Carasau bread is a local Sardinian bread, which was born in Barbagia in ancient times because shepherds needed to have a bread that lasted longer, without going bad during their movement with the flocks.

The traditional carasau has the shape of thin and crisp circular sheets of pastry and, because of its features, it also goes by the name of ‘carta da musica’ (music paper). The Sardinian name ‘carasau’, instead, comes from the processing technique, which includes the ‘carasatura’ phase (a double cooking), which makes it crisp.

The basic ingredients of carasau bread are: yeast, salt, water and flour. Traditionally there are two kinds of dough: the one with durum wheat flour, widespread particularly among well-off classes (nowadays the most used), the other with barley meal or fine bran, present particularly on the tables of middle and lower classes (the shepherds’ ones).

The carasau bread preparation was a real event: at least three women, friends or relatives, who got ricotta (soft white unsalted cheese) and oil in return, took part in it. The dough was kneaded for a long time and split up into some discs, which were set to rise: they were 2 mm thick and have a diameter between 15cm and 40 cm. At first they were baked in a wood-burning oven at very high temperature (500° C). Then, when the discs swelled up at the right point, they were took out of the oven and cut in halves in order to be baked again later on (‘carasatura’). At this moment carasau bread was ready to be eaten or preserved.

Finally, in Sardinian cooking, carasau bread is the main ingredient for recipes as ‘pane frattau’ (frattau bread): the bread sheets are blanched in salt water and served with tomato sauce and grated pecorino (sheep’s milk cheese), giving life to a kind of country lasagna, which is unique for its taste and its fragrance.

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