Umbria Techniques

Bruschetta is toasted bread rubbed with raw garlic, drenched in your best extra virgin olive oil, and finished with ripe tomatoes. The bread is everything — a wide-crumbed, substantial loaf like pane di Altamura or a Tuscan salt-free pane sciocco. The tomatoes should be in peak season. The olive oil should be peppery, green, and freshly pressed if possible. This is not a canape — it is a meal when done correctly.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina is Italy's most celebrated grilled meat preparation — a T-bone or porterhouse steak from the Chianina breed (specifically the Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP, the large white cattle of the central Italian highlands), minimum 600g (traditionally 1-1.5kg), cut to a thickness of 4-5 fingers (roughly 5-6cm), grilled over live oak or vine-branch embers until charred on the exterior and left rare to the bone interior. The rules are inflexible: no marinade, no sauces, no oil during cooking, no resting for more than 5 minutes. The steak is positioned upright on the T-bone for the final 5 minutes to warm the meat near the bone.

Wine-and-oil ring biscuits from Umbria — a simple, ancient preparation of flour, olive oil, red wine (Sagrantino di Montefalco or Torgiano Rosso), sugar, and anise seeds shaped into small rings and baked until crisp. These are not rich cookies but dry, twice-baked style biscuits that are meant for dipping in red wine or Vin Santo. The red wine gives them a distinctive purple-brown colour and a tannic, slightly astringent edge that makes them unusual in the sweet biscuit canon. Eaten throughout Umbria at vendemmia (harvest) and at festivals.

Perugia's Easter ring cake — a yeast-leavened ring of dough enriched with eggs, sugar, lard, and Alchermes liqueur (giving it a distinctive pink-red hue inside), covered with a white royal icing meringue and coloured sugar sprinkles. Made only for Easter in Perugia, with the legend that women baked it for their prisoners in the local jail at Easter and the red and white colours represent the arms of Perugia. The soft, brioche-like interior and sweet meringue exterior create a textural celebration.

The Easter ring cake of Perugia — a soft, ring-shaped cake flavoured with lemon and Alchermes liqueur (a bright red Italian liqueur made from cochineal and spices), covered in a thick white royal icing and decorated with coloured sugar. The bright red interior from the Alchermes contrasts dramatically with the white icing. Eaten at Easter breakfast alongside dyed eggs and local salumi.

Ciauscolo (or ciavuscolo) is the spreadable salami of the Marche and southern Umbria: a softly textured, intensely flavoured pork salami made from belly, shoulder, and pancetta ground very finely with garlic, black pepper, and white wine, stuffed in a natural casing and cold-smoked then hung to cure for 15-60 days. At the right stage of maturity, it is completely spreadable at room temperature — scooped with a knife and spread thickly on toasted bread. It is IGP-protected and is one of the most distinctive Italian artisan salumi.

Ciriole are Terni's handmade pasta — thick, irregular spaghetti-like strands made from flour and water only (no egg), stretched and rolled by hand into cylinders of varying diameter, giving them a rustic appearance and chewy bite. The sauce is the region's most minimal: abundant raw olive oil, several cloves of thinly sliced garlic and dried Umbrian peperoncino bloomed in the cold oil, then heated together until the garlic is golden (not brown). Pasta cooking water is added to emulsify; the cooked ciriole are tossed in the sauce for 90 seconds over high heat. No cheese. Coarsely torn flat-leaf parsley finishes the dish.

A shortcrust tart filled with a mixture of sheep's ricotta and local morello cherries (visciole) preserved in wine, baked until set and golden — a preparation associated with the Spoleto and Gubbio areas where morello cherry orchards are traditional. The bitterness of the visciole cherries contrasts with the sweet ricotta filling; the wine-infused cherries add depth.

Guinea fowl baked inside a sealed clay coating from Umbria — one of Italy's most ancient cooking techniques. The guinea fowl (faraona) is seasoned with herbs, lard, and sometimes black truffle, wrapped in plastic to retain its shape, then encased in a thick layer of terracotta clay and baked at 200°C for 2 hours. When the clay is cracked open at the table, the internal steam releases: the bird has cooked in its own juices in a perfectly sealed environment. The feathers (if left on for the rustic version) come off with the clay; the skin is pale and tender, not crisp, but the interior is profoundly moist.

Umbria's ancient grain soup: farro spelt (triticum dicoccum, the specific emmer wheat grown on the Sibillini slopes) simmered with borlotti beans, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, sage, and rosemary in pork broth until the farro grains partially break open and thicken the broth into a dense, unified porridge. The Umbrian tradition of farro dates to pre-Roman times — it was the staple of the legions and of the hill-town kitchens of the Apennine interior. The final texture should be thick enough that a spoon leaves a track on the surface.

Small almond and pine nut cookies shaped to resemble dried fava beans — made throughout Umbria and central Italy for the Feast of the Dead on 1 and 2 November. The dough is made with ground almonds, flour, sugar, egg and lard, flavoured with cinnamon and lemon zest, rolled into small ovals and baked until pale golden. They are traditional offerings placed on gravestones.

Guanciale (from 'guancia' — cheek) is the cured pig's jowl that is foundational to Roman cooking — the fat used in amatriciana, carbonara, cacio e pepe's richer version, and gricia. Unlike pancetta (cured belly), guanciale has a higher ratio of fat to lean, a distinctive layered fat structure, and a specific flavour from the jaw muscle and its surrounding fat deposits — slightly more assertive, slightly more aromatic than belly fat. The Lazio and Abruzzo guanciale is seasoned with black pepper, red chilli, and sometimes rosemary before curing; it is not smoked. The fat, rendered in a dry pan without added oil, forms the cooking fat for the four classical Roman pasta sauces.

The tiny, paper-skinned lentils of the Piano Grande di Castelluccio (1452m) in the Sibillini mountains — the only lentil to hold IGP status in Italy. Grown without irrigation on high-altitude volcanic-glacial soil, they are characterised by extreme thinness of skin (no soaking required, 20-25 minute cooking) and an intense, nutty, mineral flavour with none of the flatness of lowland lentils. Prepared simply: soffrito of onion, celery, and carrot, lentils in cold water, a sprig of sage, olive oil at the end.

Lenticchie di Castelluccio are the extraordinary small lentils grown on the high Piano Grande plateau (1,500m) near Norcia — harvested once a year in summer, they are among the finest lentils in the world, requiring no soaking before cooking and retaining their shape after 20-25 minutes of gentle simmering. Their flavour — distinctly earthy, slightly sweet, and faintly mineral from the thin volcanic soil of the plateau — is unlike commercial lentils. They are the centrepiece of the Umbrian New Year dish (lenticchie con cotechino), but are also eaten as a side dish (zuppa di lenticchie) dressed only with raw olive oil, or as an antipasto dressed with vinegar and onion.

Lenticchie di Castelluccio IGP are tiny lentils grown at 1400m on the Piani di Castelluccio — a high plateau in the Monti Sibillini massif in eastern Umbria. The altitude, the limestone soil, and the harsh climate produce a lentil with exceptional characteristics: very small (2-4mm), with a thin skin that needs no soaking and cooks in 20-25 minutes, with a concentrated flavour combining earthiness, sweetness, and a slight mineral sharpness. They are cooked simply — in water with garlic, rosemary, and good olive oil — and served as a first course or accompaniment to cotechino or zampone at New Year.

Lonza di fico is the Marchigiani confection made to resemble a pork lonza (cured loin) — compressed dried figs mixed with walnuts, almonds, orange peel, and anise seeds, shaped into a cylinder, wrapped in fig leaves, and tied to produce something that, when sliced, resembles a cross-section of cured meat but reveals the dark, sweet, nutty interior. It is the traditional Christmas confection of the Fermo and Macerata provinces — made in November when the autumn figs are dried and the walnuts are fresh, stored through Advent, and served sliced at Christmas with aged Pecorino or Verdicchio passito. The name is a playful reference: fico (fig) lonza pretending to be pork lonza.

Rough, irregularly-cut pasta (maltagliati — 'badly cut') dressed with a vegetable and Castelluccio lentil ragù enriched with soffritto, tomato, sage and a final hit of aged Umbrian olive oil. The imperfect pasta shape is intentional — the irregular edges grip the thick lentil sauce differently across each piece, creating variety in every bite.

Umbria's emmer-wheat irregular pasta with wild boar ragù — maltagliati ('badly cut', irregular diamond-shaped pasta) made with a blend of farro di Norcia (emmer wheat) and 00 flour, dressed with a long-cooked wild boar ragù in red wine. The maltagliati's irregular shapes and rough emmer flour surface are specifically designed to hold chunky, rustic sauces that would slide off smooth pasta. The wild boar of the Umbrian hills is leaner and more gamey than farmed pork.

Umbria's Friday soup — dried ceci (chickpeas) braised in a soffritto of rosemary, sage, garlic, and celery, with a Parmigiano rind and a splash of white wine. Halfway through cooking, a portion of the chickpeas is blended back into the broth to create a thick, creamy base, then fresh tagliolini (or dried pasta broken short) is cooked directly in the chickpea broth. The rosemary-chickpea combination is one of the most elemental and satisfying in Italian cooking.

A two-grain soup unique to the Umbrian hills: emmer farro (Triticum dicoccum, the ancient grain still grown on the hills above Spoleto) and cicerchie (grass peas) simmered together in a pork rind and vegetable broth until both are fully tender and the starch thickens the soup naturally. Finished with olive oil, black truffle shaved over the top in autumn (not spring — wait for the Norcia truffle season), and aged pecorino di Norcia crumbled at the table.

A double-grain Umbrian mountain soup combining Farro di Monteleone di Spoleto DOP with the tiny lentils of Castelluccio di Norcia IGP — two of Umbria's most celebrated IGP-protected products cooked together with cured guanciale, sage and Umbrian extra-virgin olive oil. The lentils partially dissolve to create a thick, velvety base while the farro retains its nutty chew.

Norcineria refers to the complete tradition of pork butchering and salumi production from Norcia in southeastern Umbria — so influential that the term 'norcino' became the Italian word for any pork butcher. The Norcian tradition is distinguished by its use of the whole animal, its specific seasonings (black truffle, juniper, wild fennel, black pepper), and its historical access to pigs raised on the chestnut forests and acorns of the Apennine Mountains. The key products: prosciutto di Norcia IGP, lonza di maiale, mazzafegato (liver sausage), capocollo, and the PDO-protected truffle-laced salumi of the region.

Mazzafegati are the sweet-savoury fresh liver sausages unique to Norcia and the Valnerina — the heartland of Umbrian butchery. Pork liver, lard, pine nuts, raisins soaked in Sagrantino, orange zest, and sugar make the sweet version (dolci); the savoury version (salati) uses liver, lard, garlic, and chilli only. Both are fresh sausages eaten within days, griddled or roasted in a wood-fired oven. The sweet-savoury liver sausage tradition predates the dominance of salt-only charcuterie.

Norcino (a pork butcher from Norcia) is so synonymous with pork expertise that the Italian word 'norcineria' means a specialist pork butchery, and 'norcino' denotes mastery of the art. Norcia's pork tradition rests on the ancient practice of raising Cinta Senese and local large white pigs in the oak forest floors of the Valnerina, where they forage on acorns and roots in autumn. The key preparations are: prosciutto di Norcia IGP (rubbed with a garlic-rosemary-salt-pepper blend and aged minimum 12 months), capocollo (neck muscle rolled and cured), lonza (loin cured with black pepper and white wine), and corallina sausage (finely ground pork with coriander and black pepper). The norcino also handles the black truffle — the two are inseparable in Umbrian cuisine.

Gubbio's preparation of goose in the porchetta style: the whole goose deboned, seasoned internally with wild fennel, rosemary, garlic, the goose's liver (chopped fine), salt, and black pepper — the same aromatics as pork porchetta — then rolled, tied, and roasted in the wood oven for 2-3 hours, basting with the rendered goose fat. The goose's higher fat content means the dripping in the roasting tray becomes an extraordinary golden fat that bastes the bird continuously. The skin achieves a crackle that rivals pork. A specialist dish of the Apennine hill towns.

Palombaccio (wood pigeon) is the noble game bird of Umbria — migrating through the central Italian valleys in vast numbers in autumn, historically hunted with nets, falcons, and shot. The Perugian preparation roasts the whole pigeon on a spit over wood embers, basted with olive oil and seasoned with sage, rosemary, and the drippings collected in a pan below into which a little vin santo and black olive pâté is stirred to make the sauce. The result is a bird of extraordinary flavour — the wood smoke, the olive oil, the sage, and the slightly bitter olive sauce combining with the rich, dark pigeon meat. The Umbrian autumn tradition of palombaccia is centuries old.

Pasta from Norcia — the mountain town synonymous with pork butchering and black truffles in Umbria. The sauce combines crumbled fresh Norcina sausage (pork with fennel and black pepper), heavy cream, and black truffle (Tuber melanosporum or T. aestivum shaved generously). The pork and truffle combination is Norcia's signature. Pasta is typically rigatoni or penne rigate. The sausage is broken from the casing and cooked in butter until golden; cream is added and reduced; truffle is shaved over the finished pasta at service. No garlic, no onion — the truffle and sausage are sufficient aromatic complexity.

Roasted young pigeon (piccione or squab) with Castelluccio lentils from the Norcia plateau — a dish that distils the Umbrian highlands' two great food traditions (game from the Apennine forests and lentils from the Piano Grande) into a single plate. The pigeon is rubbed with herbs and roasted at high temperature until the breast is medium-rare (pink and yielding) and the legs are crisp-skinned. Served on a bed of lentils braised with guanciale and sage. The contrast between the rich, gamy breast and the earthy, mineral lentils is the entire logic of the dish.

Piccione in salmi is the defining game preparation of Umbria: young wood pigeon (piccione selvatico) marinated in red wine, juniper, and herbs for 24-48 hours, then braised slowly in the marinade with the liver (reserved from the bird and stirred in at the end as a thickening and enriching agent). The result is intensely dark, deeply savoury, and has the particular gamey sweetness of wild pigeon — a flavour unlike any farmed bird. The liver-enriched sauce is thick, glossy, and slightly bitter. Served on toasted bread (crostini) or alongside polenta.

The Umbrian original of Italy's most-copied pork preparation — the whole pig deboned, the skin left intact, seasoned internally with wild fennel fronds, garlic, rosemary, black pepper, salt, and the pig's own liver, rolled and tied, then slow-roasted (3-4 hours) in a wood-fired oven until the skin forms a shattering, crackling shell. The Umbrian towns of Costano and Orvieto are considered the birthplace of true porchetta; from here it spread across central Italy. The skin crackle is the objective — the meat is secondary.

Porchetta is the tradition of the Umbrian hill towns — a whole pig, de-boned, stuffed with wild fennel fronds, rosemary, garlic, black pepper, and the pig's own liver and offal, then rolled, tied, and roasted for 5-6 hours in a wood-fired oven until the skin is lacquered-crisp and golden and the interior is perfumed with herbs. The Ariccia version (Lazio) is the commercial standard; the Umbrian tradition (centred on Norcia, Costano, and the Val di Chiana) is older and more aromatic, using wild fennel rather than cultivated.

Umbria's historic passito wine from the Sagrantino grape — one of Italy's most tannic grape varieties, grown only in the Montefalco zone of Perugia. For the passito style: bunches are dried on straw mats (appassimento) for 4-6 weeks until shrivelled and concentrated, pressed, and fermented slowly to produce a deep red, almost black, intensely sweet wine of extraordinary tannic grip and dried-fruit-and-dark-chocolate complexity. Long aged in Slovenian oak for 18-24 months. The counterpart to the Secco (dry) Sagrantino DOCG — both from the same grape, completely different expressions.

Norcia is the capital of Italian salumi — the Norcino (butcher's craft of Norcia) was so central to Italian food culture that the word norcino became synonymous with skilled pork butcher throughout Italy. The fresh salsiccia di Norcia is the foundation: coarsely ground pork (shoulder and belly), seasoned with salt, black pepper, and the particular local spice mix (sometimes with wild fennel seed), stuffed into natural casings, and either used fresh (within 2-3 days) or lightly cured (hung for 10-15 days to semi-dry). The fresh sausage is used in ragù, grilled, or dried briefly and used to dress pasta or beans.

A showpiece preparation from Norcia — Umbria's truffle and pork capital — pairing the local black truffle (Tuber melanosporum, harvested December–March) with the finest cut of local Castelluciana lamb. A boned saddle of lamb is spread with a paste of minced black truffle, softened butter, garlic, flat-leaf parsley and salt, then rolled and tied. The outside is brushed with egg wash and pressed into coarse breadcrumbs mixed with grated Parmigiano and finely chopped truffle. Roasted on a rack at 200°C for 22–25 minutes for medium (internal 58°C), rested 15 minutes, then sliced at the table. The crust shatters; the truffle butter basted the interior throughout cooking.

Contemporary Umbrian preparation: a silky foam (spuma) of Castelluccio di Norcia lentil purée serving as the base for pan-roasted quail (quaglia). The lentils are cooked fully, then blended and passed through a fine sieve, enriched with butter and a small amount of cream, and aerated with a hand blender into a foam consistency. The quail is pan-roasted briefly (8 minutes) with sage and garlic. The foam is spooned into warm bowls, the quail placed above, and the pan jus drizzled over. This is a restaurant refinement of the traditional quail-and-lentils combination.

Strangolapreti (priest-stranglers — the same name used for a pasta shape in other regions) in Trentino are a specific type of bread dumpling: smaller and more delicate than canederli, made with stale bread, spinach (or beet greens), egg, and a small amount of flour, shaped into rough oval quenelles and boiled in salted water. They are served dressed with melted butter and sage (burro e salvia — the Alpine preparation for all pasta in brodo or dumplings) and a snowfall of aged Grana Padano or Trentino Grana. The spinach gives them a green colour and a slightly mineral flavour that distinguishes them from the meat-enriched canederlo.

Strangozzi (also called stringozzi, strangolozzi — the name varies by village) are the hand-pulled semolina pasta of Umbria — flat, irregular, slightly chewy ribbons made by stretching rolled pasta dough by hand rather than cutting it, producing an uneven width that is considered a virtue. The surface is rough and textured. The definitive sauce is ragù di cinghiale — wild boar braised with red wine, tomato, rosemary, juniper, and the dark Sagrantino di Montefalco that characterises the best Umbrian braises. Wild boar (cinghiale) is abundant in the Umbrian hills; the ragù is long-cooked, deeply flavoured, and slightly gamey.

Strangozzi (also called stringozzi or umbricelli — terminology varies by village) are a thick, hand-rolled pasta similar to pici: a rough, irregular-surfaced spaghetti made from water and flour only (no eggs), rolled by hand on a wooden board. They are the ancestral pasta of the Umbrian shepherds and pilgrims. Dressed with the black truffle of Norcia, which is grated and dissolved into the pasta's cooking oil with garlic to create an intensely aromatic, earthy sauce — a preparation that showcases the truffle without any enriching dairy or cream.

Spoleto's handmade square-cut pasta served with freshly grated black Norcia truffle and butter — one of Umbria's most celebrated preparations. Strangozzi (also called stringozzi) are a thick, square-cut fresh pasta made from flour and water without egg — the eglessness gives them a firmer, more neutral base that doesn't compete with the truffle. The truffle sauce is radically simple: butter, a little garlic-infused olive oil, and grated fresh black truffle — no cream, no reduction. The truffle's perfume must be the sole focus.

Strozzapreti ('priest stranglers') in the Umbrian tradition are hand-rolled semolina pasta sticks twisted between the palms into irregular, slightly chewy spirals — distinct from the Romagnola version. Dressed with a sauce of Norcia sausage (flavoured with wild fennel seed) crumbled and browned, then combined with fresh or reconstituted porcini and a small amount of Sagrantino wine. The porcini-and-fennel-sausage combination is the defining Umbrian forest-floor flavour profile.

Game stew in the Terni tradition: wild boar, hare, or deer shoulder slowly braised in Sagrantino passito (the tannic, oxidative Umbrian passito wine), with juniper berries, dried porcini, wild rosemary, and a soffritto of lard-rendered guanciale. The wine's tannin and residual sugar create a sauce of unique depth — savoury, sweet, and faintly bitter simultaneously. Served on white polenta concia (enriched with butter and pecorino).

Tagliolini (thin, flat egg pasta — narrower than tagliatelle, wider than spaghettini) with Norcia black truffle is the celebration pasta of Umbrian winter: fresh egg pasta cut to 2mm, dressed with nothing but melted butter in which thinly grated or shaved fresh Tuber melanosporum has been warmed for 30 seconds, then tossed at the table with a final grating of truffle directly from the knob. The pasta's simplicity is intentional — the egg dough and the butter exist to carry the truffle, which is the entire flavour. No Parmigiano, no garlic, no cream — anything added competes with the truffle's volatile aromatic compounds.

Norcia (Perugia province) and the surrounding Valnerina are the global centre of production for Tuber melanosporum — the Périgord black truffle. Umbria's truffle culture is distinct from Piedmont's (which focuses on the white truffle, Tuber magnatum): the black truffle is more widely available, more versatile in cooking, and tolerates heat better than the white — it can be cooked, not merely warmed. The Norcino truffle technique involves grating or slicing the raw truffle into butter, olive oil, or pasta at the last moment of cooking, or making truffle-based products (pasta al tartufo, omelette al tartufo, bruschetta al tartufo) that rely on brief, controlled heat to open the volatile aromatic compounds without destroying them.

Lake Trasimeno's ancient fish stew — the inland Umbrian equivalent of coastal brodetto. A combination of the lake's freshwater fish (perch, pike, tench, carp, eel) layered in a terracotta pot with tomatoes, garlic, white wine, fresh sage, and olive oil. Each fish variety is added in sequence by its required cooking time. The defining characteristic: the stew is never stirred — the layers cook undisturbed and retain their identity. Finished with a drizzle of Umbrian DOP olive oil and toasted bread rubbed with garlic.

Lake Trasimeno's ancient fisherman's stew — one of Italy's very few freshwater fish preparations with genuine culinary standing. Eel, tench (tinca), perch, pike and carp are cleaned, portioned and layered in a heavy terracotta tegame with abundant olive oil, thinly sliced onion, sage leaves, peperoncino, black pepper and dry white wine (Grechetto di Todi traditionally). The pot is sealed tightly — no water, just oil, wine and the fish's own moisture — and braised over very low heat for 40–50 minutes without opening. The wine reduces into the fish juices and olive oil, creating a concentrated, intensely flavoured braising liquid. Served directly from the pot with toasted Umbrian bread.

Umbria is a landlocked region, but Lake Trasimeno (the fourth largest lake in Italy) provides a freshwater fish tradition that has no parallel elsewhere in Italian cooking. Tegamaccio is the traditional mixed lake fish stew: a combination of the lake's characteristic species — tench (tinca), perch (persico), carp (carpa), eel (anguilla), and pike (luccio) — braised in white wine, tomato, wild fennel, and olive oil in a clay pot (tegame). It is the freshwater counterpart of the coastal brodetto preparations, using the same technique of adding different fish in sequence according to their cooking time.

One of the world's great egg preparations: a small terracotta tegamino (individual baking dish) with butter, a whole egg broken over black truffle shavings, then baked at 180°C until the white just sets and the yolk remains liquid. The black truffle (Tuber melanosporum from Norcia) is shaved over the butter-greased tegamino before the egg is added — it perfumes the butter as the butter melts, and the egg cooks over the truffled butter. No other ingredients. The yolk must be liquid — a set yolk is a failed tegamino. Served in the cooking vessel at the table.

Torta al testo is Umbria's ancient griddle bread — a thick (1.5-2cm) unleavened flatbread made from flour, water, lard, and salt, cooked directly on a testo (the traditional stone or iron griddle) heated over embers or a gas burner. It is the bread of the Umbrian hills, predating oven bread technology in the region, and is cooked in every home and street stall throughout Umbria. The classic filling is sautéed wild greens (wild chicory, borragine, spinach) with garlic and olive oil, or prosciutto and cheese, but the herb version — toasted torta split and filled with wilted greens — is the peasant original and arguably the best.

The emblematic flatbread of Umbria, cooked on the testo — a round cast-iron disc (originally terracotta) set directly in the embers or on a gas burner. The dough is plain (flour, water, salt, baking powder — no yeast in the classic recipe) and cooked 10 minutes per side until charred in spots. Split open while hot and filled with thinly sliced prosciutto di Norcia and wild herbs. The internal steam softens the crust enough to eat immediately.

Umbrian flatbread cooked on a terracotta disc (testo) — a thick, unleavened (or minimally leavened) flatbread split while still hot and filled with cooked wild greens (cicoria, rucola selvatica, or erbette di campo) dressed with olive oil, garlic, and chilli. The torta al testo (also called crescia) is the street food of Umbrian markets and feste — sold from mobile stands by vendors who split the bread with a single horizontal cut while still steaming. The bread itself is slightly chewy, not crisp, with a smoky character from the testo.