Bustrengo

Bustrengo is a simple baked sweet made with grains and bread in the Romagna area of Italy and in San Marino. Dry bread, flour, milk, fruit and other ingredients are combined and baked in a flat pan. Because it has been made using whatever was on hand at home, there is no single set of ingredients.

Bread and Flour Bound with Milk

In a method presented as a traditional food of the province of Rimini, breadcrumbs are soaked in milk and sugar, then mixed with eggs, wheat flour, cornmeal, olive oil, walnuts and rehydrated raisins. The region’s description of the ingredients also lists grated lemon zest. It is baked in an oiled pan to make a moist sweet. In the past, when it was baked on the hearth, a wide copper pan with a lid, called a rola, was used. The bread absorbs the milk, and the batter, combined with the flour, eggs and fruit, sets as it bakes.

Flours by Valley, Village Festivals

Regional differences also show in the flour used. Chestnut flour was used in the Marecchia Valley and chickpea flour in the Uso and Savio valleys, while wheat flour and cornmeal were used on the plains and in the hills. Besides sweet versions, savory bustrengo made with cheese also survives in some places.

One example presented as the method of the village of Borghi combines apples, raisins, and lemon and orange peel with Parmigiano or homemade cheese. It is a village household method that mixes sweet fruit and cheese in the same batter.

According to the region’s tourism materials, after the custom of baking it at home had faded in Borghi, local people revived interest in this sweet in the early 1970s and started a festival. At the festival, bustrengo is baked not only by the organizing committee but also by families who keep the recipe.

In neighboring San Marino as well, it has been handed down as a sweet that makes use of dry bread, raisins and the milk left over from cheesemaking. Softening stale bread in milk is something it shares with Lombardy’s torta paesana. On the other hand, bustrengo also has local flours and savory versions.

Glossary