Laurieri

From the bakery of the Sassi city to an international bakehouse

Matera is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world – and it was here, in the middle of Basilicata, that brothers Nicola and Francesco Laurieri laid the foundation in 1976 for what is now one of the most well-known Italian gourmet bakery companies. The family tradition goes back even further: Franco Laurieri, the father of the founders, had developed and guarded the recipes in his younger years before his sons transferred them into an independent business. What began as an artisanal bakery in the heart of Matera grew step by step: in 2002, the company moved to a modern production site on the outskirts of the city – large enough to operate four complete production lines without losing the connection to the artisanal kitchen. Today, Franco Laurieri and his son Gianni are leading the company together into the next generation.

Baking with an attitude: tradition, ingredients, and a clear recipe philosophy

At Laurieri, there is a clear decision behind every product: no artificial additives, no animal ingredients, no shortcuts. The entire range is vegan – not as a marketing promise, but because the traditional recipes of Southern Italy simply provide for it: olive oil instead of butter, good grain flours, nuts, spices, seeds. The challenge the company set for itself from the beginning is: to combine state-of-the-art baking technology with traditional recipe knowledge – without one displacing the other. The result is products with the texture and aroma of a cucina casalinga, produced with the reliability of an industrial company. With a daily capacity of around 45 tons and an export share of over 90 percent of sales, Laurieri supplies markets in the USA, Northern Europe, Australia, Canada, and South America – and in 2015 was the only food company to be awarded the Alitalia Supplier Award for quality and delivery reliability.

Scrocchi, Taralli, Cantucci: the range between snacking and the table

Laurieri bakes across the classic snack forms of the Italian South. The Scrocchi – wafer-thin, crispy crackers – are available with olives or caraway and go well with an aperitif, with cheese, or as an accompaniment to a glass of white wine. The Taralli con Peperoncino bring the spicy, hot side of Southern Italy to the table: baked in rings, with a slight heat in the finish, traditionally for antipasto. The Crespini – long, thin breadsticks with sesame or sea salt – are suitable for wrapping in ham or simply eaten plain with wine. On the sweet side are the Cantucci con Mandorle with their characteristic double-baking process and the firm, almondy bite – in the cocoa variant, a dark depth is added. Finally, the Bruschette con Aglio, small toasted bread slices with garlic and olive oil, bring the essence of a Tuscan bruschetta into a handy form. In short: anyone who knows Laurieri knows a producer who translates Southern Italian baking culture into everyday life without nostalgic kitsch.