interpretation of its origins.
