Many of us gravitate towards pasta when we think of starchy Italian carbohydrates, but the country boasts an impressive collection of the greatest breads on Earth, too. Aside from pizza – perhaps the most widely consumed ‘bread’ in the world – you have glorious slabs of fluffy focaccia in Liguria, PDO-protected Pane di Altamura in Puglia, Sardinia’s famous music paper bread (called pane caresau in Italian) and a huge range of other local breads depending where you are in the country.
The root of Italy’s amazing bread tradition lies in the ancient grains that grow happily in the agricultural heartland between Campania and Emilia-Romagna. Many of these strains of wheat are unique to Italy and have been cultivated by local farmers for thousands of years, forming the backbone of local communities. Basilicata lies right in the middle of this grain belt, so it stands to reason that bread is important here – visit this quiet region and you’ll find a variety of different loaves, but none held in such high regard as the ancient Pane di Matera.