The Maltese bakery offers several kinds of cooking project: a loaf with a crisp crust, small pastries to eat warm, a pie to share, or a box of sweets. This collection helps you choose by dough and filling rather than treating every pastry as the same task.

For an introduction to flaky pastry and its two fillings, use the pastizzi guide. The qassatat guide covers open-topped ricotta, pea, and anchovy pastries. For the distinction between bread for sandwiches and topped Gozitan dough, read the ftira guide.

For a first attempt, choose a recipe whose timing fits your day. Yeasted bread needs rising time, flaky pastry benefits from careful handling, and filled pies need a filling that is ready before assembly. Measure ingredients before you begin and follow the resting times in the individual recipe.

Torta tal-Irkotta in this collection is a savoury ricotta pie. If you want something sweet, head to the biscuit and pastry group below. For the occasions associated with Figolli, Kwareżimal, and other sweets, see Maltese celebration food. Pies also fit into our Sunday lunch guide.