Frisa Barese — Twice-Baked Barley Bread Soaked with Tomato

Puglia and the broader southern Italian Adriatic coast — friselle are documented from the medieval period as ship's provision (dried twice to resist moisture) and agricultural workers' food (dry enough to carry; water available at any spring for soaking). The connection to the Cretan dakos suggests ancient origins predating the modern nation.

La frisa (or frisella) is the Pugliese twice-baked bread ring — a ring of barley-wheat dough baked once, then split horizontally and returned to a low oven to dry completely to a rusk-like hardness. To eat it, the frisa is briefly submerged in cold water (5-10 seconds, no more — the Pugliese argue fiercely about the exact duration), then dressed with very ripe crushed tomatoes, excellent olive oil, dried oregano, and salt. In summer, when Pugliese tomatoes are at peak ripeness, the frisa is the lunch of the Pugliese peasant, the fisherman, and the contemporary chef. It is the most elemental preparation in the Pugliese kitchen.

Frisa with summer tomatoes and Pugliese olive oil is the taste of a Pugliese August — the barley rusk, slightly yielding and still with resistance, absorbs the tomato juice; the crushed ripe tomato is sweet and slightly acidic; the olive oil is green and peppery; the oregano brings the dry hillside. It is a preparation that cannot be improved. It can only be made with or without the right ingredients.