If you can grasp the local bread, it is your ticket to understanding Umbria. In the hills of Umbria, Italy, simplicity's a virtue. Dating back to St. Francis of Assisi, who lived in poverty and self denial, the richness of life's essentials remains the thread of an Umbrian existence.

Surrounding the cosmopolitan and flourishing capital of Perugia, the towns and villages seem unchanged. People who have known each other for generations meet for coffee at the bar in the morning, talk outside the same bar in the evenings, and often go home to a family house centuries old to dine on pasta and bean and meat dishes that would probably be recognizable to St. Francis.

In the hamlet of Corgna, where I escape to every summer, farm work stops at half past twelve like a religion, and Olga makes lunch for her husband and the field hands. The bread she serves is either a torta - rolled out on a wooden board, then cooked between two round irons in the coals of her fire - or a classic, unsalted, two-pound loaf that is perfectly complemented by the earthy and robust flavors of Umbrian cuisine.

Outsiders complain about the unsalted bread, as if it were a detail that Umbrians have overlooked all these years, but though the origin of the unsalted bread was due to a salt tax that the Pope imposed in 1540, the understated flavor works. Without the salt, the bread lasts longer without spoiling, which was an advantage to the Umbrian housewife, who, until World War II, worked the land with her husband under a feudal system that demanded long hours of labor without a lot of time for bread-baking. Hard bread could be toasted for bruschetta, or soaked in soups and salads - mainstays of the Umbrian diet. The unassuming bread is topped with prosciutto or slices of parmesan, spread with chicken livers, sautéed with soffrito and sage, the renowned truffle paste, or a humble purée of beans, and buried under broth and greens, or stirred into simmering, vine-ripened tomatoes and garlic. It is the perfect match.

Note: it is next to impossible to find Umbrian bread here in the States; a good quality, baguette or ciabatta can be substituted.

Panzanella
This Italian word for "bread salad" includes ripe summer tomatoes and other vegetables from the garden.

Bruschetta ai Fagioli
"Bruschetta" means "giving color to the bread" - as in toasting or grilling. Cannellini beans and sage puréed for a gorgeous dish.

Pappa al Pomodoro
"Pappa" is Italian for pulp - and this delicious pulp of tomatoes and bread makes a delicious room temperature dish.