Pane Carasau

Pane carasau is Sardinia's ancient paper-thin crisp bread—large, round sheets of unleavened (or very lightly leavened) bread baked twice until completely dry, producing a translucent, cracker-like disc that can be stored for months and is the foundation of Sardinian cuisine, used as flatbread, as a base for dishes, and reconstituted with liquid into entirely different preparations. Known as 'carta di musica' (music paper) on the mainland for its resemblance to parchment, pane carasau dates back to Sardinia's pastoral culture—shepherds who spent months with their flocks in the mountains needed a bread that would last indefinitely without moulding. The production is a communal, labour-intensive ritual traditionally performed by groups of women: a simple dough of semolina flour, water, salt, and a tiny amount of yeast is kneaded, divided into balls, rolled extremely thin (1-2mm), and baked in a blazing-hot wood oven. The first baking causes the thin disc to inflate like a balloon, at which point it's removed and split into two sheets with a knife. These separated sheets are returned to the oven for a second baking (the 'carasatura') until completely dry and crisp. The result is a bread of remarkable qualities: it's feather-light, stores for months in a dry environment, and has a delicate, nutty flavour from the toasted semolina. Pane carasau is eaten dry (snapped into pieces, drizzled with olive oil, served alongside cheese and cured meats), moistened with tomato sauce and topped with a poached egg (pane frattau), layered into Sardinia's famous 'lasagna' with ragù and pecorino, or used as a scoop for virtually everything.

• Armenian lavash (thin crisp bread)
• Indian papadum (thin crisp bread)
• Norwegian knekkebrød (crisp bread)
• Iranian sangak (flatbread)