Pane Grattugiato

Leftovers of good-quality bread (never artificially coloured or spiced) are further baked in the oven at a lower temperature to drive off all the moisture but not let it colour. The breadcrumbs produced from this are called grattugiato (meaning ‘grated’) because, before the existence of food processors, the pieces of bread were grated to obtain the crumbs.

Breadcrumbs are widely used in Italian cooking; for example Sardine Ripiene, Arancini, Fritto Misto alla Piemontese are all specialities coated in breadcrumbs before being deep-fried. Breadcrumbs are also used to thicken stuffings and sauces.