Zuppa Gallurese — Layered Bread and Pecorino Broth Bake

Gallura, northern Sardinia — zuppa gallurese (also called suppa cuata, 'hidden soup', because the bread disappears into the broth) is a feast preparation of the Olbia and Tempio Pausania areas. The tradition reflects the pastoral economy of the Gallura: abundant sheep broth, aged Pecorino, and the preserved Carasau bread that keeps for months.

Zuppa gallurese is the festive baked bread soup of northern Sardinia's Gallura region — a preparation of alternating layers of stale Carasau bread (or other dry Sardinian bread), sliced Pecorino Sardo, and fresh Sardinian sheep's milk cheese, moistened with excellent lamb or mutton broth, then baked in the oven until the cheese melts through and the bread has absorbed all the broth into a rich, golden, deeply flavoured mass. It is related to the Valle d'Aosta soupe de Valpelline and the broader Alpine bread-cheese-broth layered tradition but the use of Carasau bread and Sardinian sheep's cheeses gives it a completely different character. Served at weddings and baptisms in the Gallura.

Zuppa gallurese from the oven is golden and fragrant with lamb broth and melted sheep's cheese — the Carasau bread, fully absorbed, has lost its crispness and become a soft, broth-saturated sponge. The Pecorino Sardo layers have melted and crisped at the edges; the primo sale provides freshness and milky richness. It is a preparation of great warmth and generosity — the taste of Gallura hospitality.