Pane Carasau

Name: Pane Carasau
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Sarda
Ingredients: 500 g semola rimacinata di grano duro; 300 ml lukewarm water; 5 g Fresh yeast; 8 g Fine sea salt; 50 g extra semola rimacinata

Pane carasau is a paper-thin, crisp Sardinian flatbread from the inland mountains, also known colloquially in Italian as carta da musica (music sheet bread).

🇮🇹Italy· Sardinia

Prep: 60 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 80 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Hard
Calories: 235 kcal

Ingredients

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Servings

500 g semola rimacinata di grano duro — re-milled durum wheat semolina flour
300 ml lukewarm water — around 30 degrees C
5 g Fresh yeast — crumbled
8 g Fine sea salt — fine ground
50 g extra semola rimacinata — for dusting work surface

Equipment

•Baking stone or heavy pizza steel
•Thin wooden rolling pin
•Clean linen kitchen towels
•Sharp paring knife
•Large mixing bowl

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 235 kcal
fat: 1 g
carbs: 48 g
fibre: 2 g
protein: 8 g
calories: 235 kcal

Instructions

1
Dissolve the fresh yeast in 50 ml of the lukewarm water in a small cup.
2
Combine the semola and salt in a mixing bowl, then pour in the yeast liquid and remaining water.
3
Knead the mixture firmly on a clean work surface for 10 minutes until elastic, silky, and compact.
4
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, roll into smooth balls, and rest under a damp cloth for 45 minutes.
5
Preheat your oven with a baking stone on the highest rack to maximum temperature, at least 250 degrees C.
6
Roll each dough ball with a thin rolling pin into an extremely thin round sheet, barely 1 millimetre thick.
7
Stack the rolled sheets between dry linen cloths and rest them for 20 minutes.
8
Slide one dough disc directly onto the blazing stone and bake for 60 seconds until it inflates entirely into a balloon.
9
Remove the hot balloon immediately and slice quickly around the circumference with a sharp knife to split it into two thin discs.
10
Stack and press the split sheets gently under a clean cloth while baking the remaining dough portions.
11
Return the separated sheets one by one to the oven for 40 seconds to toast until crisp and pale golden.

Chef's tips

Your oven and baking stone must be thoroughly heated at maximum temperature for at least 45 minutes. Roll the dough as thin as cloth to ensure it inflates fully upon contact with the stone. Split the puffed discs immediately while steam is trapped inside before the crust cools and hardens.

Ingredient substitutions

fresh yeast → 2 g active dry yeast dissolved in the warm water
semola rimacinata di grano duro → fine durum wheat flour, but never standard plain white flour

Storage

Store completely cooled, bone-dry sheets in a paper bag or bread bin in a dry place for up to six months.

Reheating

Warm briefly in an oven at 180 degrees C for 2 minutes to restore maximum crispness if the air is humid.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Rolling the dough too thickly, which stops the bread from inflating into a hollow ball.
•Baking on an insufficiently hot stone, leading to a pale and leathery disc.
•Waiting too long to cut the puffed bread, making the edges crack and tear irregularly.

Serving suggestions

Serve dry alongside aged Sardinian Fiore Sardo cheese and cured pork sausage.Brush with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary, and bake briefly to make pane guttiau.Dip briefly in warm mutton broth and layer with tomato sauce and pecorino for pane frattau.