“Bread with a crunchy crust and airy crumb, without giving in to trends.” These five words—“without giving in to trends”—frequently appear in the sixth edition of Gambero Rosso's "Pane e panettieri d'Italia" guide (created in collaboration with Petra), indicating our inspectors' desire to highlight that the listed bakeries are not just a passing fad or a social media phenomenon. Large air pockets can indeed indicate the quality of fermentation, but not always (we debunked other myths about bread here). Moreover, there are good flours that do not allow the formation of large air pockets. So, how do you recognize good bread if not by its air pockets? Smell it. Bread should first and foremost smell of wheat, grass, chamomile... bread should express a terroir, as master baker Davide Longoni would say.
More and more bakers are taking the field
That's why we are very pleased and somewhat satisfied with the data gathered during the guide's preparation: about 10% of bakeries grow their own grains, and even if they do not meet the entire demand, these are mostly local grains. These grains can be a genetic adaptive response to environmental challenges and genuinely characterize the bread, making it local again. Growing grain or personally verifying what happens in the field can also become trendy, but it doesn't matter if it fuels a virtuous and empathetic cycle. Here, the baker puts themselves in the farmer's shoes, the miller collaborates with the farmer, or the farmer wonders how the bread made with their grain will be. This, as you understand, has enormous value, first socially and then economically. This is why bread should be made and paid for at a fair price.
The best bakeries in Italy: special aawards, Tre Pani, and new entries
This vision is shared by most of the bakeries featured in Gambero Rosso's "Pane e panettieri d'Italia 2025" guide (558, fifty-four more than the previous edition) and by all the awardees: 3 Special Awards and 64 Tre Pani, with six new entries, two of which are in Rome, the city perhaps experiencing a golden period. Among these awardees are diverse stories, from the Apulian who brought focaccia to Udine (Mamm Pane, Vino e Cucina) to the Bergamasque who opened a micro bakery in Galatina, Lecce (Settecroste), from the Economics graduate who chose to return to his hometown (Forno Sammarco in San Marco in Lamis, Foggia), to the son of a baker who loves to experiment, to the former lawyer who decided to change her life at forty to start baking with two main principles: environmental sustainability and health, meaning that bread as food should not be harmful. And upon reflection, you can do everything within these boundaries.
The 2025 "Pane e panettieri d'Italia 2025" is produced in collaboration with
Gambero Rosso's "Pane e panettieri d'Italia 2025" Guide Special Awards
Emerging Baker
Andrea Cirolla of Settecroste in Galatina (Lecce)
Bakery of the Year
Stria Pane e Cucina in Reggio Emilia
Bread and Territory
Farina del mio sacco in Atessa (Chieti)
I Tre Pani
(in the following list, bakeries that have received the Tre Pani for the first time are indicated with NEW)
Valle d’Aosta
Le Coin Du Pain - Saint Christophe [AO]
Piemonte
Panetteria Fagnola Dal 1923 - Bra [CN]
Cuore di Pane Bio - Cabella Ligure [AL]
Vulaiga - Fobello [VC]
Marcarino Roddino - Roddino [CN]
Grano Fornai in Fermento - Santena [TO]
Ficini - Torino
Perino Vesco - Torino
Luca Scarcella Il Forno Dell'angolo - Torino
Spoto Bakery Voglia Di Pane – Torino
Lombardia
Il Pane di Maurizio Sarioli - Brescia
Grazioli - Legnano [MI]
Panetteria Rio dal 1929 - Mantova
Crosta - Milano
LePolveri Panificio Diurno - Milano
Davide Longoni Pane - Milano
Forno Del Mastro - Monza
Tilde Forno Artigiano - Treviglio [BG]
Cerere L'atelier del Pane - Triuggio [MB]
Veneto
Olivieri 1882 - Arzignano [VI]
Marinato - Cinto Caomaggiore [VE]
Grigoris LaBakery - Mestre [VE]
Forno Veneziano - Piove Di Sacco [PD]
Renato Bosco Bakery - San Martino Buon Albergo [VR]
Il Fornaio Fratelli Zenatti dal 1979 - Sommacampagna [VR]
Trentino Alto Adige
Panificio Moderno – Isera [TN]
Friuli Venezia Giulia
Il Posto di Follador - Pordenone
Jerian - Trieste
Mamm Pane, Vino e Cucina – Udine NEW
Emilia Romagna
Forno Brisa - Bologna
Micropanificio Mollica - Carpi [MO]
Nel Nome del Pane Cappelletti & Bongiovanni - Dovadola [FC]
La Butega ad Franton - Guastalla [RE]
Il Forno di Calzolari - Monghidoro [BO]
Toscana
Pank La Bulangeria - Firenze
Lievitamente - Viareggio [LU]
Marche
L'assalto ai Forni - Ascoli Piceno
Pandefrà - Senigallia [AN]
Lazio
Pezz De Pane - Frosinone
Panificio Bonci - Roma
Lievito Francesco Arnesano - Roma
Panificio Marè - Roma NEW
Antico Forno Roscioli - Roma
Triticum Micropanificio Agricolo - Roma
Tulipane - Roma
Zampa Forno Etico – Roma NEW
Abruzzo
Førma Bakery - L'aquila
Mercato del Pane - Montesilvano [PE]
Campania
La Francesina Boulangerie - Ercolano [NA]
Malafronte - Gragnano [NA]
Foorn - Mariglianella [NA]
Antica Forneria Molettieri – Napoli NEW
Puglia
Panificio Adriatico - Bari
Spacciagrani Forno Indipendente - Conversano [BA]
Il Toscano - Corato [BA]
Forno Sammarco - San Marco In Lamis [FG] NEW
Lula Pane e Dessert - Trani [BT]
Basilicata
Pane e Pace – Matera
Sicilia
Forno Biancuccia - Catania
Francesco Arena Mastro Fornaio - Messina
Panificio Guccione - Palermo
Martinez – Trapani
Sardegna
Madriga – Cagliari NEW
PBread Natural Bakery – Cagliari