The bussolà of Burano is a typical donut-shaped cake of the island, also known by the name of buranelli. There is also a variation of these cookies having a "S" shape, because of its form they are called Burano's essi (plural) or Burano's esse (singular).

The sweet has a composition rich in nutrients, such as eggs, flour, sugar and butter which, after have been cooked, have a long durability.
So this is a healthy food, made with natural ingredients and free from harmful to health oils or fats, such as palm oil, often present in industrial biscuits and sweets.

In the past these Burano's cookies were prepared by the wives of the fishermen, when they were moving away from home to go fishing, for long periods of time.
In the event that the sailors couldn't have a good nutrition, the bussolà arranged to give them all the energies sufficient to deal with the sea life.

It is also said that the bussolà buranello, flavored with vanilla, rum or lemon, was used to scent the linen into the drawers.

In addition to the above uses, the bussolà was and is still prepared in case of festivities such as the Easter: indeed it can be said that the bussolà is the Easter sweet of Burano.

It's tradition of Burano that the ladies, a few days before Easter, rent the ovens of the island's bakeries or pastries for a few hours, cooking the dough for their bussolà of Easter.

Countless are the sweets and cookies of Burano that are made with the classic dough of bussolà buranello: strudel, cakes, sticks flavored with limoncello or fragolino, baskets stuffed with cream, coconut stuffed bussolà, bussolà with chocolate chips and many other dolcetti to taste.

The staff of isoladiburano.it proposes the classical recipe of Burano's Bussolà which can be intended also as the Burano's Esse recipe:

Ingredients of Bussolà Buranello

• 1 Kg of flour
• 12 egg yolks
• 600 gr of sugar
• 300 gr of butter
• vanillin
• rum

Preparation of Burano's Bussolà

Assemble the egg yolks with the sugar, adding butter, flour and spices. Mix all the ingredients quickly so that the sugar does not emerge during cooking.

Arrange the cakes of the desired shape in a baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes in a oven preheated at 180 degrees.

The cooking time depends on the size of your cookies, but it's a good pratice to churn them out just when they have become golden.

Of course any bakery or pastry, as well as the ladies of the Burano, have their own secrets that make the cookies unique and difficult to imitate. So please don't despair if your homemade "essi" or "bussolà" are not as good as the ones you tasted or purchased in Burano.