Antonio Mattei

Almond biscotti have come out of Antonio Mattei's bakery in Prato, Tuscany, since 1858, and since the 1880s they have been packed in the company's blue bag.

About Antonio Mattei

Based in
Prato, Tuscany, Italy
Founded
1858
Known for
Biscotti di Prato in the blue bag

Antonio Mattei opened his bakery in the historic center of Prato, in Tuscany, in 1858, making bread and pasta along with cantucci and biscuits. In the early 1920s Ernesto Pandolfini took over the business and focused it more and more on sweets. His son Paolo ran it next, and Paolo's children joined in 1990. The family still trades under Mattei's name.

The company built its name on Biscotti di Prato, the almond biscuits named for the town, and has used the same blue for its packaging since the 1880s. In 2019 the firm registered that blue as a single-color trademark in Europe, and in 2018 it opened a shop, the Museo Bottega, in Florence.

Antonio Mattei questions

Why are Biscotti di Prato so hard?

Biscotti comes from the medieval Latin biscoctus, meaning cooked twice. The dough is shaped into loaves and baked, then sliced and put back in the oven, and the second baking dries the slices through. Mattei's almond Biscotti di Prato use only five ingredients, flour, sugar, eggs, almonds and pine nuts, with no butter or yeast.

What do you dip Biscotti di Prato in?

In Tuscany they are served after dinner with Vin Santo, a wine made from grapes dried on or off the vine and then aged in barrels; Vin Santo del Chianti, for example, spends about three years or more in barrel and can be dry or sweet. A quick dip softens the biscotti. Mattei also suggests them with coffee or a cappuccino as a snack.

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