Savoury baked goods, the joy that makes crunch!

Savoury baked goods are made all over the world in different variations and with countless ingredients. The Italian tradition alone produces more than 7,000 different types a day, if we think of all the varieties of bread, focaccia, frise, gallette and various types of breadsticks and savoury biscuits. But how come they are so good and irresistible ?

Bread is the most common savoury baked product. Made with wheat flour or other cereals, gluten-free, protein-based, unleavened, etc., it is the food par excellence present on our tables and that will never cease to please! In fact, the first documents attesting to the production of bread date back to the 5th millennium BC, and feature the Sumerians , who produced bread starting from a mixture of barley flour and water.

Since bread was the food par excellence of the poorest classes, which had to last as long as possible in the home pantries and of which not even a crumb was wasted, many other products were derived from it: such as frise , or bread hardened in the air which was consumed after being soaked and seasoned, or breadcrumbs , an anti-waste remedy to reuse all the hard pieces left over and enrich breadings, gratins and fillings.

In addition to bread, over the centuries the creativity of housewives and bakers has meant that today the national culinary tradition can boast many jewels of taste and delicacies throughout the country. Think of the grissini or gherssin , or "small bread" in Piedmontese, crispy and light bread sticks, the taralli of Puglia, born in times of famine, mixing the ingredients that were at home to feed their children, or the ferratelle of Abruzzo, with the typical wafer shape like the famous waffles, of Roman origin and later prepared exclusively for noble families. The iron for cooking the ferratelle, called ferre , was inlaid with the family crest and was brought as a dowry by the bride.

Mixing ingredients starting from flour, water and salt is one of the culinary pleasures that is lost in the mists of time and that still today is able to amaze us for the versatility and originality of the recipes, which will never stop boring us! Behind it there were many studies and insights into the raw materials and how they interact with each other, but let's face it, every time it crunches it's a leap to the heart of joy!