Panuozzo di Gragnano

Panuozzo di Gragnano is an Italian sandwich, a sort of large oval-shaped bread or panino that can be filled with various ingredients. It was in 1983, in a small town near Naples called Gragnano, that this specialty was created by Giuseppe Mascolo, whose family has been the exclusive owner of the registered trademark Panuozzo since 1996. Made with simple pizza dough, the bread is baked in a wood-fired pizza oven, and it is then sliced lengthwise before all the desired ingredients are tucked inside. Then comes the final touch - a second, brief time spent in the oven - a step which gives the bread its distinctive crispy exterior and allows for the filling to blend perfectly with the bread. Although the original filling consisted of pancetta, mozzarella, and arugula (rocket), nowadays, the choice for panuozzo stuffing is limitless, offering a wide range of both savory and sweet stuffings depending on the customer's choice. Typical ingredients include different varieties of Italian cheese such as provolone, smoked buffalo mozzarella, or Grana Padano, Italian meat products, polpette (meatballs), mushrooms, salsiccia and friarielli (sausage and broccoli rabe), and vegetables, while the sweet versions usually contain Nutella, gelato, nuts, and powdered sugar.