Torcetti

The name torcetti comes from their twisted shape, and in Piedmontese they are torcèt, once torchietti. They belong to a frugal alpine baking that trades on good butter and few ingredients: historically they were larger, and were shaped and baked in the communal village oven while it came up to bread heat. They are made across the Piedmontese valleys of Lanzo, the Canavese and the Biellese, and at Saint-Vincent in Valle d'Aosta, where they are a local speciality. They are the classic match for the region's small russeted martin sec pears poached in red wine, and for sparkling Asti or Caluso passito at the end of a meal. They are distinct from the almond tegole.

Crisp and light, shattering at the bite, the sugar crust snapping into a dry, tender, buttery inside that all but melts. Not very sweet in itself, it leans on the caramel of its shell and the richness of the butter, made for dipping into wine or coffee.

The dough is leavened with yeast and rested, so fermentation lightens it and keeps the biscuits from being as dense as a plain shortbread. The high proportion of butter coats the flour and limits gluten, so the crumb bakes short, tender and crumbly; as it bakes, the water in the butter turns to steam and opens the texture. The sugar rolled onto the surface melts and caramelises in the oven's heat into a thin, glossy, brittle shell, while light Maillard browning on the buttery, sugary surface deepens the colour and the toasted aroma.