Telera cordobesa
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

The telera is a Córdoba bread and it exists because of what the city eats. Its crumb is dense and slightly dry, which is exactly what a mortar wants when you are building salmorejo or mazamorra, and its flat three-lobed shape comes from the way the dough is cut and folded before proving. Panificadora La Catalana has baked on Calle San Pablo since 1890 and works the same sourdough starter it has used for a century. Panadería El Brillante, open since 1919, supplies bread to some of the best kitchens in the city, and its technical director José Roldán was named World Baker of the Year by the UIBC in 2025.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Makes 2 loavesHands-on 30 minTotal 5 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g strong white bread flour
  • 330ml water
  • 100g active sourdough starter
  • 10g fine salt
  • Semolina for dusting

Method

  1. Mix the flour and water and rest for 30 minutes so the flour hydrates fully.
  2. Work in the starter and the salt until the dough is smooth, then leave to rise for about 3 hours, folding it over on itself every 45 minutes.
  3. Divide in two, shape each piece into a flat oval about 3cm thick and dust with semolina.
  4. With the side of your hand, press two deep grooves across each loaf to make the three lobes.
  5. Prove for 45 minutes on a floured cloth, uncovered, so a skin forms.
  6. Bake at 240C with steam for 15 minutes, then at 210C without steam for a further 20 minutes until pale gold rather than dark.

Tip from the editors. Do not bake it dark. The telera is meant to stay pale and slightly dry, which is what makes it work in a mortar.

Where to eat telera cordobesa

Telera cordobesa in Córdoba

Panificadora La Catalana 1890 ★ 4.5

€ BakerySourdough breads and a gluten-free rangeSan AndresWalk-in only

La Catalana has baked on Calle San Pablo in Córdoba since 1890 and still works the same sourdough starter, turning out the city's telera loaf.

OrderA telera, the flat-crowned Córdoba loaf that anchors every bowl of salmorejo.

TipMorning trading only; the shutters come down at 14:30 and it does not open Sunday.

Directions

Obrador Artesano David Ruano ★ 4.4

€€ BakeryLong-fermentation sourdough with no additivesPonienteWalk-in only

David Ruano bakes long-fermentation sourdough in Córdoba with no additives, holding two stars from the Ruta Española del Buen Pan for the work.

OrderA telera, or whichever designer loaf is baked for the restaurants that day.

TipThere is no seating at all, so buy the bread and eat it somewhere else.

Directions

Panadería El Brillante ★ 4.7

€ BakerySourdough breads and traditional Córdoba pastryEl BrillanteWalk-in only

Panadería El Brillante has baked in Córdoba since 1919, its technical director José Roldán named World Baker of the Year by the UIBC in 2025.

OrderThe pastelón cordobés, then a magdalena rolled in sugar.

TipIt supplies bread to some of the best kitchens in the city, so the loaves go early in the morning.

Directions

All Córdoba signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want telera cordobesa covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →