Brasadè di Staghiglione, with their centuries-old recipe, tell stories of culinary passion handed down from generation to generation, where every bite of these delicious doughnuts reveals a heritage of authentic flavours.
Brasadè are a set of buttery doughnuts typical of the Oltrepò Pavese area that, with a diameter of about 6 centimetres each, represent a true culinary treasure of this territory.
The most famous variants of Brasadè come from Staghiglione, a municipality in the hamlet of Borgo Priolo where the only shop that still produces them is located, it is the Pasticceria Bernini Carla. Their doughnuts are made with an unleavened pastry dough. Their preparation employs simple ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter and lard, but the complete recipe is a secret well kept for three generations at the village bakery that produces them.
These doughnuts are still made by hand, following a tradition that goes back many years. The secret of their unique flavour lies in their double baking: they are boiled initially and then baked in a wood-fired oven. This process gives them a crispy texture and greater durability, but above all it gives these sweets their name, as ‘Brasadè‘ in Lombard dialect means ‘twice baked‘.
Every year, the Brasadè Festival is held in Staghiglione every Easter Monday and is a special occasion to enjoy them and stock up on them. A distinctive feature of this tradition is the way they are packaged. Brasadè are sold in necklaces, following an ancient packaging scheme that has remained unchanged over the decades. Each necklace consists of eleven doughnuts, connected by a cotton string passed through the central hole of each one.
The arrangement of the doughnuts in the necklace is peculiar: five of them are strung with the flat side facing the same direction, while the other five have the flat side facing the opposite direction. The eleventh doughnut plays the role of a clasp, in fact, the two ends of the necklace cord are tied.
This traditional wrapping method adds a unique touch to the Brasadè di Staghiglione and contributes to making this feast a special event.
The creation of these doughnuts is a solid tradition that embraces the entire Oltrepò Pavese area. In fact, there are several other towns, including Mornico di Losana, Torricella Verzate and Broni, where their own traditional recipes for making Brasadè are handed down.
