There’s a very good chance you’ve seen friselle for sale in a store in Italy but didn’t realize what they were. You may even have picked them up, wondereing “Why on Earth would anyone buy such big, hard crackers?” They usually come wrapped up, in a pack of six, looking like so many flat, misshapen bialy-shaped rejects. Hard, dry and pretty ugly.
And even if they are labeled, friselle or frise, they wouldn’t call to mind anything you’d had in a restaurant. Because this is one of those things that never show up in on a restaurant menu (and please, correct me if I’m wrong). I have no idea why. I have a feeling it’s one of those cucina povera dishes that is just waiting for a come back. (you heard it here)
Anyway. Friselle are a type of twice-baked bread from Puglia. They smallish ring shaped dough is baked until almost done. It’s then taken out, split in half, and baked again until it’s as hard as a rock. Meant to last for ages, I imagine it could be taken out to the fields by workers as a weather resistant meal. Or up to the fields with shepherds.
Although friselle sometimes show up as a substitute for bread in panzanella, they are more often served very simply, topped with fresh tomatoes. The friselle are briefly soaked in water first, drained and them heaped with the ripest summer tomatoes you can find. Of course olive oil and salt play a leading role.
I always keep some friselle in the pantry, since – as I mentioned – they last forever and are a good way to make use of the oh-my-god-we-have-too-many-tomatoes period that comes in August. For us it’s a lunch time meal. Never dinner. I prepare them about a 11:00 so that by 1:00 they’ve not only soaked up all the tomatoey goodness, but have also softened. You could call it a poor man’s lunch. I call it a lazy girl’s panzanella. 
Friselle with Tomatoes
1 friselle per person*
1 large tomato per person
olive oil
salt
basil
Core and chop the tomatoes into chunks. Place in bowl with salt, olive oil and basil. Let sit for at least a half hour, or more, so that the juices start accumulating in the bowl.
Fill a large bowl with tap water. Briefly soak each friselle in the water. For about 4 minutes. Take it out and gently squeeze excess water out, without breaking it apart. Lay on top of clean kitchen towel, face side down, to let excess water drain out, for about 10 minutes.
Place the friselle on a plate, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Top generously with tomatoes and their juices. Let sit for a couple of hours before serving.
This is of course wonderful served with fresh ricotta or mozzarella.
*I did a quick search for buying friselle online, and came up empty. I have a feeling that if you go into a high quality Italian food store, you’ll be able to find them. Do let me know if you’ve found them anywhere. They are super easy to make, and there are lots of recipes online. Also, if you do happen to be in Italy, it’s a light, inexpensive and delicious gift to bring back with you. 
Gorgeous photos! Are they from your own garden? If yes where did you get the seedlings? Up here I could only find two types of tomato. YUMMY!!
I used to buy friselle when I was first married, but got out of the habit for some odd reason, but with the tomatoes in my garden at peak picking time, I know what’s for lunch now.
This reminds me of something we used to eat living in Crete called dakos. On the dried bread we’d put olive oil fresh tomatoes with a little red wine vinegar and mizithra cheese ( a really soft fresh goat cheese). It was a favorite snack.
Looks like a dried pumpernickel bagel to me….I can try that!
Oh! That’s what those are! I have always wondered and never tried. In NYC all the Italian bakeries have these and they are usually in the front window. Now that I know how to use them, I will try them.
I’ve enjoyed them with coffee in the morning…topped with a little warm butter…
Bialy-shaped reject. That’s hilarious! 🙂 Being from Puglia, which is home to traditional friselle (or freselle, depending on whether you are in Bari, or Lecce or somewhere else in the region) I would have never ever been able to come up with such an alternative definition. My best friselle would be double-baked – of course – and made with levain and organic semolina. Thanks for sharing your own, Elizabeth!
good blog tomatoes friselle recipe. slimming oy.
i have always wondered what those were. Now I know. Thank you!
I saw these for the first time today in our local (Italian area) supermarket in Melbourne Australia. However, it’s autumn here and they were on a stand saying ‘Winter Warmers’ so wondering if they can go in soup?
Absolutely! I use them all the time in soup.
In early June 2013 my husband and I saw friselle on the menu at Bir & Fud in Trastevere. We didn’t have them then, but we just bought friselle at Carrafour and will make them soon. They sound yummy! Thanks for posting instructions. Your blog is great!!
I like the friselle that are made with black pepper. My mother was born in Andria near Bari so they were a staple in her American pantry. They’re delicious served with seafood soup, stew, or chowder. Prepared with fresh tomatoes from the garden, as you described, they’re such a Summer treat.
Found some at Super Low food mart in Franklin Park, Illinois. A little north of Addison on 25th Avenue. I understand the store is owned by Italians.
Just bought a bag of em at Di Pasquale’s Italian Marketplace in Baltimore, MD.
It may be a tiny bit early to get the best tomatoes yet. I’d suggest using cherry tomatoes if you can find them.
I found the friselle on line at https://www.bellaitaliafoodstore.com/us/catalogsearch/result/?cat=&q=friselle+bread
Thanks!
I just bought these at LaManna, my local fruit and veg in South Yarra, a Melbourne suburb. I asked my fave staffer about them (she’s Italian) and she was very excited I had asked her about them. She described your method for serving them with tomatoes and I will try that. But really, I bought them in lieu of a box of stuffing mix for making my own stuffing to have with a pork roast an hour later. They worked perfectly and saved me the effort of drying out my own bread for a few days!
Yes, they work well for stuffing too!! Good move!