{"id":23766,"date":"2022-06-30T16:50:20","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T16:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=23766"},"modified":"2025-05-30T08:08:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T08:08:24","slug":"tuscan-bread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fascinating Story of Tuscan Bread (And Why It\u2019s Salt-Free)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When you first start to nibble on Tuscan bread in Florence, you&rsquo;ll probably notice it tastes a little&hellip; Odd. You may not know what it is, but there&rsquo;s definitely something different about this bread.<p>The answer is that <strong>there&rsquo;s an ingredient missing in Tuscan bread &ndash; salt.<\/strong><\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23772\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg\" alt=\"Unsalted Tuscan bread from Pistoia\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread-330x220.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Unsalted Tuscan bread from Pistoia. Photo credit: Gabriella Clare Marino<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>At its simplest, bread consists of four ingredients &ndash; flour, yeast, water, and salt. This simplicity is undoubtedly one of the reasons some kind of bread exists in diverse culinary traditions around the world. And while we don&rsquo;t usually <em>perceive<\/em> bread as salty, this small amount of salt makes a world of difference.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_75 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">What&#039;s Included<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6901b40607f89\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1fc2de;color:#1fc2de\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1fc2de;color:#1fc2de\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6901b40607f89\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#Uncommon_%E2%80%9CCommon_Bread%E2%80%9D\" >Uncommon &ldquo;Common Bread&rdquo;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#Origin_Stories_of_Salt-Free_Tuscan_Bread\" >Origin Stories of Salt-Free Tuscan Bread<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#The_Trouble_with_These_Theories_about_Tuscan_Bread\" >The Trouble with These Theories about Tuscan Bread<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#Salt-Free_Bread_in_the_Tuscan_Kitchen\" >Salt-Free Bread in the Tuscan Kitchen<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Uncommon_%E2%80%9CCommon_Bread%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>Uncommon &ldquo;Common Bread&rdquo;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p>Bread in most of Tuscany has been made without salt for hundreds of years. However, it&rsquo;s not the only region where you&rsquo;ll find salt-free bread. Much of the bread in the other regions of central Italy (Umbria, Lazio, and Le Marche) is also traditionally salt-free. It&rsquo;s generally called<em> pane comun<\/em>e, or common bread. You may also hear it referred to as <em>pane sciapo<\/em>&mdash;bland bread. In Tuscany, it&rsquo;s also called <em>pane toscano<\/em>, or Tuscan bread.<\/p><p>While there&rsquo;s no dispute that <em>pane comune<\/em> has been the bread staple of central Italy for centuries, there&rsquo;s quite a bit of disagreement about why this is so. Some of the stories sound more plausible than others, some of them seem to contradict one another, and historians disagree. Take all of these with &ndash; wait for it &ndash; a grain of salt.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23773\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/valentina-locatelli-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg\" alt=\"Shopper looks at an Italian bakery with loaves of Tuscan bread\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/valentina-locatelli-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/valentina-locatelli-unsplash-tuscan-bread-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/valentina-locatelli-unsplash-tuscan-bread-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/valentina-locatelli-unsplash-tuscan-bread-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/valentina-locatelli-unsplash-tuscan-bread-330x220.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Unsalted bread has been the norm in Tuscany for centuries. Photo credit: Valentina Locatelli<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Origin_Stories_of_Salt-Free_Tuscan_Bread\"><\/span>Origin Stories of Salt-Free Tuscan Bread<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><h3>Theory One: It&rsquo;s All About Food<\/h3><p>Two stories connect the lack of salt in <em>pane comune<\/em> to the amount of salt in the local cuisine.<\/p><p>One version says that Tuscan cuisine is so salty that the bread was intentionally made without salt so as to not add even more salt to the overall meal. Another version says the salt level in typical dishes was bumped up because of how bland the bread was.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23776\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 677px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flickr-tuscan-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro.jpg\" alt=\"Pappa al pomodoro is a famous local dish made with Tuscan bread.\" width=\"667\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flickr-tuscan-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro.jpg 667w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Flickr-tuscan-bread-pappa-al-pomodoro-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\"><em>Pappa al pomodoro<\/em> is a traditional local dish made with Tuscan bread. Photo credit: Karl Cossio<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3>Theory Two: It&rsquo;s All About Water<\/h3><p>Two more stories revolve around the kind of water local bread bakers had access to. Story one claims that the distance from the sea meant people didn&rsquo;t have a way to harvest sea salt. Story two says that since people made bread with spring water, it didn&rsquo;t have the inherent saltiness of bread made with seawater.<\/p><h3>Theory Three: It&rsquo;s All About Money<\/h3><p>By far the most colorful and complex origin stories of Tuscan bread revolve around money.<\/p><p>The most straightforward of these is that salt was heavily taxed, making it too costly for most of the population. So, they simply started making their bread without it.<\/p><p>One of the popular stories ties <em>pane toscano<\/em> (Tuscan bread) to a long-standing feud between the city-states of Florence and Pisa. Both are on the Arno River, which was used for shipping goods from the coastline. However, Pisa lies between Florence and the sea. During a trade dispute in the 12th century, Pisa simply blocked salt shipments from moving further along the Arno into Florence. Rather than capitulate, Florentine bakers left the salt out of their bread entirely.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23775\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nadya-spetnitskaya-unsplash-making-bread.jpg\" alt=\"Baker kneading bread dough\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nadya-spetnitskaya-unsplash-making-bread.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nadya-spetnitskaya-unsplash-making-bread-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nadya-spetnitskaya-unsplash-making-bread-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nadya-spetnitskaya-unsplash-making-bread-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nadya-spetnitskaya-unsplash-making-bread-330x220.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">One theory about unsalted Tuscan bread is that Florentine bakers left the salt out in the 12th century due to a feud with nearby Pisa. Photo credit: Nadya Spetnitskaya<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>The most detailed story is that of the Salt War of 1540 between Perugia (the modern capital of Umbria) and the Papal States. The city-state of Perugia was absorbed into the Papal States in the late 14th century, and Perugians were not happy about it. They managed to retain some independence&mdash;including exemption from the salt tax&mdash;though the Papal States curtailed that independence slowly over the next 150 years.<\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">By the early 16th century, Perugia was required to pay the salt tax, but they were still permitted to purchase (better and cheaper) salt from outside the Papal States. In 1540, after a bad harvest year in Perugia was already making tensions high, Pope Paul III decided to rescind the earlier agreement and force Perugians to buy salt only from him and raise the existing salt tax at the same time. He claimed the Papal States needed to raise more money for military campaigns.<\/span><\/p><p>The cost of salt skyrocketed, and Perugia refused to pay and declared its independence. The rebellion was quelled by the papal army a few short months later. During that time, however, the story goes that Perugian&rsquo;s simply started making their bread without salt. The tradition is said to have endured as a symbolic reminder of the rebellion.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23774\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-crumb.jpg\" alt=\"dense crumb in slices of unalted Tuscan bread\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-crumb.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-crumb-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-crumb-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-crumb-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-crumb-640x480.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Check out that dense crumb! Photo credit: Rebecca Siegel<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Trouble_with_These_Theories_about_Tuscan_Bread\"><\/span>The Trouble with These Theories about Tuscan Bread<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p>Since the two food-related stories are at opposite ends of the &ldquo;which came first&rdquo; spectrum, it&rsquo;s hard to know which to favor. However, there&rsquo;s a strong connection between <em>pane toscano<\/em> and traditional Tuscan cuisine even if neither of these theories are true.<\/p><p>While the two water-related stories seem shaky when you look at a map of Italy&rsquo;s regions and see that the vast majority have some amount of coastline touching a salty body of water, people didn&rsquo;t historically travel far from home. But even then, this theory doesn&rsquo;t hold water, or every region in Italy would have inland areas where salt-free bread was the norm.<\/p><p>Although the two feud stories are entertaining, they&rsquo;re specific to only two small cities in what is a much larger part of Italy where salt-free bread is traditional. Not only that, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlasobscura.com\/articles\/mystery-italy-saltless-bread-trade-wars-salty-hams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">research into the Salt War<\/a> turns up no actual references to baking bread without salt. There&rsquo;s even a mention of <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaldante.columbia.edu\/dante\/divine-comedy\/paradiso\/paradiso-17\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">salt-free bread in Dante&rsquo;s <em>Divine Comed<\/em>y<\/a>, written 220 years before the Salt War.<\/p><p>We&rsquo;ll probably never know precisely when or why the people of central Italy stopped putting salt in their bread. But that won&rsquo;t stop anyone from understanding its importance to the cuisine of Tuscany and the rest of central Italy.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23770\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-panzanella-summer-salad.jpg\" alt=\"Bowl of panzanella summer salad made with Tuscan bread\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-panzanella-summer-salad.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-panzanella-summer-salad-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-panzanella-summer-salad-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-panzanella-summer-salad-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-panzanella-summer-salad-330x220.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\"><em>Panzanella<\/em> made with cubes of unsalted bread makes for a refreshing &ndash; and filling &ndash; summer dish. Photo credit: Martin Delisle<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Salt-Free_Bread_in_the_Tuscan_Kitchen\"><\/span>Salt-Free Bread in the Tuscan Kitchen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p>Just as most recipes call for unsalted butter so you can adjust the salt level in a dish, salt-free bread is the perfect foundation for many beloved Tuscan dishes.<\/p><p>In addition to flavor, salt also gives bread a moister crumb. Without salt, bread tends to be dry (some even call the texture of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.italymagazine.com\/featured-story\/italys-traditional-saltless-bread-guide-uninitiated\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em> pane comune<\/em> sandy<\/a>), which also means it lasts longer because it won&rsquo;t get moldy as quickly.<\/p><p>This dense, dry texture may not be appealing on its own. However, it&rsquo;s ideal for turning something like soup or salad into a heartier meal. <a href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/typical-tuscan-dishes\/\">Traditional Tuscan dishes<\/a> like <em>ribollita<\/em>, <em>pappa al pomodoro<\/em>, and <em>panzanella<\/em> are all thickened with chunks of stale Tuscan bread.<\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">It&rsquo;s also a great way to get every last drop of delicious sauce without literally licking your plate. For instance, <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 16px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.italymagazine.com\/featured-story\/italian-ritual-fare-la-scarpetta\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the <em>scarpetta<\/em><\/a><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">, swiping a piece of bread over your plate after a meal, is a time-honored Italian practice. <\/span>Tuscan bread is also an excellent way to enjoy salty cured meats without being overwhelmed by salt. <em>Buon appetito!<\/em><\/p><figure id=\"attachment_23771\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1210px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.devourtours.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-salty-meat.jpg\" alt=\"Board of cured Italian meats and cheeses with grapes and Tuscan bread\" width=\"1200\" height=\"799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-salty-meat.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-salty-meat-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-salty-meat-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-salty-meat-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/flickr-tuscan-bread-salty-meat-330x220.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\">Whether at a picnic or a top-notch restaurant, Tuscan bread makes the ideal pairing for salty cured meats and aged cheeses. Photo credit: Michela Simoncini<\/figcaption><\/figure><p><em>Update notice: This article was updated on May 30, 2025.<\/em><\/p><p><strong>If you want to try even more local specialties&mdash;and get a heavy dose of history, too&mdash;join our <a href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/tours\/florence-authentic-evening-food-wine-experience\/\">Florence food and wine tour<\/a>. You&rsquo;ll learn even more history of Florentine fare while sampling some of the city&rsquo;s best dishes!<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you first start to nibble on Tuscan bread in Florence, you&rsquo;ll probably notice it tastes a little&hellip; Odd. You may not know what it is, but there&rsquo;s definitely something different about this bread.The answer is that there&rsquo;s an ingredient missing in Tuscan bread &ndash; salt.At its simplest, bread consists of four ingredients &ndash; flour, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":23772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2071,2074],"tags":[1328,274],"ppma_author":[2391],"class_list":["post-23766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florence-blog","category-italian-culture-florence-blog","tag-bread","tag-history"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Devour Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Feuds, rebellions, and a pinch of salt - we take a deep dive into the history of why Tuscan bread is salt-free!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Fascinating Story of Tuscan Bread (And Why It\u2019s Salt-Free) - Devour Tours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Feuds, rebellions, and a pinch of salt - we take a deep dive into the history of why Tuscan bread is salt-free!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"devourtours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23766\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Devour Tours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DevourToursCo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-30T16:50:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-30T08:08:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica Spiegel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@devourtours\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@devourtours\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Spiegel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/\",\"name\":\"The Fascinating Story of Tuscan Bread (And Why It\u2019s Salt-Free) - Devour Tours\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-30T16:50:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-30T08:08:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7708516bd133ac3f50e976d87a1b8e4d\"},\"description\":\"Feuds, rebellions, and a pinch of salt - we take a deep dive into the history of why Tuscan bread is salt-free!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/tuscan-bread\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/wordpress-assets-devourtours.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/gabriella-clare-marino-unsplash-tuscan-bread.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Unsalted Tuscan bread from Pistoia. 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She especially loves the stories food can tell us about a place. Living in often-rainy Portland, Oregon means Jessica is often in the mood for a steaming bowl of Tuscan <\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW54894451 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW54894451 BCX0\">ribollita<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW54894451 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW54894451 BCX0\">. 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