Savory snacks: crispy bread snacks from South Tyrol and Italy

Savory snacks are salty or spicy nibbles that are served in between meals, with an aperitif, or as part of a snack platter. At Leni & Hans, this mainly refers to bread-based pastries, baked so dry that they remain crispy for a long time: breadsticks (grissini), Schüttelbrot, and bread chips, seasoned with herbs, cheese, sesame, or blue fenugreek. The majority come from an organic bakery in the Ulten Valley in South Tyrol.

Grissini, Schüttelbrot, bread chips: what is what?

Grissini

Grissini are thin, crispy breadsticks made from yeast dough, originally from Turin. Classically, they consist of wheat flour, oil, yeast, and salt; varieties are flavored with herbs, tomato, garlic, cheese, or sesame. The mini version is short enough for snacking from a bowl, while the long sticks can be wrapped in ham or dipped into a dip like a spoon.

Schüttelbrot

Schüttelbrot is a flat, hard flatbread from South Tyrol, made predominantly from rye flour. It gets its name from how it is formed: the soft dough is shaken on a wooden plate until it spreads into a thin disc. Typical are the South Tyrolean bread spices fennel, caraway, and blue fenugreek, also known as Schabziger clover, which gives the bread its slightly aromatic scent. Because it is baked so dry, Schüttelbrot breaks with a distinct crunch.

Bread chips

Bread chips are thin slices of bread dough, baked until crispy. The Struzen chips from the Ulten Valley are made from a rye fruit bread with hazelnuts and grapes, giving them a slightly sweet taste; they are seasoned like South Tyrolean bread with caraway, fennel, and blue fenugreek. Soft rye breads in the Vinschger style meant for slicing, such as the Vinschger Paarl, are not snack pastries and therefore have their own category: Bread.

How to recognize good snack pastries

Good snack pastries require few ingredients: flour, water or sourdough, a little oil, salt, and spices. With whole grain spelt or rye flour, the pastry tastes nuttier and more robust than with light wheat flour. Olive oil gives grissini a well-rounded flavor, while cheese and sesame add roasted notes. And because the pastry is so dry, the packaging determines how long it stays crispy.

Our producers for savory snacks

Ultner Brot from St. Walburg in the Ulten Valley accounts for most products in this category. Our top sellers are the Struzen chips, each containing 13% hazelnuts, sultanas, and currants, sweetened solely by the dried fruit. The hand-shaken organic Schüttelbrot is shaped by hand on wooden plates, while the mini Schüttelbrot is the cracker-sized version. For grissini, Ultner Brot relies on organic spelt: the mini grissini with cheese containing 28% Emmental, the pizza version with tomato paste and oregano, and the spelt grissini with Schüttelbrot, coated with crumbs from Ultner Schüttelbrot. The spelt grissini with sesame made from organic whole spelt flour and barley malt are rustic and nutty.

Italian breadsticks come from the range of Wajos in Dohr on the Moselle. Very popular are the mini grissini with only five ingredients, intentionally neutral and slightly salty, and the grissini with tomato and basil, seasoned with 3.7% basil and 1.9% tomato. The grissini with garlic & parsley have a mild taste of baked garlic.

For the aperitif, with soup, or for a snack

For an aperitif, place grissini in a tall glass, accompanied by olives, a small bowl of hummus, aioli, or tzatziki. Wrapped in thin slices of Parma ham, they become finger food that can be eaten without cutlery. Instead of bread with soup, spelt grissini with sesame or Schüttelbrot crumbs work well, and garlic grissini make great croutons for a salad. Break Schüttelbrot into pieces for a "Marende"—the South Tyrolean snack time—and top it with speck and mountain cheese. The Struzen chips work on their own as a snack or on a cheese platter, while the mini Schüttelbrot is perfect as a base for antipasti or to pack in your bag for a hike.

Buying advice and storage

• Grain: The Ultner grissini are baked from organic spelt, Schüttelbrot and Struzen chips predominantly from rye, and the Wajos grissini from wheat flour. All contain gluten.
• Seasoning: For children and with hearty dips, the neutral mini grissini are suitable; for an aperitif, choose the varieties with cheese, tomato, or garlic.
• Keeping crispy: Seal the bags well after opening or transfer the pastries into a tin and store in a dry place.
• On the go: Mini Schüttelbrot and mini grissini fit into any lunchbox and barely break in a backpack.

More snacks from Leni & Hans

The savory snacks are part of our Sweets & Snacks category. Soft rye bread for snack platters with speck and cheese, from the original Ultner Brot to the Vinschger Minis, can be found under Bread in the Breakfast & Spreads section; the hand-shaken Schüttelbrot can be found in both categories. If you want something sweet after the aperitif, you will find organic bars from the Salzburg region under Chocolate and gluten-free cookies from Belgium under sweet snacks.

Order savory snacks online

Whether it's grissini for an aperitif, Schüttelbrot for a snack, or bread chips for a cheese platter: you can order savory snacks online from Leni & Hans, and your package will arrive within 1–3 days.