Tigelle: a culinary Modena adventure

What's tigelle? It's a typical bread of Modena, usually served with cured meat and cheese or pesto made of lard and garlic.

Their history is interesting and complicated.
It's time to shed some light on this delicious food.

Crescentine or tigelle? The history so far

The name tigelle refers to ancient clay disks about 15cm large and 1.5 cm thick, built with chestnut groundland. Then they were shaped into a wooden mold with bas-relief engravings, then dried and finally cooked.

In ancient times, farmers of the Appennino mountains had to feed poor and usually large families.

Therefore they used to cook small balls of dough called crescentine on the clay disks (tigelle), already heated in the fireplace.

Then they altered them with chestnut or walnut leaves to separate the dough from the pottery and to keep them clean from ashes.

Today crescentina is called tigella by many, referring to the old cooking method mostly no longer applied.

Nowadays cooking is made in a faster manner, placing the balls of dough between two plates of a metallic material, in machines specially prepared for this use.

At home, you can use aluminum molds containing from 4 to 7 tigelle. It can be affixed directly on heat, as a normal pan.
Obviously, the mould is called tigelliera and you can find it in the best kitchen shops inside Bologna's food markets.​

How to eat tigelle

After cooking, tigelle is cut in half when they're still very hot and filled with various toppings.

The most traditional is pesto modenese: a mixed sauce made with chopped pork lard, rosemary, garlic, and a generous sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano.

In Modena it's also known as cunza, the same seasoning used for borlenghi.

Over time, tigelle has been subject to less traditional but very tasty unions like cold cuts, cheese, jams, or chocolate creams for dessert.

The recipe for tigelle

Ingredients (for 8 servings)

1.5 kg of '00' flour
3 dl water
​fine salt
​
Process
- Knead the flour with water and salt on a wooden board until the dough becomes a compact and uniform dough. If you use tigelliera add yeast and a drop of milk to the dough

- Divide the mixture into small balls as big as a fist. After a 2h rest, work each portion giving it the shape of a disc about 10 cm large and 1 cm thick

- Let tigelle rest for about 20 minutes and then cook them with refractory stones which simulate ancient stones: tigelle are ready when the crust takes on a uniform gold color.

Where to eat tigelle in Bologna and Modena

During our Modena Food Tour you can have the chance to taste 3 different gourmet tigelle in one of my favorite places.

Anyway, if you have time to travel in Modena and Bologna, here's a short list of great places.

Insolito Bar

The best tigelle and gnocco (a fried bread typical of Modena and Emilia Romagna) I've ever had are prepared is this stall near Amendola Park.

​Don't expect a restaurant, it's a place with plastic chairs and paper dishes but the quality of meat, cheese and tigelle are at the top.
​
Viale dell'Autodromo, 35, 41126 Modena MO
Tel. 059 332835

L'Amaretto

A family business since 2004, this restaurant recently won the prize for the best tigella in Modena. They like to change the shape of tigelle according to the season, so you can find a heart-shaped tigella for St.Valentine or a Christmas tree-shaped in December.
​
Via Modenese, 543, 41057 Spilamberto MO
Tel. 059 785175

Trattoria di Via Serra

Never heard of Trattoria di Via Serra? Maybe it's a bit late to find a table available, but in case it's your lucky day this is THE place to have tigelle in Bologna. And if they have porcini mushrooms...jackpot!
​
Via Luigi Serra, 9/b, 40129 Bologna BO
Tel. 051 631 2330

Ready to eat tigelle in Modena?

Great so now I've told you everything about tigelle and I'm sure you can make it amazing at home.

But what about trying in Modena, its homeland?

A Tigella tasting with sparkling Lambrusco is one of the stops of our Modena Food Tour (yes, the one you saw on Somebody feed Phil in Modena).

Read our +400 5 stars reviews on Tripadvisor, or what The Guardian, Phil Rosenthal and Rick Stein told about us and book your limited ticket (only 8 per tour)!