# Pane carasau Sardinia's thin, crisp, twice-baked durum wheat bread. Province of Nuoro, Sardegna. Pizza & Bread (Pizze e Pani). > Sardinia's crisp, crumbless bread of durum wheat semolina: thin discs baked until they puff into a ball, split in two while hot and baked again until golden; on Italy's list of traditional food products. - Level of proof: Documented tradition (Tradizione documentata). A regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text. - Sources checked: 2026-11-03 - Published: 2026-11-03 - Page: https://nonnario.com/recipes/pane-carasau/ ## In short - Re-milled durum wheat semolina, water, salt and a leaven: brewer's yeast at home, natural ferments in the traditional product. No fat. - A rise of 30–45 minutes, three balls of 250 g rested 30 minutes, then discs about 40 cm across rested 30 minutes on a cotton cloth. - In a very hot oven each disc puffs into a ball; it is split into two sheets with a sharp knife while still hot. - The carasatura: each sheet goes back in the oven for about a minute. After each bake the sheets are stacked and pressed lightly. - Golden, crisp, crumbless discs 15 cm–40 cm across and a few millimetres thick, which keep for a long time. Also called: carta da musica, carta musica, pane carasatu, music paper bread. Suitable for: vegetarian, vegan, as written. No meat, fish, lard or meat broth, as written. Some traditional cheeses are made with animal rennet. No animal products, as written. ## Where it comes from Pane carasau is the bread of the province of Nuoro, in the Barbagia of central Sardinia; in recent years it has been made in the island's other provinces too. It was the shepherds' bread: with no crumb, it kept for a long time and could go with them on the transhumance, and Sardinian families once made it in large batches and stored it in chests. Its name comes from carasare, to toast, the second bake that makes it crisp, and the crack it makes when broken gave it its other name, carta da musica (music paper); it is also called pane carasatu. The whole making, sa cotta, was once a family ritual carried out by three women, friends or relatives, who helped one another or were paid in oil or ricotta. In 1979 a regional law, repealed in 2016, applied the bakery rules to the characteristic Sardinian bread of biscuit-like sheets, made from durum wheat, in bakeries whose ovens had at most 1.5 square metres of baking floor, and let new bakeries that made nothing else open without the usual test of how many bakeries a town already had. It is on Italy's national list of traditional agri-food products for Sardinia (2025 revision, number 171), and a committee of producers has asked for a PGI, Pane Carasau di Sardegna: in 2026 its specification had gone to the Region and the Ministry, awaiting the Ministry's first reply. There is no official recipe. We compared ten sources and publish the most widely recognised version, a home recipe whose phases match the description of the traditional product on Sardinia's entry in the national list: re-milled durum wheat semolina, water and salt, kneaded until smooth and elastic; a first rise; thin discs left to rise on a cotton cloth; a very hot oven, in which each disc puffs into a ball; the disc split in two while hot, and the sheets stacked and pressed lightly so that the edges do not curl; then the carasatura, a second bake, and a second pressing. The sources differ on the leaven. The traditional product is raised with natural ferments, a leaven kept back from the previous dough, its discs rise on linen, cotton or hemp cloths for about two hours, and it is baked at 450 to 550 °C. The home recipes compared all use brewer's yeast, with rises of half an hour or so, and the specification proposed for the PGI is reported to allow brewer's yeast as an alternative to a sourdough leaven, which some in Sardinia oppose. What is ours: fresh yeast, the temperature of the water, the kneading time, the checks, and a home oven at its highest setting, at least 250 °C, with a baking stone switched on earlier than the recipe does, so that it heats for about an hour. Made with semolina you can buy, it is a home version of the Sardinian bread. - Defined by: Sardinian tradition - Reference: Compared across 10 sources, listed below; this page publishes the most widely recognised version. ## Sources - [Agrodolce: pane carasau, a recipe by Alessandra Rosati, 2022 (archived copy of 29 June 2025) (Italian)](https://web.archive.org/web/20250629200130/https://www.agrodolce.it/ricette/pane-carasau) - [Laore Sardegna, the Region of Sardinia's agency for agricultural development: pane carasau, its sheet as a traditional agri-food product (PAT), updated April 2021 (Italian)](https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/14_43_20070607164804.pdf) - [Ministry of Agriculture (MASAF): national list of traditional agri-food products, 25th revision, 2025, Sardinia no. 171 (Italian)](https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/22781) - [Regione Sardegna, SardegnaTurismo, the Region's official tourism site: carasau, the shepherds' bread, an itinerary through Oliena, Gavoi and Dorgali (Italian)](https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/it/itinerari/carasau-il-pane-dei-pastori) - [Italia.it, Italy's official tourism portal, by the Ministry of Tourism: the story of pane carasau (Italian)](https://www.italia.it/it/sardegna/cosa-fare/storia-del-pane-carasau-tipico-sardo) - [Dissapore: pane carasau, a recipe by its editors, 2022 (Italian)](https://www.dissapore.com/ricette/pane-carasau/) - [Cookist: pane carasau, a recipe by Michele Ghedini, 2025 (Italian)](https://www.cookist.it/pane-carasau-la-ricetta/) - [Edizioni Europee, a legal database: Sardinian Regional Law no. 50 of 20 June 1979 on making pane carasau, with the note of its repeal in 2016 (Italian)](https://www.edizionieuropee.it/LAW/HTML/136/sa2_08_049.html) - [Cronache Nuoresi, a Nuoro daily: the PGI applications for pane carasau and pane pistoccu, 27 March 2026 (Italian)](https://www.cronachenuoresi.it/2026/03/27/pane-carasau-e-pistoccu-verso-ligp-a-nuoro-il-vertice-sulle-eccellenze-sarde/) - [Di Testa e Di Gola, a food magazine: carasau and pistoccu on the way to a PGI, and the debate on the leaven, by Laura Manunta, 2026 (Italian)](https://www.ditestaedigola.com/carasau-e-pistoccu-verso-ligp-la-sardegna-difende-i-suoi-pani-identitari/) ## Ingredients Makes 6 crisp sheets about 40 cm across, from 3 discs: 4 servings, in metric units. ### For the dough (3 discs, 6 sheets) (for each batch, not scaled with servings) - 250 ml water (250 g; lukewarm, 30 °C–35 °C. The traditional product uses drinking water without chlorine: tap water left to stand in an open jug for a few hours, or still bottled water) - 5 g fresh brewer's yeast (the recipe says only brewer's yeast: fresh is our choice; or about 2 g of dried yeast) - 500 g semola rimacinata di grano duro (re-milled durum wheat semolina) (in Sardinia, from durum wheat grown on the island) - 9 g fine sea salt - semola rimacinata, for dusting (a little, for the board and the cloths) ## Equipment - Kitchen scale and a thermometer, for the water - A large bowl, or a stand mixer with a dough hook - A lidded container or a bowl and a plate, for the first rise - A small rolling pin - Three clean cotton cloths, such as large tea towels, each large enough for a disc of 40 cm, and one more to cover the balls - A baking stone or steel about 40 cm across, or the oven's heavy tray turned upside down - A peel or a thin, flat board, to slide the discs in and out - A sharp knife - A wooden board as large as the sheets, to press the stack - Oven gloves ## Method Hands-on 36 min, cooking 15 min, resting at least 2 h. About 3 hours from start to finish, most of it rising, and no starter needed. About 15 minutes to make the dough, 30–45 minutes' rise, 5 minutes to shape three balls (switch the oven on now, so the stone heats for about an hour), 30 minutes' rest, about 15 minutes to roll the discs and 30 minutes' rise on cloths. Then about 10 minutes to bake and split the three discs, about 10 to toast the six sheets, and half an hour to cool. You need 500 g of semola, plus a little for dusting, and a baking stone, or a heavy oven tray turned upside down, as large as your oven takes. ### The dough 1. **Water, yeast and semola** (Hands-on 5 min; 30–35 °C). Pour 250 ml of water into a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 5 g of brewer's yeast, then 500 g of semola, and begin to knead. Check: The yeast has dispersed and the semola has drawn the water into a rough, shaggy dough. Tip: Our guide: warm the water until lukewarm, 30 °C–35 °C, and crumble fresh yeast into it, stirring until it dissolves, before you add the semola. 2. **Add the salt and knead until smooth and elastic** (Hands-on 10–15 min). After a few minutes add 9 g of salt, and go on kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Check: A smooth, elastic, pale yellow dough that no longer sticks; a small piece stretched between your fingers makes a thin film that lets light through. Tip: Our guide: by hand, 10–15 minutes on the board, pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand and folding it back; in a stand mixer, 8–10 minutes at low speed with the dough hook. Tip: Our guide: the dough is firm. If it is too stiff to knead, wet your hands rather than add flour. 3. **Let it rise for 30–45 minutes** (Rest 30–45 min). Put the dough in a container and leave it to rise for about 30–45 minutes. Check: It has relaxed and grown a little, and feels soft and smooth. Tip: Our guide: cover the container, so that the dough does not form a skin, and keep it somewhere warm, about 26 °C–28 °C. ### Balls and discs 4. **Divide it into three balls** (Hands-on 5 min). Turn the dough out onto the board and divide it into 3 pieces of 250 g each. Round each into a ball. Check: Three smooth, round balls of 250 g. Tip: Our guide: the dough weighs about 760 g, so each piece may be a few grams over; weigh them so that the discs match. Tip: Our guide: the discs must fit your stone or tray. If it is smaller than 40 cm, divide the dough into 4 or 5 equal balls and roll them smaller: the traditional discs measure anything from 15 cm to 40 cm. 5. **Heat the oven** (Hands-on 2 min; 250 °C). Put a baking stone on a rack in the lower middle of the oven, or the oven's tray turned upside down, and heat the oven to its highest setting. Check: The oven is at its highest setting, and will have heated for about an hour when the first disc goes in. Tip: Our guide: the recipe switches the oven on as the discs start to rise, but a stone needs about an hour to heat right through, so start it now. Use the static setting, with no fan, and at least 250 °C. Tip: Our guide: if your oven has a pizza setting, heating from below as well as above, use it. Tip: The traditional product is baked at 450 °C–550 °C, which no home oven reaches. 6. **Rest the balls for 30 minutes** (Rest 30 min). Cover the balls with a cloth and leave them to rest for about 30 minutes. Check: The balls have relaxed and spread a little, and are soft to the touch. 7. **Roll each ball into a disc about 40 cm across** (Hands-on 12–15 min). With a small rolling pin, roll out each ball into a disc about 40 cm across. Lay each disc on its own cotton cloth. Check: Three thin, even discs about 40 cm across, with no holes or tears, each on its cloth. Tip: Our guide: dust the board lightly with semola, and give the disc a quarter turn after every few strokes so it stays round. Tip: Our guide: roll it about 2 mm thick: 250 g of dough spread over a disc 40 cm across comes to about that. Tip: Our guide: an even thickness matters more than the exact size: a hole, a tear or a thick patch stops the disc from puffing. Tip: Our guide: dust the cloths with semola, so the discs do not stick. 8. **Let the discs rise for 30 minutes** (Rest 30 min). Leave each disc to rise on its cotton cloth for 30 minutes. Check: The discs look slightly puffy and soft, and the stone has heated for about an hour. Tip: Our guide: fold the edges of the cloth over the disc, or lay another cloth on top: a dry skin keeps a disc from puffing. ### The first bake: a ball, then two sheets 9. **Bake the first disc until it puffs** (Cooking 1–2 min; 250 °C). When the oven is ready, slide the first disc onto the hot stone. It soon forms its first bubbles and begins to swell on one side, and after a few seconds it has puffed up almost entirely. When it is well puffed, take it out. Check: The disc has swelled like a balloon, its two faces wide apart, and is still pale, with only a few light patches. Tip: Our guide: slide it in on the peel, shaking off any loose semola first, and shut the door. In a home oven it takes about 1–2 minutes; watch it through the glass. Tip: Our guide: take it out with the peel without piercing it, and before it browns, or the sheets crack when you split them. Tip: Our guide: if it does not puff at all, the stone is not hot enough, or the disc is too thick or has dried. Give the stone 10 minutes more before the next one. 10. **Split it while hot** (Hands-on 1 min). Taking care not to burn yourself, split the disc in two with a sharp knife while it is still hot, to give 2 sheets. Check: Two thin, round sheets, each whole, with no crumb between them. Tip: Our guide: hold it with a cloth, run the knife round the edge where the two faces meet and pull them apart. Keep your face away as you cut: hot steam comes out. Tip: Our guide: kitchen scissors also work, cutting round the edge. If the faces stick in places, ease them apart with the knife flat; split cold, they tear. 11. **Stack and press the sheets** (Hands-on 1 min). Stack the 2 sheets and press them lightly, so that the edges do not curl over. Check: The sheets lie flat. Tip: Our guide: press them with a flat wooden board, and leave the board on top; its own weight is enough. 12. **Bake and split the other two discs** (Cooking 6–10 min; 250 °C). Bake, split, stack and press the other 2 discs the same way, one at a time, adding each pair of sheets to the stack under the board. Check: A stack of 6 flat sheets under the board. Tip: Our guide: let the oven come back to heat for a minute between discs. ### The carasatura The second bake toasts the sheets, makes them crisp and lets them keep, and gives the bread its name. 13. **Toast each sheet for about a minute** (Cooking 8–12 min; 250 °C). Put each sheet back in the oven to toast for about a minute, one at a time. Take it out, and stack and press the sheets lightly again as they come out. Check: Each sheet is golden, smells toasted, and snaps cleanly once it has cooled for a moment. Tip: Our guide: a thin sheet goes from golden to burnt quickly: watch it, and turn the oven down to 220 °C if the edges darken before the middle. Tip: Our guide: press them under the board again, so that they lie flat and do not crumble when stored. 14. **Leave them to cool under the board** (Rest 30 min). Leave the stack under the board until the sheets are completely cool. Check: The sheets are cold, flat, dry and crisp right through. Tip: Our guide: keep them in a dry place, in a tin or a well-closed bag, so that they stay crisp. ## Good to know - Keeping: It keeps its freshness for a long time: Sardinian families once made it in large batches and stored it in chests. ([source](https://www.italia.it/it/sardegna/cosa-fare/storia-del-pane-carasau-tipico-sardo)) - Variant: With a natural leaven: The traditional product is raised with natural ferments, and its thin discs rise on linen, cotton or hemp cloths for about two hours before they are baked at 450–550 °C. ([source](https://www.sardegnaagricoltura.it/documenti/14_43_20070607164804.pdf)) - Variant: Pane guttiau: A version made with extra virgin olive oil and salt and baked in the wood oven: fragrant sheets that taste of the burning wood. ([source](https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/it/itinerari/carasau-il-pane-dei-pastori)) ## Common mistakes - Rolling a disc with a hole, a tear or a thick patch, or piercing it: the steam escapes and it cannot puff into a ball. - Leaving the discs uncovered to rise: a dry skin keeps them from puffing. - Baking on a stone that is not hot through: heat it for about an hour at the oven's highest setting. - Letting the ball cool before you split it: it is split while still hot. - Leaving the sheets unpressed: their edges curl. They are stacked and pressed lightly after each bake. - Stopping after the first bake: the carasatura is what makes the sheets crisp and lets them keep. ## Cooking it outside Italy - Look for semola rimacinata di grano duro, sold in English as re-milled durum wheat semolina: it is fine, like flour, unlike the coarse semolina sold for puddings. - In Sardinia it is made from durum wheat grown on the island and Sardinian sea salt; elsewhere any re-milled durum semolina and fine sea salt make a home version. - Fresh brewer's yeast is sold as compressed or cake yeast; dried yeast works too, at about 2 g for this batch. - The traditional product is baked at 450 °C–550 °C; a home oven at its highest setting with a baking stone or steel is the home version. --- From Nonnario, the documented recipes of Italy: https://nonnario.com/recipes/pane-carasau/. Cite the recipe's page and the month its sources were checked; for the official text itself, cite the document listed under its sources. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).