Apulian frisella. What is frisella and its origins
There Apulian frisella also said frize it is a durum wheat-based product made with the same recipe as the bread, only after the first baking it is cut in half and placed back in the oven to give it that crunchiness we all know. At the end of the second cooking we will obtain a very dehydrated product with a compact side and a porous side. The frisa perfectly reflects what is required in the Mediterranean diet, as water, salt, oil, tomato and oregano are enough to eat it.
The name and history of friselle
Its origins date back to the 10th century, frisa was the food that fed sailors and sailors during their long journeys at sea; they let them soften in sea water and then seasoned them with oil, salt and tomato.
However, it is said that its origins are prior to the tenth century, in fact it seems that the friselle were already present 3000 years ago among the Phoenician people.
The history of frisella has ancient origins and evidence of it dates back to the 1300s. Thesis of scholars is based on the name, but the most credible refers to the Latin term "frendere" which means "to grind, to chop": the frisella, once softened in the water, it can in fact be shredded into small pieces.
A story within history
Before the post-war period, wheat flour frisella was reserved only for the wealthy classes, while the less wealthy classes ate barley flour frisella or mixtures of barley and wheat. However, frisella was born as a poor food, as it was inexpensive, and spread above all in the peasant world due to the need of workers to have a product with a long natural shelf life. The hardness of the frisella makes it resistant over time until the moment of tasting, when it must be softened by spongeing it with water. The sailors stocked up on it to always have it ready on the long voyages in which they stayed away from home and to make it edible and tastier they used to wet it with sea water.
Even the shape of the frisella is due to practical needs: the friselle were threaded into a string whose ends were knotted like a necklace, so that it was easy to hang for more comfortable transport.
Today the friselle have become "enriched", in addition to the traditional ones, you can find friselle made with durum wheat, barley and wholemeal flour.
Their preparation is the same with all flours: cylinders of dough are modeled and closed into a donut; after a partial cooking in wood, the loaves, still warm, are dissected with a string into rough discs with an irregular surface; finally, the friselle are placed in the oven again, at a lower temperature than the previous one, for the biscuit baking phase.
The friselle in Italy: Puglia
Typical of southern Italy, friselle boast a great tradition especially in Italy Puglia, Campania and Calabria, where they are accompanied by typical products such as olives, Origan, olive oil and tomato in its numerous and colorful regional variants. Even two great Neapolitan poets such as Salvatore Di Giacomo and Ferdinando Russo dedicated verses to frisella and it is still very popular today as it is, especially in summer, an ideal light and fresh food to put on the table, being low in fat.
Puglia: frisella is the bread of the crusaders
Frisella is mainly produced in Puglia, where it is also known by the name of "bread of the Crusaders", having been one of the foods used for the provisioning of the Christian troops who went to the Holy Land. Now, it is served on summer tables as appetizers or as a single dish. To dress a frisella "alla pugliese", it will first be necessary to wet the frisa with water: you choose whether you want it crunchy or softer, and based on this, leave it to soak for about 30 seconds or a minute. Subsequently, arrange them on the plate and season them, in order, with oil, salt, cherry tomatoes cut into small pieces and lightly pressed to release the seeds. Finally add the oregano. In a few moments you will have a healthy and nutritious frisella ready. At your pleasure, you can also add typical cheese and tuna.
English 
Italian 
Spanish