Pane cunzato, meaning seasoned bread, is a Sicilian speciality that originated around Trapani before spreading throughout the island.
Its essential ingredient is undoubtedly extra virgin olive oil: good oil with a bright green colour and an enticing aroma, giving the bread flavour and softness.
Traditionally, pane cunzato was a staple meal for farming families who could not afford more expensive foods such as pasta, meat or fish. They served it with simple vegetable or pulse dishes, or filled it with oil, cheese, tomato, sardines, oregano and a pinch of salt: ingredients readily available to them.
The bread itself was not bought but made at home two or three times a week. It was common to wake in the middle of the night to prepare the dough and, after proving, bake it in stone ovens of the kind still found in older homes.
Over time, it acquired different forms across Sicily and became one of the island’s most iconic street foods. Everyone seasons it in their own way, using rustic, traditional ingredients such as sun-dried tomatoes, pickled peppers or onion.
In our area, it is often made with Castelvetrano black bread, using a blend of wholegrain semolina from Sicilian golden wheat and a rare local durum wheat called tumminìa. There is one essential rule: slice the bread horizontally, ideally while it is still steaming from the oven, and generously soak both cut sides in extra virgin olive oil — Tunnaliva, of course. Try making it in three simple steps: take the bread from the oven, add oil and the other toppings, then taste your pane cunzato. You will discover the aroma of Sicily — the real Sicily!
From the page to the table
Single variety Nocellara del Belice, milled within 6 hours of harvest and cold extracted below 27°C. In the format of those who use it every day.
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