Artisan Protein Frisa with Corvino Maize and Sunflower Seeds
The frisa is one of the oldest breads of southern Italy: a twice-baked bread born of the need for something that would keep for a long time without spoiling. Fishermen took it to sea, farmers took it to the fields, shepherds took it on the seasonal migration of their flocks. It wasn't a secondary bread: it was the bread that could wait, that stood up to time better than any other, and that came back to life in seconds under a splash of water or a quick dip in the sea. That logic – a solid, long-keeping food that transforms when you eat it – lives on in this protein frisa, which brings an ancient form together with a precise, contemporary set of ingredients.
Sunflower seed flour is what puts the “protein” in the name. Sunflower seeds have a notable protein content among oilseeds, which sunflower seed flour preserves well. It isn't an ingredient often found in traditional southern breads: it's a modern choice for a bread that's more nourishing than one made with wheat flour alone. It brings the flavour of oilseeds, lightly toasted with a nutty note, which comes through delicately and lingers in a twice-baked bread.
Corvino maize is the ingredient that sets this frisa apart. Corvino is an old variety with dark kernels ranging from burgundy to almost black purple, grown in limited areas of southern Italy where local farming traditions have kept varieties that yellow-maize monoculture nearly wiped out. The re-milled corvino maize semolina gives this dough a darker, warmer colour and a flavour ordinary maize lacks: more intense, with an almost earthy note and a sweet aftertaste, especially noticeable in a twice-baked bread where the second baking concentrates the aromas. Anyone who knows old maize flours will recognise the difference at once.
Wheat bran brings fibre and the wholegrain note that changes the texture compared with refined flour: the dough is sturdier, the frisa darker, with a surface that isn't smooth and uniform but has a visible grain that tells you, before you taste it, that there's substance here. Brewer's yeast works on the dough before baking, bringing a fermentation that makes the bread lighter, and leaving the finished frisa with the slightly tangy note typical of leavened breads with bran.
The result is a frisa with a different nutritional profile from traditional white bread: protein from sunflower seeds, fibre from bran, complex carbohydrates from corvino maize and wheat. It isn't a diet product in the restrictive sense: it's a wholesome bread that keeps you full for longer and brings varied nutrients in a form the South has known for centuries.
This frisa is eaten as it is, without soaking. It's made to be enjoyed crunchy: the double baking and the dough produce a dry, compact texture that holds toppings without giving way, snaps cleanly between your teeth, and delivers its flavour in every bite without being diluted by water. With fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and salt it's an instant starter: the tomato releases its juice onto the frisa just long enough to soak the surface, with no need to wet it. Nothing more to add.
With Braalla products, the protein frisa becomes a natural base for everything in these jars. Chilli cream on the frisa: its crunch and the creamy heat of the condiment in one bite that works as a starter or snack. Finissima di melanzane, where the soft aubergine rests on the frisa so every bite has both textures. Sun-dried tomato rolls broken over the top, with a drizzle of their preserving oil: their bold flavour balances the neutral frisa. Scapece, with its tang: the contrast between the crunchy frisa and the tangy vegetables makes sense at the table straight away.
At breakfast with fresh cheese or jam, where the protein frisa brings something more substantial than white bread that keeps hunger at bay until lunchtime. At buffets and aperitifs as a ready-sized base for a bite, sturdier and tastier than an industrial cracker, with a character of its own that doesn't disappear under the topping.
An ancient form, carefully chosen ingredients, and a result that brings the southern frisa to a place where taste and nutrition work in the same direction.
How to enjoy it
Eat crunchy, without soaking. Top with fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and salt for the classic version. With Braalla creams (chilli, garlic, aubergine, fennel) as a starter. With courgette or green tomato scapece as a tangy topping. With sun-dried tomato rolls and their preserving oil. With fresh cheese and Braalla jams at breakfast. As a base for aperitifs and buffets instead of industrial crackers. With cured meats and aged cheeses on mixed boards.
Storage
Store in a cool, dry place away from moisture. Consume by the date shown on the pack.
Ingredients
Sunflower seed flour, wheat bran flour, re-milled corvino maize semolina, brewer's yeast.
