Olive harvest at Lake Garda

The olives around Lake Garda are traditionally harvested from the end of October to mid-November.

The Garda Trentino region is the northernmost olive-growing area in the world, thanks to its mild, Mediterranean climate.
The olives from the trees at the AktivHotel SantaLucia are also harvested to produce extra virgin olive oil.

The variety cultivated in the numerous olive groves around Torbole sul Garda and especially in the Valletta of Santa Lucia, which surrounds the hotel for active holidaymakers, is called CASALIVA.
The olives are collected and immediately taken to the nearest oil mill (Frantoio) so that they are pressed while as fresh as possible. This preserves all the special properties of the fruity oil from Lake Garda, which is rich in polyphenols and good for your health.

During your stay at the hotel for active holidaymakers, you can book an interesting visit to one of the local olive mills to discover the secrets of producing our “green gold” with a local expert. Afterwards, you can book an olive oil tasting served with traditional Molche bread* in our cellar and enjoy a walk among the olive trees.

The “Pan di Molche” is a speciality from Garda Trentino – a fragrant bread made from the “pomace” left over after the olives have been pressed.

Every family has its own traditional recipe, and we have selected this one for you:

Molche bread from Lake Garda
Ingredients:
1200 g flour type 405
20 g sugar
80 g brewer’s yeast
15 g salt
6 cl olive oil
280 g lukewarm water
220 g milk
200 g Molche

Dissolve the brewer’s yeast with lukewarm water, add the milk, sugar, salt, “Molche” and olive oil to a flour well, then leave to rise in a warm and humid place for 1½ hours (if the room is too dry, cover the container with foil or a damp cloth). Knead the dough again with the remaining flour and process for 10 minutes, form the mixture into rolls and leave to rise for at least another hour. Brush the risen bread with water and place it in the oven, bake at 180° for approx. 25/30 mins.

IMPORTANT NOTES
1 kilo of flour per 500 g of liquid (if desired: water, milk, eggs, oil, melted butter, etc.) – depending on the ingredients used, you will get different types of bread each time.
To make sure the bread rises, use 25 g brewer’s yeast per 1 kilo of flour. Duration time: approx. 2 hours. To speed up rising, double the amount of yeast.