recipe: panzanella (bread and tomato)

July 18, 2015 | Simona

Panzanella

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: NA

Keywords: appetizer entree snack vegetarian vegan tomatoes bread Italian summer

Ingredients (variable)

Slices of bread: choose a rustic type of bread (possibly including some whole-wheat flour, maybe baked in a wood-fired oven), one or two days old
Ripe, tasty tomatoes, preferably organic
Fine sea salt
Fresh basil leaves, slivered
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Instructions

The actual amount is based on number of people to be served, size of the bread and of the tomatoes and personal preference. The recipe provides guidelines. The photos show a panzanella lunch for my husband, for which I cut four slices from a small loaf of whole-wheat sourdough bread and used a large tomato.

Place each bread slice under a thin stream of cold water from the faucet and turn it to make the water hit the crust all around. The bread should become moist, not soaked. Distribute the slices on one or more plates.

Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half crosswise. Drain any water from under the bread slices. Rub a tomato half over a slice or two of bread and squeeze at the same time, so the bread absorbs the tomato juice. The photo below shows you what the panzanella looks like at the end of this step.

Cut the squeezed tomato halves into 1-inch / 2.5 cm pieces and distribute them in an even layer on the bread slices. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on them and some of the basil. Finally, season with a thread of olive oil and “a suspicion of vinegar” (borrowing a befitting expression from Sicilian writer Andrea Camilleri2).

Bring the plates to the table. No silverware needed: just use your hands.

Go to the full post on panzanella

cuchaule: Swiss saffron bread / pane svizzero allo zafferano

June 8, 2015 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

golden bread in the golden hour

The twelfth stop of our World Culinary ABC¹ is Switzerland (Svizzera), a country I have visited a number of times.

An area we particularly like is Engadin (Engadina). The photo below shows an example of the traditional decorations that grace the façades of buildings in the valley, called sgraffiti, from the Italian graffiare (to scratch)².

traditional decoration called sgraffiti

To celebrate this stop, I made my version of cuchaule, a traditional bread from Canton Fribourg that includes saffron among the ingredients. As usual, I took the basic elements from online recipes, then applied my experience and preferences. This is a nice, festive bread. I lightened it up to make it more of an everyday bread. The concurrent reading of a novel inspired one of the choices I made in terms of ingredients.

The novel The Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, tells the story of a young woman running away from her past: she moves to a new place every year following her honeybee queen (ape regina). The cast of characters is quite colorful and the protagonist, aptly named Sugar, tries her best to bring the smile back to their faces. Among them, Ruby, a young woman robbed of their smile by anorexia. The few 1/8 of a rice cracker portions she doles out to herself daily made me want to bake bread for her, the quintessential nourishing food of the culinary tradition in which I grew up, and sweeten it lightly with honey. Its yellow color is a way of bringing a ray of light in Ruby's life.

homemade bread with homemade cheese: a perfect couple

For my recipe I use a preferment, so preparation starts the evening before baking day. I also let the saffron infuse the milk overnight.

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Cuchaule

Ingredients:

For the preferment (to be prepared the night before baking):

60 ml water at 80 F / 27 C
1/8 teaspoon / 0.4 g instant yeast
65 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)

For the saffron-infused milk (to be prepared the night before baking):

150 ml milk (I used non-fat)
A pinch of saffron threads

For the dough:

65 g whole-wheat flour (I use locally grown and milled Hollis wheat)
200 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon / 3 g dry milk (powder)
1/16 teaspoon turmeric (curcuma), optional, for color
2.3 g instant yeast
20 g fluid honey
1 ounce / 28 g unsalted butter, softened
2 g sea salt

For the egg wash:

1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons / 10 ml water

Prepare the preferment
Pour water in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast on the water then whisk lightly to blend. Add the flour and stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. The morning after it will be bubbly.

Prepare the milk
Warm up the milk to 115 F / 46 C. Sprinkle saffron on it and stir. Cover and let sit for an hour or so, then place in the refrigerator. The morning after, take it out of the refrigerator.

Prepare the dough
Weigh the flours and place in a bowl. Add the dry milk and turmeric, if using, and stir in.

Warm up the milk to 85 F / 30 C. Pour onto the pre-ferment, sprinkle yeast on surface and stir to form a batter. Add the honey and stir, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients.

Stir briefly with a dough whisk, spatula or wooden spoon. Add the butter and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Sprinkle salt on the surface, cover the bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Stir some more until a cohesive dough forms. Empty the bowl onto your working surface and knead briefly until the dough is homogeneous.

Clean and oil the bowl. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough, then flip it and place it into the bowl. Cover and let rest for half an hour.

Stretch and letter-fold the dough in the bowl, rotate 90 degrees then stretch and letter-fold again. Flip the dough so it is seam side down. Cover and let rest until well risen (doubled in bulk) and the gluten is well developed.

This very nice video on The SF Baking Institute website describes and shows a couple of important techniques I apply to bread dough.

Stretching and folding
Pre-shaping and shaping rounds (useful for later)

The video is not long, but if you don't have time to watch it in its entirety, you can start at 4':30" and watch about 8 minutes until Mac shows how to shape a boule.

Shape the bread
Lightly flour your working surface and transfer the dough onto it (top side down).

Gently pat the dough to flatten it into a thick square and degas. Fold corners of dough towards the center, flip (so it is seam side down) and pre-shape into a boule on an unfloured section of your working surface, which offers some resistance (see video at 8'). Move the round towards you, then back with a slight rotation, all the while tucking dough underneath. Bring a bit of tension to the dough, but not as much as you will later, during shaping.

Let the pre-shaped round rest for 20 minutes, covered.

Flip the dough (so it is seam side up) and flatten lightly, then fold corners of dough towards the center. Flip (so it is seam side down) and shape into a boule on an unfloured section of your working surface, which offers some resistance (see video at 12'). Move the round towards you then back with a slight rotation, all the while tucking dough underneath. Bring tension to the dough, but do not overdo or the surface will tear.

Gently transfer the dough, seam side down, to a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cover and let the dough rest until well risen: a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists. How long it takes depends on the room temperature.

Prepare for baking
Preheat the oven to 350 F /177 C.

In a small bowl, whisk water into the egg yolk.

Bake the bread
When the dough is ready to be baked, score the surface with a shallow grid pattern using a sharp blade. With a pastry brush, paint the surface with the egg wash.

Place baking sheet in the oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 200 F / 93 C. In my case it takes 35 minutes for the bread to bake.

Transfer bread to a rack to cool. Restrain your desire to go at the bread with your knife: let it cool completely, at least two hours, then slice and enjoy.

We particularly liked it with my homemade strawberry preserves and with my homemade Crescenza.

¹ The World Culinary ABC kick-off post.
² Sgraffiti

I contribute my bread to the 12th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. L like Lucerne (Switzerland) is hosted by Ivy of Kopiaste.

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

This is also my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole.

The roundup of the event.

Finally, this is my contribution to the 24th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

pane svizzero allo zafferano

or launch the pane svizzero allo zafferano audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

bread, saffron, milk, Swiss cuisine

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cuchaule (pane svizzero allo zafferano)

pane dal caldo colore

La dodicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale¹ è la Svizzera, paese che ho visitato diverse volte.

Una zona che ci piace in modo particolare è l'Engadina. La foto qui sotto mostra un esempio delle tradizionali decorazioni sulle facciate degli edifici chiamate sgraffiti.²

esempio di sgraffiti

Per celebrare questa tappa ho preparato cuchaule, pane tradizionale del Cantone di Friburgo. Come al solito, ho preso gli elementi fondamentali da ricette consultate sul web e ho poi applicato la mia esperienza e le mie preferenze per fare questo pane. L'ho alleggerito un po' in modo che sia un pane per tutti i giorni.

pane e formaggio fatti in casa: una coppia perfetta

La mia ricetta utilizza dell'impasto pre-lievitato quindi la preparazione inizia la sera prima del giorno di panificazione. E metto lo zafferano nel latte la sera prima di utilizzare entrambi.

Ingredienti:

Per la pasta lievitata (da preparare la sera prima del giorno di panificazione):

60 ml acqua a 27 C
1/8 cucchiaino / 0,4 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
65 g farina di grano forte

Per il latte infuso con lo zafferano (da preparare la sera prima del giorno di panificazione):

150 ml latte (io ho usato quello scremato)
Un pizzico di stimmi di zafferano

Per l'impasto:

65 g farina per pane integrale
200 g farina di grano forte
1/2 cucchiaio / 3 g latte secco in polvere
Una puntina di cucchiaino di curcuma, facoltativa, per dare colore
2,3 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
20 g miele fluido
28 g burro non salato ammorbidito
2 g sale marino fino

Per la superficie:

1 tuorlo d'uovo codice 0
2 cucchiaini / 10 ml acqua

Preparare la pasta lievitata
Versare l'acqua in una ciotola, poi aggiungere il lievito e mescolare brevemente con una frusta. Aggiungere la farina e mescolare fino a formare un impasto soffice. Coprire il contenitore con della pellicola di plastica e lasciar lievitare a temperatura ambiente per tutta la notte. Il mattino dopo vedrete la superficie cosparsa di bollicine.

Preparare il latte
Scaldare il latte a 46 C. Aggiungere lo zafferano e mescolare brevemente. Coprire il contenitore e lasciar riposare per un'oretta poi metterlo in frigorifero. La mattina dopo tirarlo fuori.

Preparare l'impasto
Pesare le farine e metterle in una ciotola. Aggiungere il latte e la curcuma (facoltativa).

Scaldare il latte a 30 C. Versarlo sulla pasta fermentata, aggiungere il lievito e mescolare fino a formare una pastella. Aggiungere il miele e mescolare, poi versare il tutto nella ciotola con gli ingredienti secchi.

Mescolare un po', poi aggiungere il burro e mescolare solo fino a quando si forma un impasto. Distribuire il sale sulla superficie. Coprire la ciotola e far riposare per 5-10 minuti.

Mescolare ancora per un paio di minuti. Infarinare leggermente il piano di lavoro e trasferirci sopra l'impasto. Impastare brevemente fino ad ottenere un impasto omogeneo.

Pulire la ciotola e oliarla. Con le mani umide, tirare leggermente l'impasto da un lato e piegarlo verso il lato opposto. Ripetere dall'altra parte, come se piegaste un foglio di carta in terzi per metterlo in una busta. Voltare l'impasto piegato sottosopra e trasferirlo nella ciotola. Coprire con della pellicola di plastica e lasciar lievitare per mezz'ora.

Con le mani umide, tirare l'impasto da un lato e piegarlo verso il lato opposto. Ripetere dall'altra parte, come se piegaste un foglio di carta in terzi per metterlo in una busta. Ruotare l'impasto di 90 gradi e ripetere tiratura e piegamento. Rivoltare l'impasto in modo che la piega sia in basso. Coprire e lasciar lievitare fino a quando l'impasto sia raddoppiato di volume e il glutine sia ben sviluppato.

Questo video sull sito del SF Baking Institute mostra un paio di tecniche importanti:

Tiratura e piegamento
Preformazione e formazione di una boule, o pane rotondo (utile in seguito)

Il video non è lungo ma se non avete tempo di guardarlo tutto, potete cominciare a 4':30" e guardare circa 8 minuti fino a quando Mac forma la boule.

Formare il pane
Infarinare leggermente il piano di lavoro e rovesciarci sopra l'impasto.

Spianare leggermente l'impasto a formare un quadrato spesso. Piegare verso il centro gli angoli, rovesciare e su un pezzo di piano senza farina far roteare l'impasto in modo da creare un pochino di tensione in superficie (vedi video a 8').

Corprire con la ciotola rovesciata e far riposare 20 minuti.

Rovesciare l'impasto e spianarlo leggermente, poi piegare verso il centro gli angoli. Rovesciare su un pezzo di piano senza farina e far roteare l'impasto in modo da creare tensione in superficie (vedi video a 12'), ma senza lacerarla. Muovere l'impasto verso di voi con una leggera rotazione e allo stesso tempo rimboccarlo sotto.

Trasferire su una placca da forno foderata con un tappetino da forno di silicone o un pezzo di carta da forno. Coprire e lasciar riposare fino a quando l'impasto sia ben lievitato e una fossetta fatta sulla pasta colla punta del dito persiste. Il tempo necessario dipende dalla temperatura ambiente.

Preparare il forno
Riscaldare il forno a 177 C.

In una ciotolina, mescolare il tuorlo d'uovo e l'acqua.

Cuocere il pane
Quando l'impasto è pronto ad essere infornato, con una lama affilata segnare la superficie con dei tagli a griglia.

Con un pennello da pasticceria spennellare l'uovo sulla superficie del pane.

Infornare e cuocere fino a quando la temperatura interna raggiunga i 93 C, circa 35 minuti.

Trasferire il pane su una griglia e far raffreddare senza disturbarlo, almeno due ore, poi affettare e gustare.

¹ Post inaugurale dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale.
² Sgraffiti

Con questa ricetta partecipo alla dodicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. L like Lucerne (Svizzera) è ospitata da Ivy di Kopiaste.

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra.

pane di Pasqua bulgaro / Bulgarian Easter bread

June 9, 2014 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

my (non-traditional) version of kozunak

It comes out of the oven looking beautiful and smelling delicately sweet. However, an inviting appearance must translate into the right combination of crust and crumb. In this case, a thin, crisp crust made crunchy by poppy seeds and a soft crumb tasting lightly of eggs enriched by the bold flavor and texture of raisins and walnuts — all in balance.

The proof is in the cutting and the tasting. The blade chooses a place where to sink its teeth and a delicate sawing motion brings it slowly to graze the wooden board on which the bread rests. The pale yellow crumb looks almost ethereal.

I cut another slice and then another. Each one falls upon the one before like a domino piece. I inhale the delicate aroma and then break a morsel for the final test. Out of flour, milk, eggs, yeast and a few other ingredients, there came a loaf of bread that tastes exactly as I wanted.

And I smile. Small pleasures like this are pearls on the necklace of life.

kozunak: Bulgarian Easter bread / pane di Pasqua bulgaro

the proof is in the cutting

The bread in the photos is my personal take on the Bulgarian Easter bread called kozunak. It belongs to the tradition of Easter bread with eggs (uova) found in many European countries (and most recently celebrated with the Lithuanian Easter bread I presented not long ago).

I read a lot of recipes online, but fundamentally went my own way, so this is a completely non-traditional version of kozunak. Most importantly, I drastically reduced the amount of sugar, lowered the amount of butter and oil, but used more egg yolks, replaced about 20% of the white wheat flour with whole-grain flours (farine integrali) and rather than adding raisins and walnuts to the dough, I used the method already tested in the raisin walnut braided bread. Finally, I decorated the surface with my own poppy seeds (semi di papavero), of which I have a nice stash, rather than sliced almonds.

One intriguing characteristic of some of the recipes for kozunak I browsed was the overnight leavening of the whole dough at room temperature, something I had not done before. And another new thing I tried was to soak raisins in tea, something I read in this recipe.

Important: this bread is left to leaven overnight, so plan accordingly. The raisins must also soak overnight.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Bulgarian Easter bread

Ingredients:

For the dough

200 ml milk at 95 F / 35 C (I used non-fat)
1 tablespoon / 15 ml water
2.5 g instant yeast
3 large egg yolks from pastured poultry: 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g
1 large egg from pastured poultry: 2 oz. / 55 g
20 g olive oil
20 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
20 g agave nectar or fluid honey
1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla extract
Grated zest of half an organic lemon
14 1/8 oz. / 400 g all-purpose flour (King Arthur Flour is the brand I always use to make bread), plus as needed to knead and shape the bread
1 3/4 oz. / 50 g whole-wheat flour
1 3/4 oz. / 50 g sprouted whole-wheat flour (the one I use is also from KAF)
1 teaspoon / 5 g salt

For the filling

3 oz. / 85 g raisins, chopped if large
15 ml Amaretto or rum
1/2 cup / 120 ml tea
3 oz. / 85 g walnuts (see below)

For the surface

1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons / 10 ml water
Poppy seeds

Make the dough the evening before baking the bread
Pour milk and water in a bowl, add the yeast and whisk lightly. Add the next 7 ingredients and whisk a bit more to break the yolks.

Add flours and salt and stir to make a shaggy dough. Scrape the side of the bowl well to incorporate all the flour. Let rest 10 minutes or so.

With a wet wooden spoon or a dough whisk, work the dough for a couple of minutes.

Lightly flour your kneading board or working surface and empty the bowl on it. With the help of a bench scraper, work the dough a bit longer. It is a bit tacky, but refrain from adding more than a light dusting flour.

Oil a clean bowl. Stretch and tightly the dough and place it into the bowl. Cover it with a clean shower cap or plastic wrap and set aside to ferment overnight at room temperature.

(As our house becomes fairly cool at night, I placed the bowl on top of the refrigerator, where the temperature is higher.)

Prepare the raisins the evening before baking the bread
Place raisins in a small bowl and pour the liqueur of choice on them. Stir, then cover with the tea. Stir again and let rest overnight.

Prepare the walnuts
If your walnuts are freshly cracked, toast them lightly in a dry pan, shaking the pan often.

Otherwise, in her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison gives instructions on how to treat walnuts to improve their flavor when they aren't freshly cracked, and make them less irritating for people who are sensitive to their skins. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. Finally, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and place them in the oven preheated to 300 F until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry.

the dough the morning after

Shape the bread
The morning after, with the help of a scale, divide the dough into three pieces of equal weight.

Measure the amount of walnuts required and chop them rather finely. Drain the raisins.

Lightly flour your kneading board or working surface. Flatten a piece of dough into a 14" x 7" / 35.5 x 17.5 cm rectangle. Distribute 1 oz. / 28 g of walnuts on each rectangle of dough, then one third of the amount of raisins, leaving a margin of 1 inch / 2.5 cm all around (see photo below: it's not pretty but should make it clear what I mean).

filling one strand

Starting with a long edge, roll the rectangle into a log. Place log on a lightly floured silicone baking mat resting on the back side of a baking sheet. Repeat with the other two pieces of dough. Braid the logs, tucking the ends neatly.

Whisk egg yolk with water and brush the surface. Let the braid rise until puffy (a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists). The time needed depends on the room temperature (1-2 hours).

Bake the bread
Preheat the oven to 325 F / 163 C, and place another baking sheet in the oven. If you have the convection bake option use it (and if your oven does not do it automatically, adjust the temperature accordingly).

When you are ready to bake the braid, brush the surface again with the egg wash and sprinkle it with poppy seeds.

Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and slide on it the silicone baking mat with the braid. Bake the braid for 20 minutes, then turn the sheet 180 degrees and continue baking until golden, about 20 more minutes. When the bread is done, a digital thermometer inserted into the center should register 190 F / 88 C.

Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool.

kozunak: Bulgarian Easter bread / pane di Pasqua blugaro

just baked

Let it cool undisturbed before slicing.

would you like a slice?

This is my current favorite among the egg breads I have made so far. The thin crust made crisper by poppy seeds, the tender egg-y crumb dotted with sweet raisins and crunchy walnuts make this a bread for all meals (pasti). As its flavor is subtle, this festive bread accompanies well various types of companatico (literally, what goes with bread), from roasted apple sauce to hummus to various cheeses. It also travels well: I made sandwiches with it to eat during a flight and packed the rest for our trip to the mountains. And like challah, it is perfect for French toast.

I contribute my Bulgarian Easter bread to the 25th installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. Y like Yahni (Bulgaria) is hosted by Paola of Nastro di raso.

This page contains the list of contributions to the event.

I am sending this bread also to the June edition of Panissimo, a monthly event created by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of Indovina chi viene a cena? and hosted this month by Valentina of Non di solo pane.

And to the monthly showcase Sourdough and Yeast by Wisla (in Polish). The roundup of the event.

Finally, I am sending my braided bread to Yeastspotting. This page contains the first part of the roundup and a link to the second part.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane di Pasqua bulgaro

or launch the pane di Pasqua bulgaro audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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bread, raisins, walnuts, poppy seeds, eggs, Bulgarian cuisine

pane di Pasqua bulgaro

la mia versione (non-tradizionale) del kozunak

Esce dal forno bello e dal profumo leggermente dolce. Ma all'apparenza attraente deve corrispondere un buon sapore e quindi passo alla prova del coltello.

La lama sceglie il punto dove affondare e arriva pian piano a toccare il tagliere su cui riposa il pane. La mollica dal colore giallo pallido ha un aspetto quasi etereo.

Taglio un'altra fetta, poi un'altra ancora e si adagiano l'una sull'altra come tessere di domino fatte cadere. Il naso fa il suo assaggio inalando profondamente e poi rompo un pezzetto per l'esame finale. Con farina, latte, uova, lievito e alcuni altri ingredienti ho fatto un pane dal sapore desiderato.

Sorrido. Piccoli piaceri some questo sono perle della collana della vita.

la prova del taglio

Il pane delle foto è la mia interpretazione personale del kozunak, pane di Pasqua bulgaro, appartenente alla tradizione dei pani a base di uova che si ritrova in molti paesi europei (e celebrata di recente con il pane di Pasqua lituano).

Ho letto parecchie ricette su internet ma ho fatto di testa mia, quindi questa è una versione del tutto non tradizionale del kozunak. Ho drasticamente ridotto lo zucchero, usato meno olio e burro, ma più tuorli, sostituito il 20% della farina bianca con farine integrali e invece che aggiungere uvetta e noci all'impasto ho usato il metodo sperimentato nella treccia di pane che ho fatto di recente. Infine ho decorato la superficie con i miei semi di papavero invece che con lamelle di mandorle.

Una caratteristica di alcune ricette del kozunak che ho letto è la fermentazione notturna a temperatura ambiente, alternativa che non avevo mai provato. Un'altra cosa che ho provato per la prima volta è il far rinvenire l'uvetta nel tè, come ho letto in questa ricetta.

Importante: questo pane lievita durante la notte, quindi si prepara la sera prima e l'uvetta viene lasciata rinvenire lo stesso tempo.

Ingredienti:

Per l'impasto

200 ml latte a 35 C (io ho usato quello scremato)
15 ml acqua
2,5 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
3 tuorli d'uovo codice 0: 50 g
1 uovo codice 0: 55 g
20 g olio EV oliva
20 g burro non salato fuso tiepido
20 g miele fluido o nettare di agave
5 ml estratto di vaniglia
Buccia grattugiata di mezzo limone bio
400 g farina di grano forte
100 g farina per pane integrale
5 g sale marino fino

Per il ripieno

85 g uvetta sultanina
15 ml rum o Amaretto
120 ml tè
85 g noci

Per la superficie

1 tuorlo d'uovo codice 0
10 ml acqua
Semi di papavero

Preparare l'impasto la sera prima di cuocere il pane
Versare latte e acqua in una ciotola, poi aggiungere il lievito e mescolare brevemente con una frusta. Aggiungere i 7 ingredienti successivi e mescolare con la frusta per rompere i tuorli.

Aggiungere il lievito e mescolare ancora un poco.

Aggiungere le farine e il sale e mescolare solo fino a quando si forma un impasto. Coprire la ciotola e far riposare per 10 minuti.

Mescolare ancora per un paio di minuti. (Se utilizzate un cucchiaio di legno, inumiditelo prima di mescolare in modo che l'impasto non vi si attacchi.)

Infarinare leggermente il piano di lavoro e trasferirci sopra l'impasto. Con l'aiuto di un raschietto, lavorare ancora un poco l'impasto: è un po' appiccicoso, ma evitate di aggiungere più di una spolverata di farina.

Oliare una ciotola pulita o contenitore per lievitazione e trasferirci l'impasto. Con le mani umide, tirare delicatamente l'impasto da un lato e piegarlo verso il lato opposto. Ripetere dall'altra parte, come se piegaste un foglio di carta in terzi per metterlo in una busta. Voltare l'impasto piegato sottosopra e trasferirlo nel contenitore. Coprire il contenitore con della pellicola di plastica o con il suo coperchio e lasciar lievitare l'impasto a temperatura ambiente per tutta la notte.

(Dal momento che casa nostra è piuttosto fresca di notte, io ho messo il contenitore in alto, sopra il frigorifero, dove la temperatura è più elevata.)

Preparare l'uvetta la sera avanti
Mettere l'uvetta in una ciotolina e versarci sopra il liquore. Mescolare poi aggiungere il tè fino a coprirla. Mescolare di nuovo e poi lasciar riposare.

Preparare le noci
Se le noci sono appena sgusciate, tostatele leggermente in una padellina a secco, scuotendo la padellina spesso.

Altrimenti, nel suo libro “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison spiega come trattare le noci per migliorare il loro sapore quando non sono appena sgusciate e renderle meno irritanti per le persone sensibili alla pellicina che le ricopre. Portare a bollore una pentolina d'acqua, versarci le noci e sbollentarle per un minuto, poi scolarle e assorbire l'eccesso di umidità con uno strofinaccio.

Distribuire le noci su una placca foderata con un tappetino di silicone da forno. Mettere nel forno scaldato a 150 C fino a quando le noci si sono asciugate bene, 15-20 minuti. Tirare fuori dal forno non appena sono asciutte. (Preparo in questo modo 170-225 g di noci per volta, dal momento che le uso spesso nelle mie ricette. Conservare le noci in frigorifero.)

l'impasto la mattina dopo

Formare il pane
La mattina dopo, con l'aiuto di una bilancia, dividere l'impasto in tre parti uguali e trasferirli sul piano di lavoro leggermente infarinato. Pesare le noci necessarie e tritarle. Scolare l'uvetta.

Stendere un pezzo di impasto formando un rettangolo di 35,5 x 17,5 cm. Distribuire un terzo delle noci sul rettangolo, poi un terzo dell'uvetta, lasciando un margine di 2,5 cm tutto intorno (vedi foto in basso).

Partendo dal lato lungo, arrotolare il rettangolo fino a formare un cilindro. Deporre il cilindro su una placca da forno rovesciata e foderata con un tappetino da forno di silicone.

Ripetere con gli altri due pezzi di impasto. Fare una treccia a tre capi con i cilindri e rimboccare le due estremità.

Mescolare con una frusta tuorlo d'uovo e acqua e spennellarci la superficie del pane. Far lievitare la treccia a temperatura ambiente fino a quando sia gonfiotta (una fossetta fatta sulla pasta col la punta del dito persiste). Quanto tempo ci voglia per questo dipende dalla temperatura ambiente (1-2 ore).

filling one strand

Cuocere il pane
Quando l'impasto è quasi pronto, riscaldare il forno a 163 C e metterci dentro un'altra placca da forno. (Se avete l'opzione forno ventilato, utlizzatela e se il vostro forno non lo fa automaticamente, aggiustate la temperatura in base alle istruzioni per l'uso.)

Spennellare di nuovo la superficie della treccia col tuorlo diluito, poi spargervi sopra i semi di papavero.

Togliere dal forno la placca rovente e farci scivolare sopra il tappetino con la treccia. Infornare e cuocere per 20 minuti, poi ruotare la placca di 180 gradi e continuare la cottura per altri 20 minuti circa. Controllare la temperatura interna del pane: se è 88 C, il pane è cotto. Se la temperatura è inferiore, infornare di nuovo e controllare dopo qualche minuto.

Sfornare e trasferire il pane su una gratella. Farlo raffreddare completamente prima di tagliarlo.

appena sfornato

Adesso questo è il mio pane all'uovo preferito.

gradite una fetta?

Il sapore delicato di questo pane lo rende adatto ad accompagnare cibi sia dolci che salati.

Con il mio pane partecipo alla tappa numero 25 dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. Y come Yahni (Bulgaria) è ospitato da Paola di Nastro di raso.

Questa pagina contiene la lista dei contributi all'evento.

Mando questo pane anche all'edizione di Giugno di Panissimo un evento mensile creato da Barbara di Bread & Companatico e Sandra di Indovina chi viene a cena? e ospitato questo mese da Valentina di Non di solo pane.

E anche:

– alla raccolta mensile Sourdough and Yeast di Wisla (in polacco). La raccolta dell'evento.

– a Yeastspotting. Questa pagina contiene la prima parte della raccolta e il link alla seconda parte.

recipe: ftira, Maltese bread (pane maltese)

March 5, 2014 | Simona

Ftira: Maltese bread

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 20 minutes over 2 days

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake bread flour

Ingredients

Ingredients for the preferment

4 oz. / 113 g sourdough starter refreshed in the morning (see below for details)
4 oz. / 120 ml water at room temperature
1 g instant yeast
120 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)
10 g whole-wheat flour

Ingredients for the final dough

All of the preferment
7.5 oz. / 212 g water + up to .5 oz. / 14 g more if needed (see below for details)
1 oz. / 28 g high gluten flour
2 oz. whole-wheat flour
Enough King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour to reach a total of 260 g flour
1.5 g instant yeast
2 teaspoons / 10 g fine sea salt
1 tablespoon / 15 ml olive oil

Optional topping

sesame or poppy seeds

Instructions

Preparing the starter

The morning before you plan to bake the bread, when you refresh your sourdough starter, put in a small container:

2 tablespoons / 30 ml sourdough starter from the day before

2 oz. / 60 ml water

2 oz. / 56 g all-purpose flour

Cover the container and let the starter ferment in a draft-free place (in my case, the top of the refrigerator) until the evening, when you’ll make the preferment.

Preparing the preferment

Weigh 4 oz. / 113 g sourdough starter prepared in the morning and put it in a mixing bowl. (The leftover can be used to start a new batch of starter.)

Add the rest of the preferment ingredients and mix until well combined. Cover the mixing bowl and place it in a draft-free place (in my case, the top of the refrigerator) until the morning after, when you’ll make the bread.

Preparing the bread dough

The morning after, you will see that the preferment is quite bubbly.

Mix all the ingredients of the final dough, using 7.5 oz. / 212 g of water. This is a wet dough and mixing it by hand, like I do, requires some care. Adding flour without having a sense of how much is a risky proposition, so I hold some water (the original recipe had 1 cup / 8 oz.) and mix all the ingredients.

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and in the meantime, oil a food-grade plastic tub with lid. This will allow you to manipulate the dough later. You need a rectangular container that will allow you to stretch, fold and flip the dough: not too high and large enough (see example).

After the 10 minute rest, mix the dough again for a couple of minutes and decide whether it needs some more water. Keep in mind, again, this is a sticky dough.

Pour the dough into the oiled tub. Wet your hands. If you have never done this, it feels counterintuitive, but indeed the way to handle wet dough is to have wet hands and a wet scraping tool. Stretch and fold the dough:

Slide your hands under the side of the dough farthest from you, raise the hands and stretch the dough, then fold it over onto the side closer to you.

Slide your hands under the side of the dough closer to you, raise the hands and stretch the dough, then fold it over onto the side farthest from you.

Turn the tub 90 degrees and repeat step 1 and 2.

Slide your hands under the dough, flip it and at the same time turn it 90 degrees. (For this step, you may use a wet scraping tool as helper.)

(In this video, Peter Reinhart shows the stretch and fold technique. He does not use a tub, but the concept is the same.)

Cover the tub and let the dough rest for one hour.

(A) Fold the dough again as described above. Cover the tub and let the dough rest for 30-45 minutes.

Repeat the steps described in the previous paragraph (labeled A) 2 more times.

Lightly flour a silicone baking mat. Uncover the tub and flip it over the baking mat: the dough will slowly drop onto the mat.

With wet hands and delicately, shape the dough into a flat disc and make a hole in the center, as shown in the photo above. Cover it either with the tub upside-down (which is what I do) or with some oiled plastic film. Let proof for half an hour, while you warm up the oven.

Place an oven rack on the lowest level of the oven. Place a small round pan on the oven bottom. Place baking tile on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450 F / 232 C and keep it at that temperature while the dough rests.

Prepare a glass of water. With a mister, spray some water on the surface of the dough. Optionally sprinkle some sesame or poppy seeds on the dough. Transfer the baking mat with the dough onto the hot baking tile. Pour the glass of water into the hot pan on the bottom of the oven: this will create some steam in the oven and give more time to the bread to rise before the crust sets.

Bake for about 20 minutes. The final internal temperature should be about 210 F / 99 C.

Transfer the ftira to a rack and let cool completely before cutting. (I don’t allow the knife to touch it for at least two hours.)

Slice and enjoy.

Go to the full post on ftira: pane maltese / Maltese bread

pane alla zucca con siero di latte / winter squash and whey bread

November 25, 2013 | Simona

a beautiful bread

As I was taking my seat at the Zellerbach Playhouse in Berkeley, one October evening in 2005, the man next to me warned me about the play that would soon start: “It’s all in Italian.” I thanked him with a smile and confessed I spoke the language.

In fact, I had seen the same rendition of the play, Arlecchino servitore di due padroni (Servant of Two Masters), some years prior, when I was still living in Milan and could not miss the opportunity to enjoy it again. Supertitles helped the audience navigate the fast dialog spoken not only in Italian, but also in dialect (this video contains a short sample).

I smiled and laughed according to the goings-on on stage and relished again the obvious humor and subtle irony of the comedy by beloved Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707-93). When the comedy came from a physical action, the audience laughed in unison, but when it came from a play of words or an allusion, or was otherwise dependent on the dialog, I laughed in sparse company. People not fluent in Italian had to wait for the supertitles to catch up. And sometimes the humor was culturally rooted, so the translation could not really translate it.

The tables were turned just a short week later. Sitting amid an overwhelmingly Chinese audience at the performance of The Teahouse by the Beijing People’s Art Theater, I was part of the group laughing with some delay and sometimes not at all.

Reading the current Cook the Books selection Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver and family, made me feel a member of the audience at a play in a foreign language without supertitles. I read paragraph after paragraph and had the sense that the intent was humorous, but I did not understand what was that should have elicited my laughter or smile.

I understand the book inspired some of its readers to take a closer look at their eating habits in terms of seasonality and locality and for that I applaud the author. I grew up (in Italy) in an environment where those concept were applied as a matter of tradition, hence they have been part of my life as far as my memory can reach. When I moved to Milan, I moved away from that environment, but the next move, to California, occurred at a time when farmers' market and other forms of direct exchange between producers and consumers started to become more and more popular. For the past few years, I have lived in a situation in many ways similar to the one of my childhood. One difference is that now I make in my kitchen some of the products I used to buy, like bread and cheese. Speaking of which…

In the chapter about a visit to Italy, the author mentions a prized variety of winter squash: Zucca Marina di Chioggia¹. Chioggia is a city at the south end of the Laguna veneta and Sottomarina (Marina in the local dialect) is a quarter of the city.

zucca marina di chioggia

I had a gorgeous Zucca Marina di Chioggia from Organic Matters Ranch and besides making gnocchi with it (a story for another day), I made bread. This variety of zucca is dark blue-green with a silver luster, has a flattened rounded shape with pronounced ribs and an uneven, "warty" surface. It is rather large, so, after roasting it, I got a fair amount of deep orange, thick pulp, rather dry but easily creamed when worked with a fork. The photo above was transformed into black and white using Lightroom Split Tone 2 preset. I did that because, due to the time of day I took the photo, the color was bleached, so I decided to highlight the squash's bumpy surface.

The original recipe of the bread is by Dan Lepard. I made the bread three times so far, and besides Marina di Chioggia, I used Black Futsu squash and Buttercup squash, also from local farmers. The type of squash used makes a difference when measuring the liquid portion of the recipe, which is whey (siero di latte).

I always use part of the whey I obtain when I make fresh cheese to make bread (according to another recipe by Dan Lepard from his book "The Handmade Loaf") and freeze at least some of the rest (that whey is not suitable by itself for making ricotta). The most recent fresh cheese I made is Quark (a story you will soon read).

bread and bowl with squash soup

The original recipe makes one large or two regular loaves: I halve it to make one loaf. I also make some small adjustments, part personal preferences, part experiments.

Ingredients I use:

225 g cooked winter squash (see Note below)
275 ml whey (see Note below)
3.5 g instant yeast
42 g / 1 1/2 oz. sunflower seeds, lightly toasted in a dry skillet
56 g / 2 oz. walnuts, prepared as described below and then chopped
1 tablespoon / 15 ml olive oil
50 g whole-wheat flour
50 g sprouted whole-wheat flour
400 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Note: I add 25 ml of whey to the quantity called for (225 ml) because of the whole-wheat flours I used. I then add 25 ml more, because the squashes I have used are drier than the drained cooked pumpkin used in the original recipe.

How to prepare the winter squash
Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C. If the squash is hard, pre-process it as follows: pierce it with a blade in a few places, place it on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat, and bake it for 15 minutes, then let is cool slightly. This makes it easier to cut it in half.

Cut the squash (pre-processed or raw) in half lengthwise and remove the seeds (a grapefruit spoon is my preferred tool for this task). Place squash halves on the silicone baking mat, cut side down. Put back in the oven and bake until squash is tender, easily pierced with a blade. Let the squash cool and then scrape the flesh off the skin, again using a grapefruit spoon.

Weigh the amount required by the recipe. You can use excess squash to make this soup, a bowl of which is visible in the photo above.

How to prepare the walnuts
In her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison gives instructions on how to treat walnuts to improve their flavor when they aren't freshly cracked, and make them less irritating for people who are sensitive to their skins. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. Finally, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and place them in the oven preheated to 300 F / 150 C until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry.

How to make the bread
Follow the instructions in the original recipe of the bread in terms of mixing, kneading and leavening. (If you are interested in trying delayed fermentation, skip to the next section.)

In preparation for baking, I place my baking tile in the oven. When the loaf is ready for baking, I score it lengthwise and then mist the surface with water. (The recipe does not mention scoring, but the photo shows that it was done.)

Bake the loaf on the stone for 20 minutes at 425 F / 218 C. At the beginning, I make some steam with ice cubes. I turn down the oven to 375 F / 190 C and complete the baking at this temperature (another 20 minutes or so).

Take the loaf out of the oven and place on a rack. Let cool completely before slicing.

Update (11/29): after using overnight fermentation again, followed by baking in a lidded pot, as per Sally's suggestion (see her comment below), I decided to rewrite the section below to provide additional details to interested readers.

How to make the bread using delayed fermentation
Follow the instructions in the original recipe of the bread in terms of mixing, but use only 2.5 g of instant yeast.

After the 10 minute rest and brief kneading, place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover (with a shower cap, plastic film or the bowl's own lid) and refrigerate.

The morning after, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and let the dough come to room temperature. It will look slightly puffy.

Shape the dough into a round loaf: Flatten it, fold it, turn it seam side down, then use your hands and the traction of the kneading board to get a smooth ball with a smooth surface. Place the shaped dough into a brotform lined with floured cloth. Let it rise until a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists. The time needed is dependent on the room temperature. (It took my loaf 1 1/2 hour in my cool kitchen to be ready for baking.)

After 1/2 hour or so, place a baking tile in the oven and place a lidded 5-Qt cast-iron Dutch oven on it. Preheat the oven to 425 F / 218 C.

When the dough is ready, cut a piece of parchment paper large enough so that you can take hold of it by the corners and use them to help you lower the dough into the Dutch oven and later to retrieve the bread from it. Flip the dough onto the parchment paper, score the surface and mist the surface with water.

Take the Dutch oven out of the oven, remove the lid, and place in it the shaped dough. Put the lid on and place the Dutch oven back into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 F / 177 C. After 10 more minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The bread is done when the surface is golden and tapping the bottom will produce a hollow sound. I also checked the internal temperature and found that it was 205 F / 96 C.

just baked

This version was my favorite in terms of crumb texture and flavor, so I will definitely experiment with it further.

I love this bread. It has a lovely golden crust and a soft crumb in which walnuts and sunflower seeds pop nicely. It has a delicate flavor that charms the palate. It accompanies well many foods and is happy to be eaten by itself. I am sure I will continue making this recipe throughout winter squash season.

¹ In Zucca de Chioggia, "de" is a misspelling and unfortunately it is not the only one in this chapter.

This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books, hosted by Rachel of the Crispy Cook. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

This post contains the roundup of the event.

I am sending this bread also to the November edition of Panissimo, a monthly event created by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of Indovina chi viene a cena? and hosted this month by Michela of Menta e rosmarino.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

And also:

– to the monthly showcase Sourdough and Yeast by Wisla (in Polish). This is the roundup of the event.

– to Yeastspotting. This is the second part of the roundup, which includes links to the other two parts.

– to Week 4 of 12 Weeks of Winter Squash by Heather of girlichef and Joanne of Eats Well with Others.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane alla zucca con siero di latte

or launch the pane alla zucca con siero di latte audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

bread, homemade bread, whey, winter squash

pane d’orzo estone / Estonian soda bread

November 17, 2013 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

stone-ground barley flour

Do you remember being told as a kid not to play with your food? I do.

Back then, I played with foods I did not like: I had this idea that if I moved it around my plate long enough it would consume itself by friction and disappear. I was never allowed the time needed to prove the correctness of my theory.

Now I "play" with food in a completely different way. I match ingredients following some intuition that the marriage will work, I learn techniques that challenge my skills, I look for recipes that expand my horizon, I train my photographic eye to be creative with food.

The latter task is in truth the most difficult one, as I am a nature photographer by inspiration. However, sometimes I find the right mood and pick up my camera just to play. Here you see the result of a little game.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Shakefork Community Farm has been growing barley (orzo) for several years and mills it to provide the beautiful flour delicately speckled with bran (crusca) that you see in the photos. I get it freshly milled and when I open the bag, I smell that freshness.

In case you don't know, barley is an ancient grain:

Remains of barley (Hordeum vulgare) grains found at archaeological sites in the Fertile Crescent indicate that about 10,000 years ago the crop was domesticated there from its wild relative Hordeum spontaneum. (source)

Having a high-quality primary ingredient made it easy to choose Estonian soda bread to celebrate our European tour stop in that Baltic state easy.

Irish soda bread is fairly well known and I recently presented my version of that classic bread. On the other hand, I had never heard of its Estonian counterpart: barley bread, or Odrajahukarask.

The recipe I chose to interpret comes from Pille of Nami Nami, who used a recipe from "an Estonian cult baking book." Other recipes I looked at include this one that comes from an Estonian cookbook.

breakfast is served

Caraway seeds give this bread a robust flavor. The palate is somewhat suprised not to taste rye (segale) past the caraway, but something more delicate, yet still a bit rustic. This is a nice quick bread, good on a party plate (I know because I brought it to two parties) and for breakfast, as shown in the photo above. A layer of my homemade ricotta and one of roasted applesauce (salsa di mele arrosto) made a flavorful and healthy fare.

Ingredients I used:

175 g / 6 1/4 oz. whole-grain barley flour (farina d'orzo integrale)
90 g / 3 1/8 oz. all-purpose flour (see Note 1 below)
1 teaspoon / 5 ml baking soda (bicarbonato di soda)
1 large egg, possibly from pastured poultry
1 teaspoon / 5 ml sea salt
1 teaspoon / 5 ml sugar
1 cup / 240 ml homemade kefir or buttermilk
1 tablespoon / 15 ml olive oil
1 teaspoon / 5 ml caraway seeds

Note 1: I used King Arthur Flour Pastry Blend flour, a wheat flour with lower protein content than the regular KAF all-purpose flour.

Preheat the oven to 395 F / 200 C.

Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper and put it in the oven. Note 2: the original recipe uses a 9-inch (23 cm) square pan. Also, baking the bread in an already warm pan is my idea.

Sift the two flours and baking soda into a bowl. This is the dry mix.

In another bowl, whisk egg with salt and sugar until white and yolk are blended, then add the kefir (or buttermilk) and blend. Finally, add the oil and blend. This is the wet mix.

Pour wet mix into the bowl with the dry mix, add the caraway seeds and stir until just combined.

Take the square pan out of the oven and spoon mixture into it, spreading it lightly. My batter was rather thick, so I only spread it to make it roughtly even.

Bake the bread for about 25 minutes, until it is golden on top and passes the toothpick test. I recommend checking it after 20 minutes to evaluate how much more time in the oven it needs. All my renditions needed 25 minutes.

Take the pan out of the oven and, after a couple of minutes, transfer the bread to a rack to cool slightly.

bread basking in the morning sun

The recipes recommend to eat the bread warm and I agree. It is a nice accompaniment to cheese and various spreads I make. In summary, this is a perfect recipe for situations where a quick savory bread is called for.

My soda bread participates to the 15th installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. O like Orzotto (Estonia) is hosted by Lynne of Cafe Lynnylu.

On this page you will find Orzotto's recipe and the list of contributions to the event.

This is also my contribution to edition #410 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome and hosted this week by Cristina of La cucina di Cristina.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

And I am contributing the top photo to The Colour Me Photography Challenge Series created by Priya of The Humpty dumpty Kitchen. The theme for the month of November is off-white.

The roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane d'orzo estone

or launch the pane d'orzo estone audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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bread, barley flour, Estonian cuisine

pane d'orzo estone

farina d'orzo macinata a pietra

Vi ricordate quando da bambini vi dicevano di non giocare col cibo? Io sì.

Allora giocavo col cibo che non mi piaceva: ero convinta che se lo avessi fatto girare abbastanza a lungo sul piatto si sarebbe consumato e sarebbe sparito. Non mi è stato mai concesso il tempo necessario a provare la correttezza della mia teoria.

Adesso gioco col cibo in modo completamente diverso. Metto insieme ingredienti in base all'intuizione che il connubio funzioni, imparo tecniche che mettono alla prova le mie capacità, cerco ricette che espandano il mio orizzonte, insegno al mio occhio fotografico ad essere creativo col cibo.

Quest'ultimo compito è in verità il più difficile, perché io di fondo sono una fotografa della natura. Ma talvolta mi sorprendo nell'umore giusto e prendo in mano la macchina fotografica per giocare. Qui vedete il risultato di uno di questi momenti.

nevica!

Shakefork Community Farm coltiva orzo da diversi anni e lo macina per fornire la bella farina punteggiata di crusca che vedete nelle foto. Io la compro macinata fresca e quando apro la busta posso sentire il profumo di tale freschezza.

L'orzo è un cereale antico:

Resti di chicchi d'orzo (Hordeum vulgare) trovati in siti archeologici della mezzaluna fertile indicano che tale cereale fu addomesticato in quella zona circa 10 mila anni fa. (fonte)

Avendo a disposizione l'ingrediente principale di ottima qualità ha reso semplice scegliere il pane d'orzo estone (Odrajahukarask) per celebrare la tappa nello stato baltico del nostro viaggio europeo. Come il pane irlandese che ho fatto di recente, il pane d'orzo estone (Odrajahukarask) è un pane veloce che contiene il bicarbonato di soda come agente lievitante.

la colazione è servita

La ricetta che ho scelto di interpretare viene dal blog di Pille, Nami Nami che l'ha tratta da un libro estone di ricette per il forno. Altre ricette che ho consultato comprendono questa, tratta da un libro di cucina estone.

I semi di cumino tedesco (carvi) danno a questo pane un sapore deciso. Il palato che si aspetta di assaporare della segale viene sorpreso da qualcosa di più delicato, ma comunque un po' rustico. Questo è un buon pane tra quelli veloci da fare. Fa bella figura su un vassoio (lo so perche l'ho portato a due feste) ed è ottimo a colazione con sopra uno strato della mia ricotta fatta in casa e uno della mia salsa di mele arrosto.

Ingredienti che ho usato:

175 g farina d'orzo integrale
90 g farina 00
1 cucchiaino / 5 ml bicarbonato di soda
1 uovo codice 0
1 cucchiaino / 5 ml sale fino
1 cucchiaino / 5 ml zucchero
240 ml kefir oppure latticello, possibilmente fatto in casa
15 ml olio d'oliva
1 cucchiaino / 5 ml semi di cumino tedesco

Scaldare il forno a 200 C.

Foderare una teglia quadrata di 20 cm di lato con carta da forno e metterla nel forno. Nota: la ricetta originale usa una teglia quadrata di 23 cm di lato. Cuocere il pane nella teglia già calda è una mia idea.

Setacciare le due farine e il bicarbonato di soda in una ciotola.

In un'altra ciotola, sbattere l'uovo con sale e zucchero fino a quando tuorlo e albume sono mescolati bene. Aggiungere il kefir (o latticello) e mescolare. Infine, aggiungere l'olio e mescolare.

Versare il liquido nella ciotola con le farine, aggiungere i semi di cumino tedesco e mescolare fino a quando siano appena amalgamati.

Tirare fuori dal forno la teglia e versarci l'impasto a cucchiaiate. Il mio è risultato piuttosto denso quindi ne ho pareggiato delicatamente la superficie con una spatola.

Cuocere il pane in forno per circa 25 minuti, fino a quando sia dorato in superficie e passi il test dello stecchino. Controllare dopo 20 minuti per valutare a che punto sia la cottura e quanto tempo manca. Tutte le volte che l'ho fatto ci sono voluti 25 minuto per cuocere il pane.

Sfornare e, dopo un paio di minuti, trasferire il pane su una griglia.

fettine al sole

La ricetta originale consiglia di mangiare il pane caldo e concordo. Si accompagna bene ai formaggi e alle creme da spalmanre che faccio io. In generale, questa è una ricetta perfetta per quando si ha bisogno di un pane veloce da fare.

Con il mio pane estone partecipo alla quindicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. O come Orzotto (Estonia) è ospitata da Lynne di Cafe Lynnylu.

Su questa pagina trovate la ricetta dell'Orzotto e la lista dei contributi all'evento.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 410 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Cristina di La cucina di Cristina.

Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.

treccia di pane con uvetta e noci / raisin walnut braided bread

October 24, 2013 | Simona

patterned slices are a pleasure to savor

There is such a thing as falling in love (innamorarsi) with a recipe at first sight. The moment I saw a photo of Cranberry orange braided bread on the King Arthur Flour's catalog, I knew that my version of it would soon come out of the oven. Besides being the kind of bread I sometimes like to bake, it was exactly what I was looking for to go with the book I had just finished reading: the Outcast by Jolina Petersheim.

I was very intrigued by the description of the novel as a modern retelling of "The Scarlet Letter," a book that I read when I was in college and loved (I also saw the 1979 miniseries and liked it a lot). Isn't it interesting that the story narrated by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 is still relevant 160 years later?

I read the Outcast right after The Baker's Daughter and it made me continue the meditation on evil that the earlier book had triggered. The story told in the Outcast shows how much misery we bring to the world the moment we decide, as mentioned in my earlier post, that another person is "less," or that we ourselves are "less." Happiness is only found where the bond connecting people is made of love, a feeling that knows nothing about less or more. The book illustrates what happens to people when love is substituted with judgment. Fortunately, one can travel in the opposite direction and it's never too late to do so.

a bit rustic on the outside

Parts of the Outcast are set in a Mennonite community and several dishes are mentioned, so my original idea was to make one of them. But the recipes I found were not satisfactory and the unhappiness wrapped around everything in the book in the end made me look elsewhere for something joyful to bring to one of the characters, little Eli, who faces a special challenge when he is diagnosed with a malignant disease. When I saw the recipe for Cranberry orange braided bread, I thought it would be perfect for little Eli recovering from invasive treatments: it is soft and lightly sweet, nourishing and texturally intriguing.

While a touch of sweetness is called for, I think that the amount of sugar in the original recipe is excessive. Also, instead of dried cranberries, I used organic raisins from my pantry. And as usual, I replaced about 20% of the white wheat flour with whole-grain flours (farine integrali). I made other changes and also baked the bread in a slightly different way.

Important: this bread uses a starter that is left to ferment overnight, so plan accordingly.

Ingredients:

For the starter:

1/2 oz. / 14 g whole spelt flour
1/2 oz. / 14 g white whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 oz. / 100 g all-purpose flour (King Arthur Flour is the brand I always use to make bread)
1/2 cup / 120 ml cool water
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

For the dough:

1 oz. / 28 g whole spelt flour
1 oz. / 28 g white whole-wheat flour
7 oz. / 200 g all-purpose flour (same as above), plus as needed to knead and shape the bread
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast (see Note 1 below)
3/4 oz. / 20 g agave nectar or honey
2 tablespoons / 30 ml olive oil
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk (reserve the egg white)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Grated peel of 1/2 lime

For the filling

3 oz. / 85 g raisins, chopped if large
3 oz. / 85 g walnuts (see below)

For the surface

1 large egg white (see above)
Poppy seeds (semi di papavero)

Note: the original recipe uses sugar in both the dough and the filling and hence calls for osmotolerant instant yeast, a strain of yeast that is specially formulated for sweet dough; regular instant yeast can be used when osmotolerant is specified, in which case the dough will take longer to rise and proof. In my dough I use a small amount of sweetener, so regular instant yeast should have no problem thriving in that environment.

Make the starter the evening before baking the bread
In a bowl, mix the starter ingredients, cover, and leave at room temperature overnight.

Prepare the walnuts
If your walnuts are freshly cracked, toast them lightly in a dry pan, shaking the pan often.

preparing one strand

Make the bread
Combine the starter with the dough ingredients. Let rest 10 minutes or so. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until elastic and satiny.

Place dough in an oiled bowl or suitable container, cover and let rise until puffy, 1 to 2 hours.

With the help of a scale, divide the dough into three pieces. Flatten each one into a 6" x 12" / 15 x 30.5 cm rectangle.

Using again the scale, divide the filling into three equal amounts. Distribute 1 oz. / 28 g of walnuts on each rectangle of dough, then do the same with an equal amount of raisins, leaving a margin of 1 inch / 2.5 cm all around (see photo above: it's not pretty but should make it clear what I mean).

Starting with a long edge, roll each rectangle into a log. Place logs on a lightly floured silicone baking mat resting on the back side of a baking sheet. Braid the logs together.

Cover the braid, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, until puffy.

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C, and place another baking sheet in the oven.

When you are ready to bake the braid, combine the egg white previously set aside with 1 tablespoon / 15 ml water, and brush the surface. Sprinkle poppy seeds.

Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and slide on it the silicone baking mat with the braid. Bake the braid for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. I use the convection baking option of my oven, which automatically adjusts the temperature. When the bread is done, a digital thermometer inserted into the center should register 190 F / 88 C.

Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool. Let it cool undisturbed before slicing.

isn't it lovely?

I know this is partly my imagination and nostalgia playing a trick, but the bread reminds me of panettone, an additional reason for loving it. The thin crust made crisper by poppy seeds, the tender crumb dotted with sweet raisins and crunchy walnuts make this a bread for all meals. As its flavor is subtle, it goes well with both sweet and savory accompaniments, from roasted apple sauce to roasted red pepper and almond dip, from fasole bătută to various cheeses and soups. And like challah, it is perfect for French toast.

Now I need to find out whether little Eli likes it.

This is my second contribution to the 20th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

I am sending this bread also to the October edition of Panissimo, a monthly event created by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of Indovina chi viene a cena? and hosted this month by Simona of briciole (that is, by me).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

And, via Panissimo, to the monthly showcase Sourdough and Yeast by Wisla (in Polish). This post contains the roundup of the event.

Finally, I am sending my braided bread to Yeastspotting. This post contains the second part of the roundup and links to the other two parts.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

treccia di pane con uvetta e noci

or launch the treccia di pane con uvetta e noci audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

bread, raisins, walnuts, poppy seeds

pane irlandese / Irish soda bread

July 15, 2013 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

Summit Lake (AK)

Summit Lake is a small lake in the Kenai Peninsula (AK), along Hwy 1. As of this writing, it is where we kayaked most recently, an evening after dinner, taking advantage of the long summer days. The light is magical at that time. While gliding on the calm water, with my senses in high alert, my mind went back for a short time to that summer day, years ago, when I kayaked for the first time, in the River Shannon, Ireland.

I have many other memories of my first (and so far only) trip to Ireland, but the one that is closer to my heart is that of the intense physical emotion I felt when I became one with the kayak, the paddle and the water, and we all three moved in the warm afternoon sunlight for a time I didn't want to end.

The following summer, I took a kayaking class at the Idroscalo, close to Linate Airport in Milan, and I have kayaked regularly ever since — with my husband after moving to California. Last year, I wrote a short piece about kayaking in two of my favorite places: you can read it on this page.

Back to Ireland, I wish I had photos to share, but back then, I was not a photographer. I went around southern Ireland with a group of young people mostly from Australia and it was fun to see things also through their eyes. We visited Dublin, Blarney Castle (and no, I did not kiss the stone), Killarney, the Cliffs of Moher, and many other places. And we spent a day on the River Shannon.

not quite traditional Irish soda bread

I remember eating sea trout, Guinness stew, vanilla ice cream with Baileys Irish Cream. I don't remember Irish soda bread, but that is what I chose to make to celebrate our stop in Ireland.

The Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread home page contains a list of no-nos regarding the ingredients used to make this bread, which is characterized by the use of baking soda (bicarbonato di soda) as leavening agent.

My version eschews almost all of the non-traditional additions, except for currants (uva sultanina) and petals of a couple of calendula flowers. The first addition was planned, while the other was more of an accident: I had picked more flowers than I needed for another recipe and I could not let the petals wilt without a purpose, so I added the to the bread dough.

From the recipe page of the Society's website, I chose to make the recipe called Brown Bread. As you can expect, I made some adjustments to the ingredient list:

I substituted the (cultured) buttermilk (latticello) with a blend of my homemade true buttermilk and kefir
I used white whole-wheat flour but balanced it with whole-wheat pastry flour and cake flour. On this page there is a brief discussion of the type of flour used to make Irish soda bread. The next time I make it, I will try using more whole-wheat pastry flour and compare the result.

Update. I made the bread a second time and amended the recipe slightly. The ingredients used the second time are given in square brackets. (See at the end for a comparison between the two renditions.)

Ingredients:

8 oz. / 226 g white whole-wheat flour (see #2 above) [4 oz. / 113 g]
4 oz. / 113 g whole-wheat pastry flour [8 oz. / 226 g]
4 oz. / 113 g cake flour (not self-rising, which contains baking powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoon / 7.5 ml baking soda
1 oz. / 30 g currants
2 tablespoons petals of calendula flowers
14 ounces / 410 ml buttermilk and kefir (see #1 above and Note below) [homemade cultured buttermilk, 2% fat]

I baked the bread in my 5-Qt cast-iron Dutch oven (on this page, you can read about the Bastible pot used to bake Irish soda bread).

Place the Dutch oven, with its lid on, in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 F. The original recipe provides instructions on how to use two cake pans to simulate the Bastible pot.

Measure [and sift] all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Note: It is not clear whether the "ounces" unit of measure actually refers to fluid ounces, but I assume so.

I used about half true buttermilk and half kefir. [I used homemade cultured buttermilk.] The recipe instructs to pour the buttermilk in "a bit at a time until the dough is moist." I added all the true buttermilk to the dry ingredients, then stirred in the kefir a bit at a time. When I judged that the dough was of the right moistness, I had a couple of tablespoons (25-30 ml) [the second time: 1 tablespoon / 15 ml] left. The recipe instructs to "add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough." (The amount of liquid needed depends on the type of flours you use.)

After incorporating the liquid, place the dough on a floured working surface and knead lightly and briefly just to shape the dough into a round. Place it on a piece of parchment paper, and with a sharp blade, cut a cross on the top. Cut the piece of parchment paper large enough so that you can take hold of it by the corners and use them to help you lower the dough into the Dutch oven and later to retrieve the bread from it.

Take the Dutch oven out of the oven, remove the lid, and place in it the shaped dough. Put the lid on and place the Dutch oven back into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

The bread is done when the surface is golden and tapping the bottom will produce a hollow sound. I also checked the internal temperature and found that it was about 195 F.

Take the Dutch oven out of the oven and take the bread out of the Dutch oven. Let the bread cool for at least half an hour, then slice and enjoy.

with brilliant plum jam

The whole-wheat flours gave the bread a strong personality. Some freshly made (low-sugar) plum jam nicely softened the bread's roughness.

with delicately tangy fresh chèvre

The currants gave a very light sweet tone to the bread, which contrasted nicely with the delicate tang of some homemade fresh chèvre.

I look forward to making this bread again. It is a great choice when I don't have enough time for a yeasted bread option.

Update. The second rendition of this bread was my first baking project after three weeks away from my kitchen. The first bite off the first slice made me feel truly home. Using more whole-wheat pastry flour and less whole-wheat white flour made for a more delicate crumb. I can see myself using one version of the other depending on my mood. The second loaf reinforced my first impression: I like this bread a lot.

My soda bread participates to the ninth installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. I like Irish Stew (Ireland) is hosted by Roberta of The Dreaming Seed.

This page contains Irish Stew's recipe and the list of dishes contributed to the event.

I am sending this bread to the July edition of Panissimo a monthly event created recently by Barbara of Bread & Companatico and Sandra of Indovina chi viene a cena? and hosted this month by Sandra.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane irlandese

or launch the pane irlandese audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

[jump to Comments]

bread, whole-wheat flour, Irish cuisine

pane irlandese

pane irlandese non del tutto tradizionale

Ho molti ricordi del mio primo (e per ora unico) viaggio in Irlanda, ma quello che mi è piu caro è quello della mia prima esperienza sul kayak sul fiume Shannon. Fu amore a prima pagaiata.

Mi piacerebbe avere delle foto da condividere di quel viaggio ma allora non ero una fotografa. Andai nel sud dell'Irlanda con un gruppo di giovani soprattutto australiani. Visitammo Dublino, il Castello di Blarney (no, non ho baciato la famosa pietra), Killarney, le Scogliere di Moher, e molti altri luoghi. E trascorremmo un giorno sul fiume Shannon.

la seconda pagnotta

Mi ricordo di aver mangiato trota salmonata, stufato di carne alla Guinness, gelato alla vaniglia con Baileys Irish Cream. Non mi ricordo di aver assaggiato il pane irlandese (Irish Soda Bread), ma è proprio questo che ho scelto per celebrare la nostra tappa in Irlanda.

La home page della Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread contiene una lista di ingredienti che sono considerati non tradizionali nella preparazione di questo pane che è caratterizzato dall'uso del bicarbonato di soda come agente lievitante.

La mia versione non usa nessuno degli ingredienti non tradizionali con l'eccezione dell'uva sultanina e dei petali di un paio di fiori di calendula. L'utilizzo dell'uva sultanina era programmato mentre quello dei petali è stato il frutto del caso: avevo raccolto più fiori del necessario per un'altra ricetta e non potevo certo far avvizzire i petali senza utilizzarli, così li ho aggiunti all'impasto del pane.

Sulla pagina delle ricette del sito della Society (in inglese), ho scelto di preparare il Brown Bread (pane integrale). Naturalmente ho apportato degli emendamenti alla lista degli ingredienti:

Invece del latticello fermentato ho usato un misto di latticello vero fatto in casa e del mio kefir
Dal momento che ho usato farina integrale piuttosto forte (white whole-wheat flour che deriva dal grano di tipo hard white spring), l'ho bilanciata con farina debole integrale (whole-wheat pastry flour) e farina 00 (cake flour). Su questa pagina (in inglese) c'è una breve discussione del tipo di farina usata per fare il pane irlandese. La prossima volta che lo preparo, provero ad utilizzare piu farina debole integrale e farò il confronto.

Nota: una delle difficoltà che incontro nel tradurre in italiano ricette che eseguo in California è dovuta al fatto che qui si usano farine molto diverse e non so se e dove esse siano reperibili in Italia.

Aggiornamento. Ho preparato il pane una seconda volta e ho variato un po' la ricetta. Gli ingredienti che ho usato sono dati tra parentesi quadre. (Vedi al termine del post il confronto tra le due versioni.)

Ingredienti:

226 g farina forte integrale (vedi sopra il punto 2) [113 g]
113 g farina debole integrale [226 g]
113 g farina 00 (da torte)
1 cucchiaino sale fino
1 & 1/2 cucchiaino / 7,5 ml bicarbonato di soda
30 g uva sultanina
2 cucchiai petali di fiori di calendula
410 ml latticello vero e kefir (vedi sopra il punto 1 e la Nota sotto) [latticello fermentato 2%]

Ho cotto il pane nella mia pentola di ghisa tipo Dutch oven da 5 litri (su questa pagina, in inglese, potete leggere notizie sulla "Bastible pot" che viene usata per cuocere questo tipo di pane).

Mettere la pentola di ghisa con su il coperchio nel forno preriscaldato a 218 C. (La ricetta originale fornisce istruzioni sul come usare due teglie da torta per simulare la Bastible pot.)

Pesare [e passare al setaccio] gli ingredienti secchi e metterli in una ciotola.

Ho usato circa metà latticello vero (cioè latticello derivato dalla preparazione del burro) e metà kefir. [Ho usato latticello fermentato, cioè il latticello che si trova nei negozi, solo che il mio era fatto in casa.) La ricetta originale dice di aggiugnere il latticello agli ingredienti secchi "un poco alla volta fino a quando l'impasto è umido." Io ho aggiunto tutto il latticello vero e poi il kefir un po' per volta. Quando ho deciso che l'impasto era della consistenza giusta (la ricetta precisa che deve essere appiccicoso) mi erano rimasti un paio di cucchiai (25-30 ml) [la seconda volta: un cucchiaio / 15 ml]. (La quantità di liquido necessaria dipende dal tipo di farine che usate.)

Dopo aver incorporato il liquido, versare l'impasto su una superficie infarinata e impastarlo delicatamente e brevemente giusto per dargli una forma di pagnotta rotonda. Mettere l'impasto su un pezzo di carta da forno e con una lama fare un taglio a croce sulla superficie profondo un centimetro. Tagliare il pezzo di carta da forno in modo che possiate raccogliere gli angoli e aiutarvi con essi a deporre l'impasto nella pentola di ghisa (e più tardi a tirarlo fuori da essa).

Tirare fuori dal forno la pentola di ghisa, scoperchiarla e metterci dentro l'impasto formato a pagnotta. Rimettere il coperchio sulla pentola e infornare il tutto. Cuocere per 30 minuti e poi scoperchiare la pentola. Continuare la cottura in forno per altri 15 minuti.

Il pane è pronto quando la superficie è dorata e bussando sul fondo si sente un suono a vuoto. Io controllo sempre la temperatura interna e in questo caso era circa 195 F.

Tirare fuori dal forno la pentola di ghisa e tirare fuori da essa il pane. Farlo intiepidire per almeno mezz'ora poi affettatelo e gustatelo.

con una brillante marmellata di prugne

Le farine integrali danno a questo pane una personalità decisa. Della marmellata di prugne a basso contentuto di zucchereo addolcisce la "ruvidezza" del pane.

con del formaggio caprino

L'uva sultanina fornisce una nota leggermente dolce, che contrasta bene con la delicata acidità del caprino fresco (nel mio caso, fatto in casa).

Non vedo l'ora di fare di nuovo questo pane: è un'ottima opzione quando non ho tempo per fare un pane col lievito naturale.

Aggiornamento. La seconda versione di questo pane è stata la prima cosa che ho cotto in forno dopo tre settimane di assenza dalla mia cucina. Il primo morso della prima fetta mi ha fatto sentire veramente a casa. Utilizzando meno farina forte integrale e più farina debole integrale ha prodotto un pane più delicato. Penso che in futuro utilizzerò l'una o l'altra versione a seconda dell'umore. La seconda pagnotta ha confermato la prima impressione: questo pane mi piace molto.

Con il mio pane irlandese partecipo alla nona tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. I come Irish Stew (Irlanda) è ospitata da Roberta di The Dreaming Seed.

Questa pagina contiente la ricetta dell'Irish Stew e la lista dei piatti contribuiti all'evento.

Se siete interessati a partecipare, questo post contiene la lista completa di paesi, blog ospitanti e scadenze.

Mando questo pane anche all'edizione di Luglio di Panissimo un evento mensile creato da Barbara di Bread & Companatico e Sandra di Indovina chi viene a cena? e ospitato questo mese da Sandra.

Questo post contiene la raccolta dell'evento.

žemlovka: budino di pane alle mele / žemlovka: apple bread pudding

February 18, 2013 | Simona

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

would you like a slice?

Ever since I could read, I have known about Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, because it is one of the twin cities of Perugia, my home town. But I have never been in that part of Europe, so Bratislava is still a name and a dot on the map.

Recently, I heard on the radio a report on Košice, the capital of East Slovakia, which is the 2013 European Capital of Culture. Hopefully during the year that city and its cultural heritage will become better known to the rest of Europe.

Browsing the web in search of a Slovak dish that would inspire me, I came across žemlovka, a bread pudding enriched with apples. After reading several recipes for this dessert, I came up with a personalized version, based mostly on the recipe from the BBC site with a couple of elements from the recipe on the Slovak Cooking site. In particular, I cut down the amount of butter substantially and of sugar a bit. I grated the apples left unpeeled and used some of my homemade ricotta instead of farmer's cheese. As a personal touch, I sprinkled the surface with sliced almonds.

I like to identify recipes that are not simply a one-off endeavor, but can become part of my repertoire, and this certainly makes the cut. A light dessert, perfect served by itself or with some of my homemade ice cream, and also nice for a sweet breakfast (colazione) or a brunch.

just out of the oven

Ingredients:

1 3/4 oz. / 50 g raisins (uvetta)
2 medium apples
Freshly squeezed Meyer lemon (or regular lemon) juice
1 1/4 cup / 10 fluid oz. / 300 ml non-fat milk
1 tablespoon / 14 g browned butter, cut into pieces
A bit of regular butter for greasing the baking dish
2 pastured eggs
1/4 cup / 50 g (unrefined) sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (cannella)
a generous dash of ground nutmeg (noce moscata)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 oz. / 70 g homemade ricotta
6 oz. / 170 g homemade challah, baked two days prior
1/4 cup / 25 g sliced almonds

The recipe from the BBC site instructs you to soak the raisins in cold tea. I did not have time to comply, so I covered the raisins with warm water. (Next time, I will use cold tea: I am curious to taste what difference it makes.)

Grate the apples using an extra-coarse grater (or shred them in the food processor fitted with the shredding disk). Sprinkle a bit lemon juice and stir. Butter a baking dish and preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C. I used a 2 qt. pyrex gratin dish (11 x 7 x 1.5").

Warm up the milk in a saucepan, then add the butter and allow it to melt. Let the milk and butter cool.

Put the eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a bowl and beat with an electric beater at medium speed until well combined. Add the buttery milk and beat briefly at low speed until combined. Finally, add the ricotta and beat some more at low speed.

Cut the challah into 1/2-inch cubes and make a layer in the baking pan. Strain the raisins, discarding the liquid, and scatter them over the bread. Distribute the apples in an even layer on the bread. Pour the batter slowly over the apples. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on the surface.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the pudding has set and its surface is golden.

As I said above, my version of žemlovka is a lovely dessert, lightly sweet and very satisfying.

This is my contribution to the second installment of the Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea (European Community Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 26 countries of the EU (all except Italy) using the alphabet as guide. B like bryndzové halušky (Slovakia) is hosted by Terry of Crumpets & Co..

This page contains bryndzové's recipe and the list of contributions to the event.

If you are interested in participating, this post has the complete list of countries, hosts and time frames.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

žemlovka

or launch the žemlovka: budino di pane alle mele audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

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bread, apple, egg, ricotta, Slovak recipe

žemlovka: budino di pane alle mele

volete assaggiarne una fetta?

Conosco Bratislava, la capitale della Slovacchia, da quando so leggere, dal momento che è una delle città gemellate con Perugia. Ma non l'ho mai visitata, e quindi Bratislava rimane per me un nome e un punto sulla cartina.

Qualche giorno fa alla radio ho sentito un servizio su Košice, la seconda città della Slovacchia in termini di popolazione, che è Capitale Europea della Cultura del 2013, Questo dovrebbe servire a rendere maggiormente note sia la città che il suo ricco retaggio culturale.

Girando su internet alla ricerca di un piatto slovacco che mi ispirasse, ho incontrato žemlovka, un budino di pane alle mele. Dopo aver letto un certo numero di ricette, ho preparato una versione personalizzata, basata sulla ricetta sul sito della BBC con alcuni elementi della ricetta sul sito Slovak Cooking (entrambe in inglese). In particolare, ho:

diminuito drasticamente la quantità di burro
usato un po' meno zucchero
grattugiato le mele non sbucciate
usato un po' della mia ricotta fatta in casa (invece del farmer's cheese)
aggiunto come tocco personale le fettine di mandorle sulla superficie

Mi piace provare ricette che non siano solo una tantum, ma che possano diventare parte del mio repertorio e questa certamente rientra nella categoria. Come dessert, l'ho servito da solo e con un po' del mio gelato fatto in casa, ed è anche ottimo per una colazione dolce o un brunch.

appena sfornato

Ingredienti:

50 g uvetta
2 mele medie
Succo di limone (io ho usato limone Meyer, che è meno acido)
300 ml latte magro
14 g burro noisette tagliato a pezzetti
Un po' di burro per ungere la teglia
2 uova codice 0
50 g zucchero
1 cucchiaino (5 ml) cannella
Un pizzico generoso di noce moscata
3/4 cucchiaino estratto di vaniglia
70 g ricotta (nel mio caso, fatta in casa)
170 g challah, (nel mio caso, fatta in casa) di due giorni
25 g mandorle a fettine

La ricetta sul sito della BBC indica di far rinvenire l'uvetta nel tè freddo. Per mancanza di tempo, io ho usato dell'acqua calda, come al solito, ma la prossima volta ci provo: sono curiosa di capire che differenza fa.

Grattugiare le mele grossolanamente (a mano o con l'apposito disco del robot), spruzzarle con del succo di limone e mescolare. Ungere una pirofila bassa da due litri e riscaldare il forno a 180 C.

Scaldare il latte in un pentolino, aggiungere il burro e farlo sciogliere. Far intiepidire.

Mettere uovoa, zucchero, cannelle, noce moscata e vaniglia in una ciotola e sbattere con un frullino elettrico a velocità media fino per incorporare bene gli ingredienti. Versare il latte con burro e mescolare a velocità bassa. Infine, aggiungere la ricotta e mescolare ancora un po' a velocità bassa.

Tagliare la challah a cubetti di 1,25 cm di lato e formarci uno strato nella teglia. Scolare l'uvetta e distribuirla sopra il pane, poi fare uno strato con le mele. Versare il liquido lentamente sopra le mele. Distribuire le mandorle sulla superficie.

Cuocere in forno per circa 30 minuti, fino a quando il pudding ha una superficie dorata.

Come ho detto sopra, la mia version di žemlovka è un ottimo dessert, leggermente dolce e molto soddisfacente.

Questo è il mio contributo alla seconda tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario della Comunità Europea, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare i 26 paesi della Comunità Europea (eccetto l'Italia) usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. B come bryndzové halušky (Slovacchia) è ospitato da Terry di Crumpets & Co..

Questa pagina contiene la ricetta per bryndzové e l'elenco dei contributi all'evento.

Se siete interessati a partecipare, questo post contiene la lista completa di paesi, blog ospitanti e scadenze.

challah fatta in casa / homemade challah

August 19, 2012 | Simona

my six-strand challah

When you cut my challah, the knife cracks the lightly crisp crust, then glides through the soft, sweet-smelling, pale yellow crumb. You don't necessarily need something to go with challah: eaten by itself is quite satisfying.

soft crumb (mollica)

If you pick up my copy of Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, it will open on page 94 where there is a folded sheet of paper as bookmark. A small cloud of flour will rise from the page, a consequence of its frequent use close to the mixing and kneading area.

I have tried a couple of other recipes for challah, but this one is the best: you can find the recipe on this page. The book has a number of other nice recipes, so you may want to consider getting your own copy.

I don't follow Reihart's recipe to the letter, but I don't stray too much from it. The original makes two large loaves like the one in the photo. I always halve the quantities and make one loaf. I often give half to a friend or I freeze it (wrapped first in plastic then in foil) and we enjoy the other half.

A summary of my adjustments (based on the quantities to make one loaf):

15 oz. of King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour + 2 oz. whole-wheat flour (from my grain CSA) instead of 17 oz. of bread flour
.75 oz. / 20 g olive oil instead of 1.25 oz. vegetable oil
.75 oz. / 20 g agave nectar instead of 1.5 oz.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I get four egg yolks (tuorli) from making this cake. If they are not 3 oz. total, I break another egg, get as much yolk as I need from it, and use the rest for the glazing. Otherwise, I use a small whole egg for the glazing (diluted with water).

I usually decorate the top with a mix of 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (semi di sesamo) and 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (semi di papavero), but in the case shown in the photos I had just run out of poppy seeds, so I used only sesame.

with sesame seeds

The recipe includes instructions to make a 3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-braid challah. For a while, I made a five-strand one, but now I am into the six-strand one. The braiding is really the best part of making challah, followed by the glazing and decorating. Then, of course, there is the eating part.

One more thing I like about this recipe is that it uses delayed fermentation, so the work of making challah is divided into two parts: first you mix the dough (I do this by hand), then, after at least one night in the fridge, you shape, glaze, ferment, and bake the challah. Finally, you enjoy it, to the last crumb.

And one more thing: this challah is perfect for making French toast.

I am contributing the challah to the August edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Heather of Girlichef.

And I am submitting this recipe, bookmarked in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, to Bookmarked Recipes #15, an event originally started by Ruth of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments and now hosted by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

I contribute my challah also to the 13th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. M like Minneapolis (USA) is hosted by me, Simona of briciole.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

challah fatta in casa

or launch the challah fatta in casa audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

homemade bread, challah, egg yolk