Mufulettu, muffuletta or muffoletta, muffuletto or guastedda, is a flat round Sicilian bread.
▶All over Sicily, the name muffulettu indicates various preparations. The term is believed to derive from the French mouflette, meaning soft.
▶The Mufulettu from Licata is the recipe made in Licata in the province of Agrigento and is associated with two holidays: Good Friday and Corpus Christi. The latter tradition has now been lost, but the one on Good Friday remains, when the Passion and Death of Jesus are commemorated.
▶Bakeries start baking the muffuletti in the early afternoon, when the statue depicting the body of Jesus has been crucified, on the “Calvary” set up in the main square of the city.
▶This custom is due to the Confraternity of San Girolamo. In the 1500s, to celebrate the success of the representations and the end of the fast, the confreres used to eat the muffulettu.
▶The Mufulettu from Licata is made with semolina, brewer’s yeast, salt, anise, cinnamon, cumin or fennel, sesame on top, and a lot of water; today it is mainly consumed filled with tuna in oil, sardines, and black olives or with tuna and pecorino cheese.
▶The Good Friday muffulettu marks the end of the fast, but since Lent is not over yet, meat is forbidden.
In recent years, Licata bakers make muffuletti once a week, outside of Lent, with grilled sausage and onions.
In the Palermo area, the muffoletta is used to prepare the typical pani câ meusa; a typical bread from Partinico (PA) is the muffoletto rî parrini, made using a biga and sesame seeds.
In Caltanissetta, the nissena muffoletta uses ingredients like ricotta and caciocavallo, plus pepper.
🌟My version of the Mufulettu from Licata is with: tuna in oil and primo sale cheese, prepared during a TikTok live.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 7 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, All seasons
Ingredients for The Mufulettu from Licata
- 4 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina flour
- 1.4 oz anise seeds
- 1 oz wild fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp dry brewer's yeast
- 1.7 cups water (lukewarm)
- to taste pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- to taste tuna in oil
- to taste cow's primo sale cheese
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste oregano
- to taste sesame
Steps
Combine the semolina flour with the anise seeds, fennel (or cumin), cinnamon, and pepper, and add the dry brewer’s yeast, finally the lukewarm water and salt.
Knead.
Let it rise for 1 and a half hours, covered.
Create rolls of 4 oz, press them into sesame (one side only). Arrange on the baking sheet and let rise for another 15 minutes.
Bake in the oven at 375°F for 25 minutes.
Let cool, cut in half and fill with tuna in oil and the primo sale cheese. Season with oil, salt, and oregano.
Did you know that…
In the USA, the muffuletta sandwich, with a filling of cold cuts and cheeses, served with a mix of green olives, artichokes, and capers, is popular?
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How did the American version “muffuletta sandwich” come about?
The story goes that the muffuletta sandwich was created in 1906 at the Central Grocery Co. on Decatur Street, New Orleans, by the deli owner Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant.
Sicilian immigrant Biaggio Montalbano, who owned a deli in New Orleans, is credited with the invention of the Roma sandwich (with salami, mortadella, and provolone), which might have been a precursor to the muffuletta.
Another Italian-style deli in New Orleans, the Progress Grocery Co., originally opened in 1924 by the Perrone family, claims the origin of the muffuletta is uncertain.
The muffuletta sandwich in traditional style consists of a muffuletta loaf split horizontally and covered with layers of marinated olive salad, salami, ham, Swiss cheese, provolone, and mortadella.
It is usually served cold, but many vendors toast it.
The olive salad is a chopped salad made of green olives, black olives, olive oil, celery, cauliflower, carrots, sweet peppers, onions, capers, parsley, pepperoncini, oregano, garlic, vinegar, herbs, and spices.
It is a “spicy salad” used as a spread.
Capers and lemon juice can also be included.
It is commercially produced for restaurants and for retail sale.
