CHERCHI PERGAMENA DI PANE GUTTIAU

Every visitor to Sardinia (Sardegna) has tasted “su pane carasau” or for the Sardinians, “bread.” It is also called “carta da musica” since it looks like what used to be a stiff paper on which musical notation could be written. It is one of the most distinctive items of Sardinian cuisine. Now, the pane carasau baker, CHERCHI of Alghero in the northwest of Sardinia, has come out with a variant which is another one of those “I bet you can’t eat just one” foods which when found are really stimulating and exciting. Flavorwise, it is simply delicious!

The word “guttiau” for this “pane” means “drizzled with oil,” in this case by the addition of olive oil and salt. It is also much thinner than the normal pane carasau and is in a square shape. It is extremely friable due to its thinness. In fact it looks like a golden, shiny sheet of cracker with the raised bumps of the drizzled oil. Made from only four ingredients: finely milled durum semolina, water, salt, yeast, and then the addition of olive oil, each package holds 100g of leaves, said to be enough for 4.

Rather than use the classic name of pane carasau, Cherchi, the baker, has chosen to highlight its color and thinness, calling it “pergamena” or parchment. It is different enough to be called by another name from the traditional pane carasau, or bread! Hence the Sardinian descriptor “guttiau.”

I ate a whole package myself due to its delicious flavor and intriguing thin texture Do not use it to scoop. It can be broken into quarters. It is good enough to be eaten by itself. Even the broken pieces are enough to fight over! Very highly recommended.