Pane Toscano

Appearance & taste

Pane Toscano is sold as a stick of 0.20 to 0.50 kg, called “filoncino” in Tuscany, or as a long loaf of 0.90 to 1.10 kg or 1.80 to 2.20 kg, called “filone”; it is 5 to 12 cm thick. The crust is crisp, brittle and a matt dark hazelnut brown. With Tipo 0 flour the crumb is white to ivory, with Tipo 1 or 2 flour a uniform amber; in both cases it has irregular pores.

The bread smells of roasted hazelnuts. Its taste is considered “neutral”, which means unsalted and slightly sour. It contains at most 40 % moisture and, according to the specification, does not go mouldy any sooner than other breads available today. It is sold whole or sliced and packed; unpacked bread bears an edible marking applied before baking, with the logo showing the outline of Tuscany.

Production

Only Tipo 0, Tipo 1 or Tipo 2 soft wheat flour is used, which contains the wheat germ from the outset and is made from wheat grown, harvested, stored and milled in Tuscany. For each flour type the specification sets parameters, such as the dough strength (Chopin W value of 140 to 230 for Tipo 0) or the protein content (at least 10 % for Tipo 1 and 2). The enzymes in the wheat germ influence how the dough develops.

The bread is leavened only with mother dough, a portion of dough from the previous batch that ferments and sours slowly and is refreshed with flour and water. A stock collection is kept for its renewal. The mother dough is used to make a pre-ferment (biga) and then the bread dough, which is prepared and baked without salt. Lactic fermentation produces the substances that give the bread its aroma and flavour during baking. Slicing and packing take place at the place of production immediately after cooling, so that the aroma and moisture are retained, also under a protective atmosphere.

Origin & history

The area from which the grain, flour and sourdough come covers the whole region of Tuscany. It slopes down from the mountainous interior in the east to the coast in the west; the Apennines protect it from unfavourable weather in the east and north-east, while wind and rain have free access from the west. Soft wheat grows in the plains of the Arno and the Tiber, but above all in the hills and on the plateaus of the Apennines. According to the specification, climate data from 1981 to 2010 show that it is above all the minimum temperatures that shape the properties of the flour, and the same varieties do not reach the required values in neighbouring areas.

Most of today’s varieties descend from wheat that was bred at the beginning of the 20th century, mainly in the plain of the Valdichiana, and this in turn from old local varieties of the region. According to legend, the bread without salt goes back to a quarrel between the rival cities of Florence and Pisa in the 12th century.