In the Middle Ages it was the custom to make a special bread with a simple dough sweetened with honey and enriched with fresh fruit such as figs, grapes, plums, and apples.

The fruit was added to the dough in small pieces and the bread was cooked over a fairly low heat so that it didn’t get too dry. In 1879, when Margherita of Savoy went to Siena to see the Palio, a delicate white panforte was given to the queen and in her honour it became known as ‘panforte Margherita’.