Pellegrino Artusi, traditional recipes for a fully Italian cuisine

In December 2025, UNESCO declared Italian cuisine an intangible heritage of humanity:
it is the first time in history that a national cuisine has been recognised in its entirety.

For this reason, it seemed natural to us, in introducing this month's blog, to once again give the floor to Pellegrino Artusi. For two simple reasons: Artusi is considered the 'father' of Italian cuisine, as the author of the first manual/recipe book dedicated to it; furthermore, Pellegrino was a dear friend of Antonio Mattei, founder of the biscuit factory.

In the first original edition of 1891 of La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene, preserved at the National Library of Florence, at number 360 we find the recipe for 'Stiacciata unta':

"The recipe for this schiacciata and the recipe for the Mantuan cake were kindly given to me by that good man, already mentioned, who was Antonio Mattei of Prato; and I call him good, because he had the genius of his craft and was an honest and very industrious man; but this dear friend of mine […] died in the year 1885, leaving me deeply saddened. Letters and sciences are not always necessary to earn public esteem: even a very humble art, accompanied by a gentle heart and practised with skill and decorum, can make us worthy of the respect and love of our fellow man."

And he concludes with a quotation (from the book of verses and prose by Dr. Filippo Pananti, Mugello, 1824):

"Beneath rough manners and humble traits often lie beautiful hearts and pure souls; let us beware of men who are too refined, for they are like marble: polished, smooth and hard."

But let's get to the point
Leavened bread dough, 700 grams
Lard, 120 grams
Sugar, 100 grams
Cracklings, 60 grams
Egg yolks, 4 A pinch of salt
Orange or lemon zest

Artusi calls it 'Stiacciata unta'; we do not know whether Mattei called it that.
The basic dough is that of bread, to which lard, sugar and citrus zest are added. It is a fairly simple preparation, with a not particularly sweet flavour, which has become part of the Tuscan, and in particular Florentine, tradition.
It is in fact known by the name of 'Schiacciata alla fiorentina' and it was traditionally prepared during the Carnival period."

I feel it is important to share the original recipe because, out of curiosity, I went to search online: among all the versions of Schiacciata alla fiorentina, although there is much talk of Artusi, no one actually follows the original recipe and instructions. Nor is Antonio Mattei, from whom Artusi received it, ever mentioned. (Only in one case did I find a reference to the recipe and its origin attributed to Antonio Mattei).

Over time, as tastes and dietary habits have changed, lard has most likely been replaced with oil. The latter, often used by most modern Florentine bakeries and pastry shops, together with or as an alternative to lard, lightens and makes the dough more delicate, while also allowing for a longer shelf life. But, beyond the use of oil, the substantial difference between the 'Stiacciata unta' from Antonio Mattei's recipe and the current Schiacciata alla fiorentina lies in the use, in these more recent versions, of milk and spices.

To date, Antonio Mattei's recipe (who ran the bakery from 1858 to 1885), as reported by Artusi in his manual, is the oldest one I have been able to find. 

Grandfather Ernesto used to make it every day until the 1950s. Traces of it can be found in the production records, where it appears under the entry: 'schiacciata 1/2 pane' (schiacciata half bread dough).

Since bread production was discontinued, this sweet has been prepared using baker's yeast.
At Biscottificio Mattei we continue to bake it following the original recipe.

It is available only at weekends, from January to April: for this reason, we recommend booking in advance

Letizia Pandolfini