Breads, Snacks, and Pizza

Pani, merende pe’ picciriddi, e pizza

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Published 2023

About

Bread, which for Sicilians is the most important part of any meal, is only a mixture of flour, yeast, and water. Dough enriched with eggs, oil, butter or lard is the base of all sorts of delectable dishes. It is the skills, thrift, resourcefulness, ingenuity, and creativity of the Sicilian home cook that made it possible for even the poorest people of this beautiful island to survive, thrive, and enjoy delicious food.

After we came to this country in 1950, my mother never understood why anybody would buy white packaged bread, when with the price paid for one loaf you could buy five pounds of flour and make enough delicious homemade bread to feed a family for a full week. That same bread dough, with a little imagination could be turned into baked wonders such as scaccie, savory pies filled with whatever is available and in season. Flattened and pan-fried, sprinkled with salt or with sugar, it makes a delectable snack, appetizer, or accompaniment to any meal.