Our Heritage
A Deep-Rooted Italian Tradition – Perfected Over Time
The soul of La Panzanella® can be traced back several decades, to a small town on the western coast of Italy, where the days are long, and the pace – slow and steady. A man with a passion for baking learned the time-honored custom of creating food for the ones he loved. Passed down by generations before him, he took on the authentic Italian baking practice that is said to date back to Ancient Roman times. Over the centuries, Italians perfected their craft based on deep-rooted, old-style recipes, and pure, natural ingredients. Today, these same recipes evoke romantic images of true and authentic traditions that have been responsible for so many extraordinary foods that are now enjoyed around the world.
La Panzanella Bakery and Café
That same Italian man moved from the Mediterranean coast to the western United States, where he turned a hobby of baking authentic Italian breads into a business. In 1989, in the roots of Seattle, his legacy would begin. He called his newfound entity La Panzanella Bakery and Café, after the Italian salad that uses bread as an ingredient – for it was reminiscent of the days he spent in his small coastal town, meeting up with friends, and telling stories as they enjoyed luscious wines and fresh Panzanella salad. It is here where a baker with a dream created foods that would be enjoyed by everyday patrons, restaurateurs and business owners, alike. That sweet scent of baking bread, with its yeasty aroma that somehow smelled warm and inviting, would fill the streets and would be remembered even after the café closed, and La Panzanella became what it is today.
Croccantini® is Born
After serving local restaurants and hotels for nearly a decade with fresh breads not widely found anywhere else in the area, La Panzanella started crafting crisp flatbreads from a family recipe using smooth olive oil, pure sea salt and fresh rosemary. Soon that simple flatbread cracker, which they named Croccantini (meaning ‘crunchy little bite’ in Italian), became the talk of the town. And over time, Croccantini began showing up in specialty grocery stores, cafes, and other retail establishments across the country, and enjoyed by all walks of life. Today, we all know Croccantini for its widely recognizable artisan style and crispy texture, and its ability to take any ordinary occasion of gathering and make it memorable. A true celebration of love, life and food.
Who We Are Today
These days we are known as La Panzanella Artisanal Foods Co., but we still craft our artisan crackers and delectable cookies with a focus on using only the finest ingredients—the same warm spices, wholesome grains and pure flavors you use in your very own kitchen. Over the years we’ve humbly accepted our products have become a household staple – and a go-to for simple, yet elegant at-home entertaining – which we’ve perfected over time. We’ve come a long way over the years. From a small Italian town where a self-proclaimed baker took a passion, then perfected an art, and eventually turned it into a phenomenon. But although we have evolved over the years, our mission remains at the heart of who we are and what we strive to become – your old-style Italian bakery, serving up love and tradition in everything we do.