Our guests appreciate very much our ‘bruschetta’ with extra-virgin olive oil. We offer it during our wine tastings to underline how much the taste of our white wine Lunatico (IGT Toscana Bianco) changes with food. Bread, salt and olive oil, in Tuscan dialect “Pan con l’olio”, was a very typical snack of the farming world. But it was not the only one…
The uniqueness of Tuscan bread
Tuscan bread is unique: thin and crunchy crust, dense and fluffy inside, and especially it is made without salt! It is made only with flour, water and yeast, in Tuscany it is called “pane sciocco” (bread without salt). Our bread is one of the most characteristic element of our region. It is mentioned in the Paradiso Cantica of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, where Dante finds out that he will be exiled from Florence, and so he will be forced to eat salted bread! He thinks that it is one of the worst thing that can happen him!
The countryside’s snack
Every children, but not only children, are very excited about the snack moment. Some years ago, in Tuscan countryside, around 4 p.m., the most popular question was: what do you want with bread? The options were many: bread with olive oil, with salame, with ham or with wine and sugar, in italian ‘Pane, vino e zucchero’.
The old recipe to rediscover: bread, wine and sugar
“Pane, vino e zucchero” is a very simple recipe, but anyway all Tuscan recipes are simple. It is only bread dunked in the wine and covered with sugar. Its taste is very peculiar, the wine’s acidity matches very well with the sweetness of the sugar. A very good balance that creates a tasty but delicate snack at the same moment. Comparing it to the modern snacks, “Pane, vino e zucchero” can be considered a peasant food, but it isn’t something negative. It is a low cost food and it is related to the old farming tradition of simple and genuine foods, that come from innumerable natural resources of Tuscany.…and at Poggio al Bosco we love it! And what represents Tuscany better than bread and wine?
How to do
You will need just five minutes! Cut a slice of bread, sprinkle it with a lot of sugar and pour the wine on it until the sugar becomes coloured.
Matches for each season
This simple and quality snack is okay for the children with a lot of water and a little wine, but it is good also for the adults. In winter time it is perfect with a powerful and full-bodied wine, like our Chianti DOCG. In summer time we suggest you to prepare it with our Estroverso that has fresh and fruity flavour, so our snack becomes ideal during this hot summer days.
