Our FAVORITE Italian Snack Sounds Like a Joke. It Isn't. 

Let us know if you have any interesting ideas for what to put on a frisella, we'll give it a shot!

Eva is a strong contender for "Best Hair 2023"

I have a personal story about this bread. In 2003, I was in a an accident, rear-ended by another vehicle. It put my whole spine out of line so that I couldn't walk without my legs giving out, and it changed my digestive system significantly. I lost a lot of weight! Food didn't appeal to me. Thankfully, a neighbor brought me her homemade friselle, which became my go to food, along with eggs.

We have a very similar 'snack' here in Greece: dakos. It's made with twice cooked rusks (either whole meal or white), dipped in water and then topped with tomatoes (I grate mine for extra juice), feta, oregano and lots of olive oil. My staple lunch during the summer!

Friselle rule. My mom was Pugliese and she made these all the time. They were perfect. And so was she

"Because there is no better tool than your hands" That was poetry in culinary motion and applied to every form of artistry. As a songwriter I heard that, as a painter, you can feel it. That was beautiful. Profound and simple. That's the point of art.

I learned growing up NEVER waste bread in any form. Even when slicing bread, and those little crumbs are left behind, we'd put those crumbs in a container with a loose fitting lid and save them on the counter or in the pantry...over time they add up. When soup is made, those crumbs go in the soup for texture or thickening. I can see how this way of eating the stale bread could be a lifesaver and minimize the waste seen so often. Edit: Yesterday, I poached a chicken, then overnight I cooked a HUGE ham bone with lots of meat in the chicken broth in the Crock Pot, then today put soaked white beans and a package of mixed lentils in there to cook, lastly around noon adding eight stale and hard-as-a-rock buns chopped up fine. I love nicely thickened bread soup, even good in the 91º heat of Summer. Well, better in Winter, but it was good nonetheless.

As a child, our family had fresh Italian bread delivered to us daily. Once the leftover bread got stale, my grandmother would cut chunks of bread, lightly moisten it with water, then drizzle olive oil, sprinkle a bit of salt and oregano and toast it in the oven. That is as close as I got to your recipe, but it was a great snack. Thanks for sharing. I learn so much of where our family's recipes came from from watching you.

Newfoundland has a tradition of soaking hard bread in water to make a side dish called brewis. Hard bread (hard tack) was traditional survival food on ships. It’s inedible until soaked overnight,unless you want to break your teeth. Hard bread is still sold in grocery stores under the Purity brand, and restaurants serve fish and brewis as an alternative to fish and chips.

Stale bread & water brings to mind, “Prison Food.” Only Eva could turn prison food into 5 ⭐️ cuisine. Thank you both for all that you do❤

Mind blown. We’ve seen friselle in every Calabrian market since we’ve been in since 2004 and never bothered to ask what all that “stale bread” was for! Move over potato chips, this will be our new happy hour snack from now on!❤

Eva’s “happy food face” is my goal when I cook.

We had them all the time growing up, with eggplants under oil, cannellini beans, tomato’s….all fixed with olive oil, fresh garlic yum. But no one makes them from scratch we all buy them from Italian specialty stores and Italian bakeries.

My nona was the village baker so when she came to Canada my dad made her one of those big wooden tubs to mix her flour and she also had this wooden “thing” that I’d sit on so it didn’t move and it had a wooden handle that lifted up and down to kneed the bread. Can you see if there’s one in your village I’d love to see that again. My most favourite topping would have to be both roasted peppers and I also loved the plain olive oil salt and oregano. So yummy. Thanks Eva

This was our holy grail of snacks by our parents. In fact we used to rub garlic and vinegar. That was our favorite ❤❤❤...exceptional. 😋😋😋😀

Calling it "stale bread" is a misnomer in my opinion. It is a hard bread similar to lavash, where it is baked dry, like a cracker or rusk, to intentionally remoisten again to make it pliable. Many cultures use this technique. Thanks for sharing this!

My Calabrian grandmother used to give me a chunk of her homemade (stale) bread moistened with water as a snack! This recipe isn't weird to me at all! Very nostalgic! We also used to have friselle but they pronounced it "frisene" and it had fennel seed in it.

Omg you are my childhood! We grew up eating this often bc when we came to America, we didn't money, so my mom made bread then cooked it again in the oven. We called it Fressa. Frey-za. In her consenza dialect. My favorite way was dipped in water, then drizzled with homemade vinegar. I made it for my kids this past weekend and it's instantly a family favorite. ❤❤❤ All your Calabria recipes. They make me cry from happy memories.

I've never heard of this but in Tuscany we use actual stale bread dipped in water to make panzanella and it's great. Of course other than water there's also salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and anything you'd put in a nice fresh salad. I'd love to try these friselle someday. I love bruschette and these seem like a fun variation of them!

My grandmother dipped stale bread in milk to soften it. We’d have it with sugar and cinnamon for breakfast or savory with whatever grandma had in the fridge, like liver sausage and onion, or tomatoes and onion, with salt, pepper and oil on top.

Eva: "If your stale bread is fresh, it's one of the best things you can have." I love it ; )

WOW!! Honestly, I could NEVER EVER get bored of you guys. As usual Eva keeps me interested with her cooking skills and education on what she is making. Always so inspired. This video was AWESOME to say the least and DAMN, you were not exaggerating. The bread esp together with toppings looks so DEEE-LICIOUS!! BTW, I was fascinated by Domenica. My goodness, she does it in such big volume. It takes true strength to do that and all day. THANK YOU for all you share with us.

I'm sure you guys get tons of comments like this, but you deserve all the subscribers and more. Your guys' passion for food is infectious, and you also make preparing food so approachable. This channel is just as much a channel about culture as it is about food and recipes. I'll still be watching when you guys are at 1 million subs.

Thank you for this! Wish I was in Italy there with you. I'm retired and considering buying an old home there in a small town. I would like to help renovate a house that's fallen into disrepair. Still in researching phase.

Ironically , this is a perfect recipe for me- because I have chronic pain and mobility issues, I can’t do alot of cooking at one time- but here it’s like small bursts, with lots of resting between- so while the dough rests, so can I!🤷‍♀️👍🏻😂🥰

As a little girl, living in Sinopoli, Reggio Calabria, my Grandmas and my Mom, Ippolita, would bake bread in the giant wood burning ovens. They then would make "Frisse", dried bread, that we would soak in water to soften, drizzle with our own olive oil and oregano. Best snack ever. So glad I found you, Eva and Harper. Your Videos make my heart warm with joy. I've so familiar with a lot of the places that you describe. I can't express, enough, how much I love you both, and your amazing delicious recipes. Grazie mille.

You need to double (or half) the amount of yeast if you’re using dry (I forgot the conversion, but Bruno Albouze has it on his recipe for croissants). For Canadian viewers, in Toronto, you can find fresh yeast at Lady York foods on Dufferin (in the cheese and meat section). I’ve looked far and wide and, in 30 years, this is pretty much the only place I’ve found that carries it. In Montreal, it’s easier to find. I’ve seen it (seasonally) at the IGA in Alexis Nihon mall in the prepared foods section near the entrance.

I'll be honest, I was SO turned off by the idea of soaked stale bread. But then I tried it.. One of my loaves of fresh bread got SO stale. I tried to save it by soaking it and allowing it to sit in a warm oven. I was kind of experimenting with it. I was shocked how little water actually absorbed into the bread. And I had it plunged in there for a while. It was almost as if the bread repelled the water a bit. I think we automatically think of soggy bread when dipped in anything, and that's because we're used to dipping fresh breads. Also, I love America.. but I will admit that the Wonder White bread everyone grew up on is not the best... So being an American.. when talking about soaked bread, our mind immediately goes to the gross soggy sandwiches we've come across. It's practically ingrained into our minds.

Brings back so many wonderful memories. My parents were from Caserta and mom always made friselle every summer and we enjoyed them with tomato salad. So simple and so amazingly satisfying!

Watching your channel has completely changed the way I cook and how I think about the products I purchase for cooking. I have learned so much! I really enjoy your channel. Bravo Harper & Eva! (Those remind me of bagels.)

"But we need to be strong." It takes me forever to watch these videos because of Eva's offhand comments. I start laughing, miss stuff, and have to back up and see what I missed. So here's a question for Harper: Is Eva as funny in Italian as she is in English?

My father always made la cialledda when my mom was out on errands the man couldn’t cook for his life lol. It was pieces of hard bread mixed with cut up tomatoes oregano evoo water and salt ! It was delish … my dad was from Puglia ❤️

I love friselle ... one of my fav things to have for a nice cool, light lunch in the summer with fresh tomato, olive oil and fresh basil

Looks amazing! Very similar to the Greek barley rusks that are rehydrated in the same way. Delicious.

I have been watching you guys for a while, Eva seems to be this centurys strongest contender for cook of the world. Just look at her preparing the meals. Everything looks easy and natural - a true mark of a real champion. And her eye for deatails. Amazing. You shuld know that I am a very, very pcky eater. Love, Always.

I am totally making this bread today! 🎉 Thank you for featuring our dinner, too! We were sitting there watching this video, and AHHHHHH! There we were! ❤😂 Thank you, Eva and Harper! Love you guys!

I love spending Sunday Mornings with you guys! As soon as I am up, I sit down with my breakfast and watch Pasta Grammar. My breakfast soon starts tasting like sand 😂. I want what you’re eating every time! Then I pout! 😂. Thank you for making my Sunday mornings special! ❤

You transported me back to my 8 year old self. I just came through the door with my little brother. We lost our soccer game and my Mama says (in Italian), "Come sit down and eat your friselle." Delicious snack.

This video brought back so many child hood memories ..my nonna and mama always made this pane duro it was sooo delicious so simple squashed tomatoe with oil salt basil and chillie..we called it pane bangato..sending love from Austra lia ❤

Thank you so much Eva and Harper for this Friselle Bread Recipe and for letting us enjoy Domenica creating an authentic version!

I am first generation here in America. I grew up eating this!! I love it so much!! Thank you Eva for sharing!! I love watching you 2! ❤️

Just an Italian (dare I say Roman) version of the good old Ancient Greek double-baked bread, ancestor of all rustic rusks 😂❤

🤤 ♥️ Thank you Eva and Harper for another fantastic video experience! (The Mr. Rogers touch was pure genius!!😂)

Domenica was so wonderful. Inspiring. I am still learning the art and she does it so effortlessly. I will keep at it!

All my life we've done this same thing with old bagels. The bread has a different flavor, and it is always delicious.

My father came to New York from Calabria. He was happy sitting at the table with a loaf of Italian bread and cheese to snack on . Every time I watch your videos you bring back so many precious memories. ❤️

How wonderful to see this recipe. Truly simple foods are the best. Coming from Bari our family would have this on a Saturday night for some reason. In our dialect it was called pan shaquad which translates to rinsed bread. So great to see the original being made and enjoyed!

Beautiful my grandma would make this for her sisters and it was heavenly ❤

My Sicilian children love this! By the way I am researching my great grandmother nationality. She had the same accent as Ava. I believe she must have come from the same town more than 75 years ago! Seriously I have several family members who have emigrated from Sicily and the accent is different from Ava. Anyway thanks for all the videos you have reenergized my favorite Italian dishes.

As a Calabrian now in Australia, I can still attest to the pure eating pleasure of this bread. In fact I make a batch every few months! One of life's greatest food sensations.

I saw a new pasta from Barilla at the grocery store today. 1 ingredient, bronze cut. Way to change the world Eva❤👍 or corporate America. You go girl.

Love these. I buy the friselle because I'm too lazy to make them, but for summer food they're unbeatable.

I'd like to thank you both very much for having this channel. I used to dread cooking anything labeled Italian because in my mind it meant spicy and heartburn. Thank you for teaching me different and allowing me to enjoy real Italian food.

Hi Eva & Harper, I am from Bari, but now live in Australia. My would make this all through summer, love it, but we called it "Pane al'acqua". No matter the name it was awesome. Thankyou for bringing back great memories💖

I was born in Calabria, in a town called Satriano. I remember one of our treats was a slice of homemade bread, topped with sugar water. It was simple but so good!!

This kind of hard bread is really popular in Greece too, especially in Crete (it was under Venetian power for quite a king time, so who knows where it started? Maybe just a natural thing people came up with in order to avoid waste.) It was pretty much everyday bread for average people. It can be whole wheat, rye or barley, or combinations of them. They call them "paximádia." When you wet it and add tomatoes, onions, olive oil etc. it's called "dákos." I never saw the tuna one, but I'll try it now! It truly is a dish that doesn't sound great, but really is good!

We grew up on this and now my daughters love this pane duro wet with olive oil and grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese. Yum 😋 by the way Eva we are practically neighbours my family is from Arena❤Such a beautiful part of Calabria ❤❤❤

Harper reminded me of an interaction with my American wife. She was going to get rid of old, hard bread because it was old and hard. I stopped her, put water on the bread, and shoved it in the toaster. She was shocked as to how the old, hard bread became a scrumptious toast with a crunchy crush and a delicious softness inside. Yup, a trick that many Americans don't know about. 😉

This is perfect peasant food--economical, practical, imaginative and delicious.

I should have never learned how to make pasta from a Calabrian! I can't stop making it. I've made so many ppl extremely happy with several of your dishes. Thank you!!

I looooveeee when Eva smiles with satisfaction ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I just love that!!

As an American whose grandparents came from Italy (Salerno) this to me was one of my childhood comfort foods! Thank you for introducing your audience to this. Un 'Abbraccio!!

Looks really delicious! Thanks for sharing 👍 Not sure if you have tried "migas" (Spanish and Portugese), which is another use of stale bread. The stale bread crumbs are fried in olive oil with a variety of spices (garlic, salt, pepper) and toppings such as bacon or chorizo. It is normally served as breakfast or a starter. There are many variations of the dish and it comes down to personal preferences.

My university room mate was Greek and her grandparents used to deliver us huge bags of this. Obviously I thought it was crazy at first but then I quickly converted! So good. So so so so good. With fresh olives from their farm? Yes please.

Our mother would give it to us for breakfast. She would pour fresh milk over broken up pieces and sprinkled lightly with Hersey’s cocoa powder. Just very lightly. Think of it as cereal , only chopped up mouth size pieces of friselle. It was a poor breakfast dish but ever so good. 😊 The friselle my mom would make were very much like the ones the woman made toward the end of the video. At my age , I wouldn’t try it now ….. probably lose some teeth. Well not really, I would try it again, only let it soak very well into the milk . (Organic milk). Also , think of friselle as you would BISCOTTI. BIS for TWICE cooked. My family was from central Italy, and one reason for making twice cooked “pane duro” was that it would last much longer than regular bread.. It is of southern origin , but many regions acquired it with regional variations. BIS-cotti = twice cooked RI - cotta = re-cooked By the way it’s called a rack

Whenever I go to Italy to visit my relatives, I always come back with my suitcase full of pane tuosto, or pane biscottato in napoletano. It is my favorite! 🤤😍

In Libya they break the stale bread into the 'toppings' (Tuna etc) and then then mix and squeeze by hand. It's a favourite lunch during hot days. Satisfying yet doesn't warm you up, in terms of heat. I love spooning into my mouth at the beach for lunch!

I love this couple The same so much love and passion to each other, that transmute to their food!!!

I grew up with a version of friselle called biscotti. It had a very spongy texture when rehydrated. During Lent, we often ate pane duro (stale bread, as described by an Italian commenter). It was topped with just beans and its liquid that would rehydrate the bread, garlic, salt, and parsley. It's still one of my favorite things to eat.

Great video guys, I have learned so much from you. Also, my wife and I will be in Italy next week. Viva Italia !!

Oh my! This looks absolutely divine! 😍

Yes Yes Yes you cant imagine how happy this makes me My grandmother use to make this when I was a little boy back in the 70s I never knew what it was called and thought I would never have it again. I will make this in honor of Rosa from Portichi ! You have a lifetime sub/fan now

I should not have been taking a sip of my drink when Mr. Rogers came up 😅

Grazie Eva and Harper. This video brings me back to my younger days with my nonna

Sounds like the reverse of toast. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Bravo

Omg I’ve just discovered you guys and I’m in love with your channel. I was born and live in Australia. My parents migrated from Calabria in 1950. I try and hold on to as many traditional recipes as possible so I’m really enjoying your channel. I made pizza last week your way and it was sensational. Looking forward to watching lots more and catching up on all your past videos. Thx again guys Ottavia.

Love this video and will definitely be making it! So simple, basic, but full of flavours added to your desired taste - fantastic!!!

OH MAN! You had me at "Mr. Rogers." That was hilarious! Harper! You're good!

This sounds so good. I bet it would be really great with some cheese on it too. You could put just about anything on this stuff. Delicious!

This was educational, thank you! Never heard of this before, but I have always liked to eat stale bread!

Yes, this is amazing. We have the same in Greece. The most famous one comes from Crete and is called dakos, but every region has their version of preserving bread by drying it and then eating it in a delicious way.

Def making this.... We always would buy this at arthur ave. My favorite dinner after a long hard day at work. This is such a great video. Thank you!!!!! Italians know how to make a meal out of the simplest ingrediants, I am so blessed to be Italian.

We are from Calabria and live in Canada now. My mother always made and had friselle in the house. My favourite way to eat it was making a hot chocolate and dipping pieces of the stale bread in the hot chocolate. Yum!

I love watching y'all! I have learned so much and i really enjoy cooking with your recipes!

My Calabrian family has been making this for ages! Bread NEVER went to waste in our home. My brother's friends used to hang out just to get this snack which they named "brick bread" and that name stuck! We also would make a kind of soupy escarole and cannellini beans and we put the brick bread on the plate and topped it with the hearty escarole stew. Let me tell you there is no kind of food like the simple, clean and healthy foods that come straight out of the heart of Calabrian cooking! Thanks for this video. Does Ava have experience with dried beans?

Hi Eva and Harper! I love it when you take us off the beaten path to meet locals such as Dominica. I believe I spied her in bare feet at 19:59 - how absolutely authentic!!!

We have something similar in Crete but when we wet the bread we use fresh cut tomato’s on top, oregano and feta cheese and then topped with olive oil. Usually the traditional bread used is made with barley, when the small loaves are done baking they are split in half and recooked in oven overnight to dry out completely. A fantastic feast!

So Happy to stumble over your channel, I usually cook mostly Indian food but Eva has became my new favourite chef the wife is happy she loves Italian cuisine

Your channel is amazing!!! I have never seen such authentic traditional food presented so beautifully. Makes you want to migrate to Calabria (for a year at least) or marry a Calabrese wife. Thank you guys!

I've just recently discovered your channel and I love it! A naive American with a good command of the English language paired up with an Italian lady with amazing culinary skills, but needs help in the English department. These inter-national (see what I did there?) collaborations are what bring the world together. So happy that I found you!! PS Springboks are playing tonight. Please watch!

This video brought back an amazing memory to me. I remember when I was little (a long, long time ago) my mom would give me pieces of this dipped bread with a bit of oil to chew on. She later told me that it was the bread I cut my teeth on and that soft bread was too easy for kids to choke. Seeing this video, I can almost taste it again!!! Wow🎉

okay now I'm intrigued this sounds very cool!

I loved when my MIL’s family traveled up to Rome from Oppido Mamertina with bags full of these, lovely wrapped in linen kitchen towels. We were so lucky.

I just admire how you guys show and preserve traditions... I hope to once try the real deal myself!

This bread recipe reminds me of the way cantuccini cookies are baked. Oh how I want to eat both things now, this bread and these cookies 😋

I just love the two of you and the wonderful recipes and the history behind them. I hope I get to Italy one day.❤🇮🇹❤

This is absolutely delicious!!!! My grandparents had these in their Bakery!!! My favorite!!!!! ❤❤❤❤

I LOVE THIS CHANNEL!!!

As soon as I finished watching this, I ran into the kitchen and mixed bread!😂

Eva says “this is one of the best things that you can have in life” means I have to try it