briciole

cobbler di pesche, frutti di bosco e rabarbaro / peach, berry and rhubarb cobbler

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

serving cobbler for breakfast

A light, crisp crust draped loosely over a deep layer of tender, juicy fruit: this, in a few words, is a cobbler. It is usually served as dessert with a dollop of ice cream, but I like to serve it for breakfast (colazione), by itself.

My cobbler — originally inspired by a recipe for apricot cobbler from Gourmet magazine — is rich in fruit and light in everything else, sugar in particular. It calls for the best fruit you can get. I have made it with various types of fruit. The version I present here combines sweet peaches (pesche) and berries with a small amount of rhubarb, whose tartness provides a nice contrast.

If you have fruit available, preparing the cobbler takes little time and since it is eaten warm, you don't have to wait long after you take it out of the oven to cut it and serve it.

peaches, blueberries, raspberries and rhubarb are ready

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for peach, berry and rhubarb cobbler

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 lb / 450 g peaches, preferably organic
• 3.5 oz. / 100 g rhubarb
• 4 oz. / 115 g blueberries (mirtilli), preferably organic,  fresh or frozen
• 4 oz. /115 g blackberries or raspberries (more o lamponi), preferably organic, fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoons / 25 g sugar, preferably ultra-fine
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml vanilla extract of good quality
• 1 tablespoon / 7 g corn starch

Ingredients for the topping

1. 1/2 cup / 65 g all-purpose flour
2. 1/4 cup / 30 g whole-wheat pastry flour
3. 3/4 teaspoon / 4.5 g baking powder
4. 1/4 teaspoon / 1.5 g baking soda
5. A pinch of fine sea salt
6. 1 tablespoon / 12.5 g sugar
7. 2 tablespoons / 1 oz. / 28 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8. 1/2 cup / 120 ml well-shaken [homemade] kefir or buttermilk

Serves 4-5

the cobbler is ready for the oven

Prepare the filling
Wash, peel if possible (do not worry if some of the skin ends up in the mix), pit and slice the peaches in a 9 1/2-inch / 24 cm glass or ceramic deep dish pie plate (1 3/4 inch / 4.5 cm deep). While you don't need to worry about making precisely equal slices, try to be consistent and do not make slices thicker than 1/2 inch / 1.25 cm. If the peach is large, cut slices crosswise.

Trim rhubarb and dice it. To distribute better the distinctive rhubarb flavor, make the dice rather small, 1/4-3/8 inch / 6 mm-1 cm side.

If the berries are fresh, you can add them at this point. Otherwise, wait until later (and keep them in the freezer until then).

Distribute sugar, lemon juice and vanilla over fruit and stir. Sprinkle corn starch over fruit and stir.

Prepare the topping
Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 400 F / 205 C.

Sift together in a bowl the first 6 ingredients of the topping. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips or a tool until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Stir in the kefir or buttermilk with a fork until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.

Assemble and bake the cobbler
If the berries are frozen, add them to the peaches and rhubarb now and stir.

Make sure the layer of fruit in the pie plate is even. Drop the batter over the filling by tablespoons, leaving space in between to allow the topping to expand.

Place in the oven and bake until the topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

Cool slightly, about 15 minutes, and serve warm.

may I offer you like a slice?

The combination of flavors and textures is just about perfect here. As long as peaches and berries will be available at the farmers' market, I'll be making this cobbler often.

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This is my contribution to edition #441 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 Simona of briciole.

 

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

cobbler di pesche, frutti di bosco e rabarbaro

or launch the cobbler di pesche, frutti di bosco e rabarbaro 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]

cobbler, peach, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, American cuisine

cobbler di pesche, frutti di bosco e rabarbaro

cobbler a colazione

Non conosco un dolce italiano che rassomigli al cobbler. Se qualcuno di voi lo conosce, fatemleo sapere. Fino a quel momento preferisco chiamare questo dolce alla frutta col suo nome originale.

Uno strato di pasta leggero e croccante copre a malapena uno strato spesso di frutta morbida e sugosa: questo, in poche parole, è un cobbler. Di solito viene servito come dessert caldo e accompagnato da del gelato. A me piace servirlo per colazione, da solo. 

Il mio cobbler — per il quale l'ispirazione venne qualche anno fa da una ricetta di Gourmet per cobbler di albicocche — è ricco di frutta e leggero, soprattutto per quanto riguarda lo zucchero. L'ho fatto con diversi tipi di frutta. La versione che presento qui contiene pesche e bacche (mirtilli e lamponi o more) e un po' di rabarbaro, il cui sapore amarognolo fa da contrasto  quello dolce della frutta.

Se avete la frutta a portata di mano, preparere il cobbler richiede poco tempo e dal momento che si mangia caldo non dovete attedere a lungo dopo averlo tirato fuori dal forno prima di poterlo tagliare e servire.

pesche, mirtilli, lamponi e rabarbaro sono pronti

Ingredienti per il ripieno:

• 450 g pesche, preferibilmente bio
• 100 g rabarbaro
• 115 g mirtilli, preferibilmente bio, freschi o surgelati
• 115 g lamponi o more, preferibilmente bio, freschi o surgelati
• 25 g zucchero
• 1 cucchiaino / 5 ml succo di limone fresco
• 1/2 cucchiaino / 2,5 ml estratto di vaniglia
• 1 cucchiaio / 7 g amido di mais

Ingredienti per lo strato di pasta:

1. 65 g farina per dolci
2. 30 g farina per dolci integrale
3. 3/4 cucchiaino / 4,5 g lievito in polvere per dolci
4. 1/4 cucchiaino / 1,5 g bicarbonato di soda
5. Un pizzico di sale fino
6. 1 cucchiaio / 12,5 g zucchero
7. 28 g burro non salato freddo tagliato a dadini
8. 120 ml kefir o latticello mescolato bene

Per 4-5 porzioni

pronto ad essere infornato

Preparare il ripieno
Lavare le pesche, pelarle se possibile (non preoccupatevi se un po' della buccia rimane attaccata alla polpa), rimuovere il nocciolo e tagliarle a fettine in una pirofila rotonda di vetro o ceramica di 4 cm di diametro e profonda 4,5 cm (non di meno). Precisione nel tagliare fettine di uguali dimensioni non è necessaria, ma cercate di essere regolari e non fare fettine più spesse di 1,25 cm. Se le pesche sono grosse, tagliare le fettine a metà per largo.

Tagliare il rabarbaro a dadini di 6 mm-1 cm di lato.

Se le bacche sono fresche aggiungerle a questo punto, altrimenti attendere fino a più avanti (e tenerle nel surgelatore fino a quel momento).

Distribuire zucchero, succo di limone e vaniglia sulla frutta e mescolare. Ripetere con l'amido di mais.

Preparare la pasta
Riscaldare il forno a 205 C. Mettere un ripiano al centro del forno.

Setacciare insieme in una ciotola i primi ingredienti dello strato di pasta. Sabbiare il burro negli ingredienti secchi a mano o col metodo che preferite.

Aggiungere il kefir o latticello e mescolare con una forchetta fino a quando sia appena incorporato.

Assemblare e cuocere il cobbler
Se le bacche sono surgelate, aggiungerle adesso alle pesche e rabarbaro.

Assicurarvi che lo strato di frutta nella teglia sia uniforme. Distribuire l'impasto sulla frutta a cucchiaiate, lasciando un po' di spazio tra un mucchietto e l'altro per la lievitazione durante la cottura (vedi foto sopra).

Infornare e cuocere circa 30 minuti, fino a quando la superficie è dorata.

Lasciare intiepidire il cobbler per 15 minuti e servirlo caldo.

gradite una fetta?

Il connubio di sapori è perfetto. Fin quando dura la stagione di pesche, mirtilli, more e lamponi continuerò a preparare questo cobbler.

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Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 441 di Weekend Herb Blogging, evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, ora organizzato da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome e ospitato questa settimana da Simona di briciole.

 

 

pane al lievito naturale con uvetta e noci / walnut raisin sourdough bread

a feast for the senses

The seeds sprouting tomorrow are sown today.

This is true for the bread baker as well, when the bread planned includes a pre-ferment, like sourdough starter (lievito naturale or pasta madre), for which a bit of advanced planning is needed.

I enjoy baking a variety of breads, yet if I were to choose one bread to carry with me on a deserted island, this walnut raisin sourdough boule would be the one: it has a crisp crust and soft crumb (crosta croccante e mollica soffice), a nuanced sour note, a sweet note thanks to raisins and a crunchy note thanks to walnuts. It carries centuries of tradition yet looks and tastes modern, it is simple yet provides a complex eating experience. It is the epitome of nourishing.

It does take a bit of advanced planning, but wouldn't you want to take out of the oven something as beautiful as the boule in the photo?

just baked

One inspiration for this bread was a recipe for Hazelnut and Currant Sourdough in How to Make Bread by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou, which includes interesting recipes and a relaxed approach to baking bread hat resonates with me. Much as I like hazelnuts (nocciole), I found their flavor overpowering in bread, hence my preference for walnuts. What I got from the recipe is the amount of flour, sourdough starter and salt. Everything else comes from my taste, my experience and things I learned at the San Francisco Baking Institute. 

Important: this bread uses a starter that requires some advanded planning. The raisins should also soak overnight.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Walnut raisin sourdough bread

Ingredients:

For the pre-ferment

• 30 g sourdough starter (refreshed previously, if stored in the refrigerator)
• 60 g water
• 60 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread) 

For the raisins

• 60 g raisins
• 125 ml lukewarm water or tea

For the dough

• 60 g walnuts (see below)
• 140 g pre-ferment (sourdough starter) prepared in advance with the ingredients listed above
• 260 ml water at 85 F / 30 C
• 0.4 g / 1/8 teaspoon  instant yeast 
• 40 g stone-ground whole-wheat flour (I use locally grown and milled Hollis wheat)
• 35 g sprouted whole-wheat flour (the one I use is also from KAF)
• 300 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour, plus as needed to shape the bread
• 6 g fine sea salt

Prepare the pre-ferment and the raisins
12-16 hours before starting to make the bread, prepare the pre-ferment: weigh the ingredients in a 2-cup container, stir well with a fork, cover and let ferment at room temperature in a draft-free place. (Adjust the timing as needed for your starter and your room temperature so that by the time you start making bread the pre-ferment is bubbly active.)

Place raisins in a small bowl and pour over them the liquid of choice. Cover the bowl and let rest overnight, until the raisins are needed.

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 / 150 C until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry. (I do this for 6-8 oz. / 170-225 g walnuts at a time, since I use walnuts often in my recipes. Store walnuts in the refrigerator.)

Prepare the dough
I start making the bread early in the morning, so I am sure the boule will be baked and thoroughly cooled by dinner time.

Chop prepared walnuts with a knife. Drain the raisins. 

In a bowl, mix pre-ferment (sourdough starter), water and instant yeast. The small amount of yeast I use helps keep the leavening process within a predictable time frame in the cool environment of our house. 

Add the flours and stir with a wooden spoon or a dough whisk (I just purchased the smaller version of this tool and love it: it works nicely and is easy to clean).

Add walnuts and raisins and stir until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rest 5 minutes. In the meantime, oil well a plastic tub with lid where you will transfer the dough when fully mixed.

Wet the spoon (if using it) and mix dough until it is homogeneous.

Transfer the dough to the oiled tub. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough and then flip it to oil the surface. This is your time 0. Cover the tub and let rest for 45 minutes.

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

1. Stretching and folding: as Mac says in the video, the stretching part is of fundamental importance in gluten development
2. 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.

• A) Stretch and fold the dough in the tub along both sides.
• B) Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.

Repeat A and B two more times, at which point you will be at time 3 hours.

Check gluten development by stretching a corner of the dough to make a windowpane. If you don't get a windowpane, let dough ferment a little longer. 

Shape the bread
Lightly flour your working surface and transfer dough onto it. Use a bench scraper to help you move and turn the dough.

Gently pat dough to flatten it into a thick circle 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 pre-shaped round rest for 20 minutes, covered (I leave it on the kneading board and cover it with the plastic tub turned upside down).

In the meantime, generously flour a lined round bread basket or similar container (my brotform is unlined, so I have a square piece of cloth that I flour and use to line it). 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 flip the dough and place it seam side up into the prepared basket. Cover (I use a clean shower cap for this) and let dough rest until doubled in size (also, until a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists), in my case 3 to 4 hours, depending on the room temperature.  

Prepare the oven
You can bake this bread on tiles and use your preferred method for creating steam in the oven, or you can use a lidded 5-Qt cast-iron Dutch oven. I have used both methods with success and will describe the latter method here, which is easier and works well.

Place the lidded cast-iron Dutch oven in the cold oven. Preheat the oven to 475 F /245 C. 

star-shaped scoring using scissors

Bake the bread
When the dough is ready to be baked, 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. Lay the parchment paper onto the back of a baking sheet. Flip the dough onto the parchment paper, lift basket and peel away liner.

Score the surface according to your preference. I got the star-shaped scoring you see in the photo from the recipe for White sourdough in How to Make Bread by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou: With scissors, cut the points of the star all around the top of the boule. 

Take the Dutch oven out of the oven and remove the lid. Pick up the parchment paper and lower the shaped dough into the Dutch oven. Put the lid on and place the Dutch oven back into the oven. Turn the oven temperature down to 425 F / 218 C.

Bake for 15 minutes,  then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes. At this point, check the bread's internal temperature: if it is 210 F / 99 C, it is ready. Otherwise, continue baking for another 2 minutes, then check again. In my case, it takes 32 minutes for the bread to bake.

Carefully extract the bread out of the Dutch oven using the parchment paper flaps to lift it up. Place on 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 feast on it with all your senses. 

baked on tiles

This bread is simply magnificent. The balance of ingredients is perfect, in my opinion.

Resist the temptation to add more raisins or more walnuts: you want to taste bread first and foremost. The additions have a supportive role and should not steal the show. 

You can serve this bread with anything: a bowl of soup will love it, cheese will be thrilled to be paired with it, salame, prosciutto or bresaola will be its best friends. It is perfect to fare la scarpetta and above all, it enchants when tasted solo.

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I am sending this bread 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.

 

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

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Finally, to Yeastspotting. This page contains the first part of the roundup and  links to the other two parts.

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

pane al lievito naturale con uvetta e noci

or launch the pane al lievito naturale 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, homemade bread, sourdough

Related articles

pane di Pasqua bulgaro / Bulgarian Easter bread

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

pane di Pasqua bulgaro / Bulgarian Easter bread

[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.

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

1. 200 ml milk at 95 F / 35 C (I used non-fat) 
2. 1 tablespoon / 15 ml water 
3. 2.5 g instant yeast
4. 3 large egg yolks from pastured poultry: 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g 
5. 1 large egg from pastured poultry: 2 oz. / 55 g
6. 20 g olive oil
7. 20 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
8. 20 g agave nectar or fluid honey
9. 1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla extract
10. Grated zest of half an organic lemon 
11. 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
12. 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g whole-wheat flour 
13. 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g sprouted whole-wheat flour (the one I use is also from KAF)
14. 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. 

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. 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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

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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.

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 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.]

[jump to Comments]

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

1. 200 ml latte a 35 C (io ho usato quello scremato) 
2. 15 ml acqua 
3. 2,5 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
4. 3 rossi d'uovo codice 0: 50 g 
5. 1 uovo codice 0: 55 g
6. 20 g olio EV oliva
7. 20 g burro non salato fuso tiepido
8. 20 g miele fluido o nettare di agave
9. 5 ml estratto di vaniglia
10. Buccia grattugiata di mezzo limone bio
11. 400 g  farina di grano forte
12. 100 g farina per pane integrale
13. 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 rosso 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.

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

Related articles

pane di Pasqua lituano / Lithuanian Easter bread

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

torta salata con carote e fromage blanc / savory carrot and fromage blanc tart

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

brilliant

Did you read Carrot Top (Pel di carota) by Jules Renard when you were a child? Published in 1894, the autobiographical story recounts the childhood and the trials of a red-headed child. I don't remember anything about the book, except that it made me want to have red hair (capelli rossi).

I was reminded of that episode from my childhood when, in the novel A Share in Death, author Deborah Crombie describes Gemma James as having red hair. This physical trait is one of the reasons I like that character of the mystery novels Crombie has written that have as protagonists Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Detective Inspector Gemma James.

My preference for mystery novels is not a novelty nor is my interest in Scotland Yard characters, having already read stories featuring Adam Dalgliesh and Thomas Lynley (by P.D. James and Elizabeth George, respectively). Whether set in London, one of my favorite cities, or in some charming corner of the English countryside, all these novels make for a pleasant, relaxing reading at the end of my often hectic day.

The Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novels I have read so far are:

1. A Share in Death
2. All Shall Be Well
3. Leave the Grave Green
4. Mourn Not Your Dead

They all made me want to visit London and the English countryside again, and again drink tea and eat warm scones, admire the roses in Kew Garden, glide on a boat along the canals.

I am currently reading the fifth novel of the series, Dreaming of the Bones, but ever since reading the first one, I have had in mind to create a dish inspired by Gemma's hair. Fresh carrots in my CSA share were my other source of inspiration: I would make a tart with them.

smiling for the camera

Another thing I had in mind was to try a special dough from La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well), the seminal Italian cookbook Pellegrino Artusi self-published in 1891:

153. PASTA MATTA (CRAZY DOUGH) It is called crazy not because it is likely to do something mad, but for the simplicity and ease with which it can serve as the necessary dress for a variety of dishes, as you will see.

Sprinkle water and salt in due proportion over the flour and form a dough loaf that can rolled out wafer thin. [source]

This is not the introduction, but the whole recipe. You'll see below how I used it to prepare the base of my tart.

freshly made and whipped fromage blanc

I wanted the filling to include some cheese. I thought creamy and light fromage blanc would work well, so I made a batch using half a gallon of whole milk and half a gallon of non-fat milk. This is an easy cheese to make: after you add the culture (this one is already measured and ready to be used), you leave the milk alone overnight and the morning after you drain the curd for some hours. A brief whipping with an electric beater and the light creamy cheese is ready to eat — as is, or flavored with herbs like chives or lovage (erba cipollina, levistico) — or use in some dish.

freckled crust

Flecks of bran in the whole-wheat pastry flour stone-ground from locally grown wheat in the dough give a lovely freckled appearance to the tart shell.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for savory carrot and fromage blanc tart

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g whole-wheat pastry flour, possibly stone-ground
• 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g 00 wheat flour (I used King Arthur Italian-style flour)
• 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml EV olive oil
• A pinch of fine sea salt

Ingredients for the filling:

• 12 oz. / 340 g fresh carrots, possibly organic
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml EV olive oil
• Leaves of several sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g spring onion or red onion from the new crop, clean weight
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• A dash of freshly ground black pepper
• 7 oz. / 200 g fromage blanc, possibly homemade

How to make the crazy dough
Make a dough with the ingredients and knead until nice and smooth, not sticky at all. Let it rest, well covered (e.g., wrapped in plastic film), for half an hour. 

How to prepare the carrots
Scrub carrots well and scrape surface with a blade to remove a thin layer of skin. Grate carrots using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.

Finely chop the onion.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. (Alternatively, if you have an oil mister, coat well the bottom of the skillet.) Add onion and stir to coat. Add the thyme leaves and stir. After 1 minute, add the grated carrots and stir well to coat. Cook on gentle heat for a couple of minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking, stirring every now and then, until the carrots are tender, 10-12 minutes.  

Season carrots with salt and pepper and stir. Let cool while you roll the dough. 

How to prepare the oven
Right before rolling the dough, prepare the oven.

I baked the tart on terracotta tiles. I place two on a rack. A pizza stone or a regular baking sheet will work as well.

Whichever surface you use, place it in the cold oven. If using a baking sheet, place it there upside down, so that it is easier to slide the tart on it.

Preheat oven to 350 F / 177 C.

How to prepare the base and assemble the tart
Lightly dust with flour a piece of parchment paper about 13 inches / 33 cm wide. Working on the parchment paper placed over a working surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch / 28 cm diameter disk. 

Add the fromage blanc to the carrots and stir until distributed uniformly. Spread the carrot and cheese on the rolled dough to form an even layer, leaving a 1-inch / 2.5 cm border of clean dough all around.

Fold the uncovered border of dough over the filling and pleat it at regular intervals.

spreading the filling on the base

The final act
Slide the parchment paper with the assembled tart onto the tile or stone or baking sheet in the oven.

Bake approximately 32 minutes until the crust is crisp. Check after 30 minutes of baking.

Take out of the oven, cut and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Perfect!

The last time I made the tart, I baked it in the wood-fired oven (without the parchment paper): the photo above shows the result. 

I love this tart: the sweetness of carrots and the creaminess of fromage blanc blend well and the crazy dough offers a discreet and slightly rustic support to the duo. 

I am sure Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid would enjoy a slice of my tart as part of their dinner at the end of a long day, just as I enjoy reading about their adventures at the end of mine.

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This is my second contribution to the 21st 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.

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Carrots from my CSA share, homemade fromage blanc from local milk, local whole-wheat flour, onion from the farmers' market and thyme from my herb garden make my tart perfect for the Shop Local Food Blogging Challenge organized by Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.

 The roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

or launch the torta salata con carote e fromage blanc 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]

tart, carrot, fromage-blanc, Italian cuisine

torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

una delizia carotosa

Avete letto Pel di carota di Jules Renard da bambini? Pubblicata nel 1894, è la storia autobiografica di un ragazzino coi capelli rossi. Non mi ricordo i dettagli, ma mi fece venire voglia di avere i capelli rossi. La cosa mi è tornata in mente quando ho letto che Gemma James, co-protagonista insieme a Duncan Kincaid di una serie di gialli scritti da Deborah Crombie ha i capelli rossi.

Non sono riuscita a stabilire con certezza che i romanzi della Crombie sono stati tradotti in italiano, quindi perdonatemi se non scrivo i titoli. Ho letto i primi quattro e sono alle prese col quinto. Mi hanno fatto venire nostalgia di Londra e della campagna inglese.

I capelli rossi di Gemma e la dose settimanale di carote nella mia cassettina sono state le muse ispiratrici di questa torta salata, insieme ad una ricetta dell'Artusi.

sorriso per la fotografa

153. PASTA MATTA
Si chiama matta non perché sia capace di qualche pazzia, ma per la semplicità colla quale si presta a far la parte di stival che manca in diversi piatti, come vedrete. Spegnete farina con acqua e sale in proporzione e formate un pane da potersi tirare a sfoglia col matterello.

Tutto qui. Vedrete in basso la mia interpretazione.

fromage blanc fresco e montato

Ho pensato che il fromage blanc, leggero e cremoso, sarebbe stato il compagno perfetto per le carote e quindi ne ho fatto un bel po' usando 1,9 litri di latte intero e 1,9 litri di latte scremato. Il fromage blanc, come altri formaggi freschi, è facile da fare in casa: dopo aver aggiunto i fermenti (questi sono pronti per l'uso), si lascia riposare il latte durante la notte e la mattina dopo si drena il caglio per alcune ore. Una passata con il battitore elettrico per montarlo leggermente e il formaggio è pronto da mangiare (al naturale oppure con l'aggiunta di erbe aromatiche fresche) o da usare come ingrediente.

pasta lentigginosa

Fiocchetti di crusca nella farina integrale macinata a pietra sembrano lentiggini sulla pasta base.

Ingredienti per la pasta base:

• 50 g farina per dolci integrale, possibilmente macinata a pietra
• 50 g farina 00
• 50 g acqua tiepida
• 5 ml olio EV d'oliva
• Un pizzico di sale fino

Ingredienti per il ripieno:

• 340 g carote, possibilmente bio
• 10 ml olio EV d'oliva
• 50 g cipollotto o cipolla rossa novella, peso netto
• Le foglie di diversi rametti di timo fresco
• 1/4 cucchiaino sale fino, o a piacere
• Un pizzico di pepe nero macinato fresco
• 200 g fromage blanc

Dose per 4-6 porzioni.

Preparare la pasta matta
Preparare un impasto con tutti gli ingredienti. Deve essere liscio e non appiccicoso. Farlo riposare, ben coperto (per esempio, avvolto in pellicola), per mezz'ora.

Preparare le carote
Lavare bene le carote e raschiarne la superficie con una lama per rimuovere la pellicina. Grattugiatele con la grattugia a buchi grossi.

Tritare il cipollotto (o cipolla).

Scaldare l'olio in una padella. Aggiungere il cipollotto e le foglioline di timo e mescolare bene. Dopo un minuto, aggiungere le carote e mescolare bene. Cuocere a fuoco dolce per un paio di minuti. Coprire la padella e continuare la cottura, mescolando di tanto in tanto, fino a quando le carote siano appena tenere, 10-12 minuti.

Condire le carote con sale e pepe e mescolare. Lasciar intiepidire mentre stendete a pasta.

Preparare il forno
Io cuocio la torta su delle mattonelle di terracotta. Ne metto due sul piano del forno. Una pietra da forno o una placca vanno bene lo stesso.

Mettere il supporto scelto nel forno prima di accenderlo, Se usate una placca da forno, metterla sottosopra in modo che sia facile far scivolare sulla sua superficie la torta.

Scaldare il forno a 177 C.

Stendere la pasta e preparare la torta
Infarinare leggeremente un pezzo di carta da forno largo circa 33 cm e stenderci sopra la pasta fino ad ottenere un disco di 28 cm di diametro. 

Aggiungere il fromage blanc alle carote e mescolare bene, poi distribuire il composto sulla pasta in modo uniforme, lasciando scoperto un bordo di 2,5 cm tutto intorno.

Ripiegare il bordo sopra il ripieno e fare delle pieghe ad intervalli regolari per spianare la pasta in eccesso.

distribuire il ripieno sulla pasta

Il finale
Trasferire la torta nel forno. La carta da forno facilita questo passaggio.

Cuocere per circa 32 minuti, fino a quando la crosta sia bella croccante. Controllare dopo 30 minuti di cottura. (Ogni forno è diverso e i tempi di cottura variano.)

Sfornare, tagliare e servire.

Perfetta!

L'ultima volta che ho fatto questa torta l'ho cotta nel forno a legna (senza la carta da forno) e la foto qui sopra fa vedere come è venuta. 

Adoro questa torta salata: carote dolci e formaggio cremoso si sposano bene e la pasta matta fornisce un supporto leggero e un po' rustico alla coppia.

Sono sicura che a Gemma James e Duncan Kincaid piacerebbe una fetta della mia torta per cena al termine di una lunga giornata di lavoro, proprio come a me piace leggere le loro avventure al termine della mia giornata.

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Questo è il mio secondo contributo alla ventunesima edizione di Novel Food, L'evento lettero-culinario che Lisa di Champaign Taste ed io abbiamo creato qualche tempo fa e che io continuo ad ospitare.

Il raccolto dell'evento.

 

 

 

 

Related articles

Wortelstoemp

scorze di mandorle con carote / almond shells pasta with carrots

pita

pita stuffed with Crescenza cheese

The country we are currently visiting in our virtual European Community tour is Greece (Grecia). And this time I can say: I've been there! I shared images and impressions from my recent visit to the island of Samos in these posts:

• postcard from Samos
• enigma
• wine barrels

To celebrate our stop, I made pita, the popular flatbread. I had made pita before, when it was featured as a Daring Cooks challenge some time ago. Last November, we made pita during the workshop I attended at the San Francisco Baking Institute and the experience made me put pita back on my to-do list.

To come up with the recipe below, I scaled down and adapted the one from the SFBI workshop to make a small batch of dough that includes some flours I like, is mixed by hand and is baked in the kitchen oven. The recipe uses a sponge (a type of preferment), so you need to start the evening before you plan to bake pita. 

the moment before it all starts

Ingredients for the sponge:

• 110 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)
• 70 g water at room temperature
  
• 0.1 g instant yeast [see Note below]

Ingredients for the dough:

• 275 g water at 90 F / 32 C
• All the sponge
• 290 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour
• 35 g sprouted whole-wheat flour (the one I use is also from KAF)
  
• 35 g stone-ground whole-wheat flour (milled by my friend Rhonda from locally grown wheat)
• 1.3 g instant yeast
• 9 g fine sea salt
• 20 g olive oil

How to prepare the sponge
Mix the sponge ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours.

Note: the amount of yeast, 0.1 g, is not a typo. This is a very small amount of yeast (about 1/4 of 1/8 teaspoon).

How to prepare the dough (impasto)
Measure water in a large bowl. Divide the sponge into a few pieces, add them to the water and stir to loosen.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover and let rest 5 minutes. In the meantime, oil well a plastic tub with lid where you will transfer the dough when fully mixed.

Wet the spoon and mix dough until it is homogeneous.

Transfer the dough to the oiled tub. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough and then flip it to oil the surface (see photo below). Cover the tub and let rest for 45 minutes.

A moment before I put the lid on

This very nice video on The SF Baking Institute website, while pertaining quite a different bread, describes and shows a couple of important techniques I apply to the dough also for pita.

1. Stretching and folding: as Mac says in the video, the stretching part is of fundamental importance in gluten development
2. Pre-shaping and shaping rounds

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

Stretch and fold pita dough in the tub along both sides. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.

Repeat the step above once more.

Stretch and fold pita dough in the tub along both sides. Cover and let rest for about half an hour. At this point, check gluten development by stretching a corner of the dough to make a window pane.

How to prepare the oven
Right before I cut and shape the dough, I prepare the oven (forno).

I use terracotta tiles in my oven, rather than a pizza stone. I place two on the bottom and one on the top (see photo below). Given the thickness of my rack and of the tiles, I place the rack on the level of the oven below the one where it usually is.

Preheat oven to 550 F / 288 C.

Important: check the oven's manual beforehand to make sure it can reach that temperature. If not, set it at the maximum temperature allowed and lengthen the baking time as needed.

How to pre-shape and shape dough
Flour your working surface. Flip the tub and let the dough drop on the floured surface. Lightly flour dough and spread it gently. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, each weighing 100 g / 3.5 oz.

To pre-shape, I gently flatten a piece with the palm of my hand, fold the four corners towards the center, flip and make a round shape with my hands, using the resistance offered by the surface to lightly tighten it.

Transfer each pre-shaped round onto a floured board, seam side down. When all the pieces are done, cover them and let them rest about 20 minutes.

To shape, take one piece of pre-shaped dough, flip it seam side up, then lightly flatten it with the palm of you hand. Again, fold the four corners towards the center, then flip again and roll the round while tucking the dough under it, until the surface acquires a good tension without tearing. The working surface should be clear of flour, otherwise the roll slides on it, while you need some friction to create the tension on the dough's surface. Don't overdo (if you do, the surface will tear).

The selfie-video below shows you how I do it (it's not great, but is the best I could with one hand).

 

Transfer each shaped round onto a floured board, seam side down. When all the pieces are done, cover them and let them rest about 45 minutes.

How to bake pita
Flour lightly your working surface and roll first piece of dough into a disk about 5.5-6 inches / 14-15 cm diameter. Flour lightly the dough surface to prevent the rolling pin from sticking.

Transfer rolled dough onto a pizza peel dusted with semolina flour. Slide onto the hot stone. Bake for 3 minutes, or until it is cooked through yet still pliable.

While the first pita bakes, roll the second piece of dough.

Slide the second pita onto the hot stone, then start rolling the third one. Wait until the first pita is ready, take it out of the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Put the third pita in the oven. Make sure the peel is well dusted, as you want the pita to slide easily on the baking surface.

Continue until you have baked all 8 pitas, but don't miss watching at least one as it puffs up in the oven, which occurs towards the end of the baking and is part of the fun of making pitas.

just baked

Eat warm or warm up later or toast (and serve with soup).

Every time I made pita, I cut the first one into half and stuffed it with some of my homemade Crescenza cheese: the resulting sandwich with a heart of softened cheese is the perfect prize for a work well done.

This recipe is a keeper and will certainly bake pitas in my small wood-fired oven soon.

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I contribute my pita to the 24th 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. X like Xerotigani (Greece) is hosted by Resy of Le tenere dolcezze di Resy.

This page contains the list of contributions to the event.
Questa pagina contiene la lista dei contributi all'evento. 

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I am sending my pita to the May 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 Sandra.

 

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And also:

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

- to Yeastspotting. This post contains part 3 of the roundup and a link to the other two parts.

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

pita

or launch the pita 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.]

pita, flatbread, Greek cuisine

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza / savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

ready for the plate

Last week was a difficult one at briciole's headquarters due to the major disruption brought to TypePad, my blog service provider, by multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. For several days, visitors could not access posts or pages and starting Monday, they would get an error message stating that the domain did not exist. It feels good to be able to write again on my blog.

It was also a busy week for briciole's writer, as I attended a bread-baking class at the San Francisco Baking Institute, which was a great experience. You will hear (and see) more about the baguettes and other breads I made and then brought home every day for the joy of the people with whom I shared them. Today, however, we are baking a savory tart.

my "Red Russian" kale and parsley jungle

Spring (primavera) brings new life in our vegetable gardens and new, seasonal vegetables to our markets — a welcome change after the more limited choices we had during the winter. For my small vegetable patch, spring means baby kale to thin and therefore baby kale recipes.

Last year, I made some nice baby kale pesto with cashews and then used it to dress a bean and albacore tuna salad, while this year, with the tender leaves I topped a savory tart.

The base for the tart is the "alternative" puff pastry (pasta sfoglia "alternativa") presented in an earlier post. As in the case of the savory tart with cherry tomatoes and cheese, more than a recipe, this is a suggestion: the puff pastry is a canvas on which you can try a combination of ingredients. And of course, the given quantities can be adjusted to fill a bigger tart.

To accompany baby kale on the tart, I chose my homemade Crescenza, a cheese I had not made in a while and to which I went back recently with nice results. This is a versatile soft cheese, great to eat with bread or to use as an ingredient. I hope you can find Crescenza or Stracchino (which is the same cheese) at your local cheese store. If not, you can try making it at home: it is a great beginner's cheese.

ready for the oven

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for savory tart with baby kale and crescenza

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. / 42 g leek, white and light green portion, washed and cut into 1/8 inch / 3 mm thick half-moons
• 5 1/4 oz. / 15o g baby kale (mine is "Red Russian" variety)
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml EV olive oil
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• 165 g / 5 3/4 oz. (half a batch) of "alternative" puff pastry OR equivalent amount of regular puff pastry
• Crescenza or Stracchino cheese, to taste (without overdoing it)
  

Rinse leek well and drain.

Wash the baby kale and don't drain them completely. Discard the tougher end of the stalks, then cut leaves into ribbons no more than 1/2-inch wide.

Warm up olive oil in a medium skillet. Add leek and and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring often. Cover the skillet and cook leek for 5 minutes longer on gentle heat, until quite tender.

Uncover the skillet, turn up the heat to medium and add the cut kale leaves. Cook in the water clinging to them for 2 minutes. Cover the skillet and continue cooking on gentle heat until kale is tender, about 8 minutes. Stir to make sure kale cooks evenly and doesn't stick to the pan. Season with salt and let cool briefly.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Roll out the pastry until fairly thin, then place it on the lined baking sheet. I like to make a rectangular tart. Prick the shell with a fork in several places.

Distribute kale over rolled pastry, leaving a border all around (about 1/2 inch).

Cut thin slices of cheese and distribute in pieces on the kale at regular intervals. I never weigh the cheese, relying on my sense of balance to adjust the quantity: you want to be able to taste all the ingredients.

Pinch the pastry all around to raise it slightly and fold to make a kind of border. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the visible crust is light golden, about 25 minutes. As usual, the time varies with the oven. Check the tart after 20 minutes and estimate the time remaining.

Take the baking sheet out of the oven, let rest briefly, then move the tart to a plate or wooden tray, cut it, serve and enjoy.

Cut into smaller pieces, the tart makes a nice appetizer (antipasto).

snails like kale too

The snails and slugs in my small vegetable patch appreciate baby kale. I have to remind them that they need to vary their diet, so I move them to another spot, far away from temptation.

This is my contribution to edition #430 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 me, Simona of briciole.

The roundup of the event.

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

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza

or launch the torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza 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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puff pastry, cheese, savory tart, kale

torta salata con cavolo riccio novello e crescenza

pronta da servire

La scorsa settimana è stata difficile al quartier generale di briciole, a causa di un cosiddetto distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. ripetuto per diversi giorni, durante i quali post e pagine non erano accessibili ai visitatori. Mi fa piacere poter scrivere di nuovo sul mio blog.

È stata anche una settimana impegnativa poiché sono stata un corso di panificazione al San Francisco Baking Institute, un'esperienza molto bella di cui parlerò ancora più avanti. Nel frattempo, oggi prepariamo una torta salata.

la mia giungla di cavolo riccio "Red Russian" e prezzemolo

La primavera porta nuova vita nei nostri orti e verdure di stagione nei mercati — un cambiamento gradito dopo l'inverno che offre scelte limitate. Per il mio orticello, primavera significa cavolo riccio novello e ricette che lo utilizzano.

L'anno scorso ho preparato pesto di cavolo riccio novello con anacardi che poi ho usato per condire un'insalata di fagioli e tonno (ricetta solo in inglese), mentre quet'anno ho inventato una torta salata che usa le tenere foglie.

La base per la torta salata è fatta con la pasta sfoglia "alternativa" della quale ho parlato in un post di qualche tempo fa. Come nel caso della torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio, più che una ricetta, questo è un suggerimento: la pasta sfoglia è una tela sulla quale potete provare a combinare degli ingredienti che vi ispirano. E naturalmente, le dosi possono essere adattate a preparare una torta più grande.

Come accompagnamento per la verdura novella ho scelto la mia Crescenza fatta in casa, formaggio che non facevo da un po' e al quale sono tornata di recente con buoni risultati. Formaggio fresco versatile, la Crescenza, o Stracchino, si trova facilmente nei negozi ma è anche facile da fare in casa.

pronta da infornare

Ingredienti:

• 42 g porro, parte bianca e verde chiaro, lavato e tagliato a mezzelune spesse 3 mm
• 15o g cavolo riccio novello (la varieta che ho io si chiama "Red Russian")
• 5 ml olio EV oliva
• Un pizzico di sale fino
• 165 g pasta sfoglia "alternativa" (metà di quella che ottenete seguendo le dosi della ricetta), oppure la stessa quantità di pasta sfoglia tradizionale
• Crescenza or Stracchino cheese, a piacere (ma senza esagerare)

Sciacquare bene il porro. 

Lavare il cavolo riccio senza sgrondarlo del tutto. Scartare la parte più dura del gambo di e tagliare le foglie a nastri non più larghi di 1,25 cm.

Scaldare un po' d'olio in una padella di dimensioni medie. Aggiungere il porro e cuocerlo per 2 minuti, mescolando spesso. Coprire la padella e cuocere per altri 5 minuti a fuoco basso fino a quando il porro sia tenero.

Scoprire la padella, alzare il fuoco e aggiungere le foglie tagliate. Cuocere per 2 minuti nell'acqua che hanno ancora attaccata. Coprire la padella e cuocere per altri 5 minuti a fuoco basso fino a quando il cavolo riccio sia tenero, circa 8 minuti. Mescolare e fare attenzione che la verdura non si attacchi al fondo della padella. Condire con sale e far intiepidire.

Scaldare il forno a 190 C e foderare una lastra da forno con tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno. Stendere la pasta sfoglia fina e poi muoverla sulla lastra foderata. A me piace darle forma rettangolare. Bucherellare la superficie con una forchetta in diversi punti.

Distribuire il cavolo riccio sulla pasta sfoglia, lasciando tutto intorno un bordo di circa 1,25 cm. 

Tagliare il formaggio a fettine piuttosto sottili e poi a pezzi e distribuirlo sulla verdura ad intervalli regolari. Non poso il formaggio, ma mi baso sul mio senso dell'equilibrio per la quantità: l'idea è di poter distinguere il sapore dei vari ingredienti.

Pizzicare la pasta sfoglia tutto intorno per sollevare leggermente il bordo, poi ripiegarlo su se stesso. Infornare e cuocere fino a quando la crosta è dorata, 25 minuti circa. Ogni forno è un po' diverso e quindi è bene controllare la torta dopo 20 minuti e valutare quanto tempo manca.

Tirare fuori la teglia dal forno, far riposare brevemente la torta e poi tagliare e servire.

Tagliata a quadrotti, questa torta salata può essere servita come antipasto.

il cavolo riccio piace anche alle chiocciole

Chiocciole e lumache nel mio orticello adorano il cavolo riccio. Devo ricordare loro che hanno bisogno di una dieta variata e quindi le trasferisco in un altro posto, lontano dalla tentazione delle tenere foglioline.

Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 430 di Weekend Herb Blogging, evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, ora organizzato da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome e ospitato questa settimana da me, Simona di briciole.

Il raccolto dell'evento.

 

Related articles

torta salata con pomodori ciliegia e formaggio / savory tart with cherry tomatoes and cheese

pesto di cavolo riccio novello con anacardi / baby kale pesto with cashews

pane di Pasqua lituano / Lithuanian Easter bread

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

the final rendition

Easter breads across Europe feature eggs (uova), probably the food most revered this time of the year. When I was a little girl, my aunt Lucia explained to me that hens laying eggs again after the sluggish winter months was cause for celebration. I agreed.

Yesterday, I saw several farmers selling eggs at the market, each having a nice pile of cartons on their table, a sign that the winter dearth of eggs is over.

As an avid egg consumer, I find myself with a lot of egg shells. I mostly use them in the garden, as snail and slug barrier:

sweet pea seedling needs protection

When I saw a recipe for Easter bread from Lithuania, the country we are currently visiting in our virtual European Community tour, the decision was quickly made to work on a personal version.

As usual, after identifying a recipe to use as inspiration, I went my own way, in terms of adjusting both the ingredients and the realization. The result makes no claim of being traditional, but it has been inspired by the tradition. 

I made the bread three times, testing a couple of variations and below is the recipe that produced my favorite version. 

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

Ingredients for the dough:

1. 250 ml non-fat milk at 95 F / 35 C
2. 2 tablespoons / 28 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3. 3 large egg yolks from pastured poultry / 75 g
4. 20 g fluid honey or agave nectar
5. 1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla extract
6. 4.5 g instant yeast
7. 80 g whole-wheat flour
8. 340 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)
9. 3 g fine sea salt
10. 1/2 cup / 70 g raisins (uvetta, see Notes below)

Ingredients for the egg wash:

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons / 22.5 ml water
• 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds (see Notes below)

Important: for this bread I use delayed fermentation, so the preparation starts the evening before baking.

Notes:

1. White (a.k.a., golden) raisins are traditional, but I have organic flame raising and organic Thompson raisins at home, so I used those.
2. I added poppy seeds as topping the third time I made the bread and it was a good choice — festive too. (As an aside, Lithuanian Christmas bread is topped with poppy seeds.)

Place the first five dough ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to break the yolks.

Add yeast and whisk a bit more.

Add the other dough ingredients to the bowl and stir until they come together into a shaggy dough. Cover the bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.

Stir dough for another minute. (If you use a wooden spoon, dampen it before stirring so the dough doesn't stick to it.)

Oil a clean bowl or dough-rising bucket and transfer dough into it. With damp hands pull the dough gently on one side and fold it over towards the opposite side, then do the same on the opposite side, as if you were folding a sheet of paper into thirds to put into an envelope. Since the dough is inside a bowl the result will not be a rectangle, but that is fine. Turn the folded dough upside-down, keeping it still inside the bowl. 

Cover the bowl with a clean shower cap or piece of plastic wrap. If you use a dough-rising bucket, put the lid on. Refrigerate the dough overnight.

The morning after, take the bowl or bucket out of the refrigerator. Line a 9" x 5" / 23 x 12.5 cm loaf pan with parchment paper and oil the two sides not covered by it. 

Empty the container onto a lightly floured surface. Gently flatten the dough into a longish rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds lengthwise, like a letter, then fold in half along the same direction and press the seam to close it tightly. Lightly roll to make a cylinder that fits the loaf pan. 

Transfer the rolled dough into the prepared pan, seam side down, cover with shower cap or plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled. How long it takes depends in part on the room temperature. (In my case, about 2 1/2 hours.) 

When the dough is almost ready, preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C. If you have the convection bake option use it (and, if your oven does not do it automatically, adjust the temperature accordingly).

Whisk water into egg yolk for the wash. With a pastry brush, paint some egg wash on the surface of the dough. Sprinkle poppy seeds. (You will not use all of the egg wash: leftover can be added to a frittata; I also added it to puréed lentils to make patties.) 

Place bread pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Check internal temperature. If it is 190 F / 88 C, the bread is done, otherwise continue baking until the internal temperature is reached. 

Take the loaf out of the pan and place it on a cooling rack.

When completely cooled, slice and enjoy.

first rendition (with plump flame raisins)

This is a lovely soft bread. My version is not very sweet — most of the sweetness comes from the raisins — and it goes well with either a sweet or savory companatico (literally: that which goes with bread), like roasted apple sauce, bresaola, homemade Colby cheese (to whose curds I add toasted hazelnuts). And it makes a great French toast.

I contribute my bread to the 22nd 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. V like Vedarai (Lithuania) is hosted by of Angela of Mestolando.

On this page you will find the recipe for Vedarai and the list of recipes contributed to the event.

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I am sending this bread to the April 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 Barbara.

The roundup of the event.

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And also:

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

- to Yeastspotting. This page contains part 1 of the roundup and a link to the other two parts. 

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

pane di Pasqua lituano

or launch the pane di Pasqua lituano 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, Easter bread, egg, raisins, Lithuanian cuisine

pane di Pasqua lituano

l'edizione finale

Pani tradizionali di Pasqua in molte nazioni europee hanno come ingredienti le uova, probabilmente il cibo più celebrato in questo periodo dell'anno. Quando ero bambina mia zia Lucia mi spiegò che le galline ricominciano a deporre le uova dopo i lenti mesi invernali e questo è motivo di gioia. Concordo.

Ieri al farmers' market ho visto diversi tavoli con pile di cartoni, segno che la scarsità di uova fresche è finita.

Essendo un'avida consumatrice di uova, mi ritrovo con molti gusci e li utilizzo nel mio orticello come barriera per chiocciole e lumache:

la piantina di fiori di pisello va protetta

Quando ho visto una ricetta per pane di Pasqua della Lituania, il paese che stiamo visitando in questo periodo nell'ambito del nostro tour virtuale della Comunita Europea, ho deciso di realizzarne una versione personale.

Come al solito, dopo aver identificato una ricetta che mi ispira ho fatto di testa mia per quanto riguarda ingredienti e realizzazione. Il risultato non pretende di essere tradizionale, ma si è ispirato alla tradizione. 

Ho fatto questo pane tre volte, provando un paio di alternative, e qui di seguito vi do la ricetta che ha prodotto la versione del pane che mi è piaciuta di più. 

Ingredienti per l'impasto:

1. 250 ml latte scremato a 35 C
2. 28 g burro non salato fuso tiepido
3. 3 tuorli d'uovo codice 0 / 75 g
4. 20 g miele fluido
5. 5 ml estratto di vaniglia 
6. 4,5 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
7. 80 g farina per pane integrale
8. 340 g farina di grano forte
9. 3 g sale marino fino
10. 70 g uvetta sultanina

Inoltre:

• 1 tuorlo
• 22,5 ml acqua
• 1/2 cucchiaio semi di papavero (vedi Note in basso)

Importante: per questo pane utilizzo la lievitazione ritardata, quindi la preparazione comincia la sera prima della cottura.

Note:

1. L'uvetta bianca è tradizionale, ma io avevo in casa altri tipi e ho usato quelli.
2. La terza volta che ho fatto questo pane ho aggiunto la decorazione con semi di papavero: scelta giusta che rende il pane festaiolo. (Il pane lituano di Natale è decorato con semi di papavero.)

Porre i primi cinque ingredienti per l'impasto in una ciotola e mescolare per rompere i tuorli.

Aggiungere il lievito e mescolare ancora un poco.

Aggiungere gli altri ingredienti e mescolare solo fino a quando si forma un impasto. Coprire la ciotola e far riposare per 10 minuti.

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

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. Dal momento che l'impasto si trova nella ciotola, il risultato non è un rettangolo, ma è la piegatura che conta. Voltare l'impasto piegato sottosopra tenendolo sempre nel contenitore.

Coprire la ciotola con della pellicola di plastica o con il suo coperchio. Mettere l'impasto nel frigorifero durante la notte. 

Il giorno dopo, togliere l'impasto dal frigorifero. Foderare con carta da forno uno stampo da plum cake di 23 x 12.5 cm e oliare i due lati non coperti dalla carta. 

Trasferire l'impasto su un piano di lavoro leggermente infarinato. Appiattirlo con delicatezza e formare un rettangolo lunghetto. Piegare il rettangolo in terzi per il lungo, come una lettera, poi a metà nella stessa direzione. Premere i lembi per sigillarli. Rotolare con delicatezza per ottenere un cilindro più o meno della lunghezza dello stampo.

Trasferire il rotolo di impasto nello stampo facendo in modo che la linea di giunzione sia sulla parte inferiore, coprire con della pellicola di plastica e far lievitare a temperatura ambiente fino a quando sia raddoppiato di volume. Quanto tempo ci voglia per questo dipende molto dalla temperatura. Nel mio caso, due ore e mezzo circa. 

Quando l'impasto è quasi pronto, riscaldare il forno a 177 C. Se avete l'opzione forno ventilato, utilizzatela e se il vostro forno non lo fa automaticamente, aggiustate la temperatura in base alle istruzioni per l'uso.

Mescolare il tuorlo duovo e l'acqua e con un pennello da pasticceria spennellare la superficie dell'impasto, poi spargervi sopra i semi di papavero. (Non utilizzerete tutto l'uovo diluito: potete aggiungere quello che avanza alle uova per una frittata; io l'ho aggiunto alle lenticchie passate per fare gli hamburger vegetariani.) 

Infornare e cuocere per 40 minuti, poi 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. 

Dopo aver sfornato lo stampo, estrarre il pane e farlo freddare su una gratella.

Affettare e gustare.

prima edizione

Qusto è un pane soffice dal sapore gradevole. La mia versione non è molto dolce — la maggior parte della dolcezza deriva dall'uvetta — e si accompagna bene sia con il dolce (come salsa di mele arrosto) che con il salato, come bresaola o il mio Colby fatto in casa (al quale aggiungo nocciole tostate durante la manifattura). Ed è perfetto per fare French toast per colazione.

Con il mio pane partecipo alla tappa numero 22 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. V come Vedarai (Lituania) è ospitata da Angela di Mestolando.

Su questa pagina trovate la ricetta del Vedarai e la lista dei contributi all'evento.

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

La raccolta dell'evento.

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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 un link alle altre due parti. 

tortino di verdure stile sklandrausis / sklandrausis-inspired vegetable tart

a three-[layer/texture/flavor] tart

In Latvia (Lettonia), I went down the wrong path — figuratively, of course.

Having baked eight types of bread out of 20 dishes from the EU countries visited so far in our virtual tour, I decided to bake a Latvian bread. I found a recipe, I made it a couple of times, was almost ready to write about it and then decided I was not enthusiastic enough about the recipe to share it on the blog. So, I started researching Latvian dishes again and finally found one that intrigued me: sklandrausis.

The sklandrausis, a small... pie made of rye flour with a filling of potatoes and carrots, has received a “Traditional Speciality Guaranteed” designation from the European Commission, according to the commission’s representative office in Rīga. [source]

Sklandrausis obtained TSG designation a few months ago. (If you are not familiar with the EU designations for products, on this page you can find an explanation.) As part of the process, the organization requesting the designation must provide information in support of its petition, including a detailed description:

'Sklandrausis’ is a round pie, 8-14 cm in diameter. The base of a ‘Sklandrausis’ is made of firm rye-flour dough rolled out to a thickness of 2-3 mm. Discs, which form the bases of the pies, are cut or pressed out of the rolled-out dough and their edges are folded upwards. The base of the ‘Sklandrausis’ is filled with layers of boiled potato and carrot filling in a ratio of 1:2 to 1:1. The potato is put in first and the carrot is placed on top. The finished ‘Sklandrausis’ is between 1,5 cm and 2,5 cm thick. The base of the ‘Sklandrausis’ is firm and well-baked, and the filling is porous. Typically it has a yellowy orange carrot colour. A layer of cream may be spread over the surface, or it may be sprinkled with cinnamon or caraway seeds. ‘Sklandrausis’ may range in taste from sweetish to very sweet. Although the base leaves the unmistakable taste of bread in the mouth, the taste of carrots predominates.

The full document is available online and it contains also a recipe. I was immediately intrigued by the combination of ingredients — rye flour, potatoes and carrots (farina di segale, patate e carote) — and also by the layering. When planning my rendition, I decided to make a number of changes. Most importantly, I omitted sugar altogether and, instead of making individual pies, I made one large tart. Hence, I am calling my rendition "sklandrausis-inspired" vegetable tart.

brilliant orange

I tested a few variations, including using rainbow carrots vs. orange carrots (see top photo) and baking the tart at high vs. moderate temperature. Here's the recipe, based on our household's preferences.

Ingredients:

For the potato layer:

• 300 g / 10 1/2 oz. potatoes of a variety that is good for mashing
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup homemade kefir
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• A dash of freshly ground black pepper

For the carrot layer:

• 340 g / 12 oz. / 3/4 lb carrots (the orange variety preferred)
• Olive oil
• 1 large egg, preferably from pastured poultry
• 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. homemade ricotta
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• A dash of ground cinnamon

For the base layer:

• 150 g dark rye flour
• 7 g lard + 7 g browned butter OR 14 g / 1 tablespoon / 1/2 oz. unsalted butter
• 1/2 tablespoon / 5 g caraway seeds, lightly smashed in a mortar with a pestle
• A pinch of fine sea salt
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup water

How to prepare potatoes and carrots
I opted to roast the vegetables. I chose 3 medium potatoes weighing about 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. each and a nice bunch of freshly harvested carrots from the farmers' market, still sporting their green mane. This time of the year, the carrots are fairly small and quite tender.

Preheat oven to 375 F / 190 C.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Scrub potatoes and carrots well (after cutting away the greens, if present). With a knife, scrape carrots' to remove then skin.

Place potatoes on the baking mat. Place carrots in a bowl and with a mister, spray some olive oil on them and roll to coat, then spread on the baking mat.

Place vegetables in the oven and bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Check the vegetables after 30 minutes to estimate how much longer they need.

Peel potatoes as soon as you can handle them and rice them. Let cool a bit, then add kefir and stir. Finally, season with salt and pepper and stir. Cover to keep warm.

Roughly chop carrots and place in a food processor bowl fitted with the steel blade. Process to mince.

Add egg to the bowl and process briefly.

Add ricotta to the bowl and process until all the ingredients are blended. Season with salt and cinnamon and give a final whirl.

How to prepare the base
Rub the fat into the flour. Mix in caraway seeds and salt. Add the water and make a firm dough.

I found that the easiest way to roll the dough is to use wax paper as surface. (I also found that I did not need to flour the dough as it was not at all sticky.) Roll the dough to a disk of 3 mm / 1/8 inch thickness.

Prepare a 9 or 9 1/2-inch / 23-24 cm fluted round tart pan with removable bottom. If you used wax paper as rolling surface, flip the rolled dough over the tart pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the paper.

The tart pan I have is about 1-inch / 2.5 cm high, which is too high for sklandrausis, so with a knife, I trim the border at 1 cm / 3/8 inch, then use the excess dough, as necessary, where I came up short, making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around (see photo below).

after adding the potato layer

How to assemble and bake the tart
Preheat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Spread the mashed potatoes evenly on the dough.

Spread the puréed carrot and ricotta blend evenly on the dough.

Place pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the visible rim of the crust is golden.

Remove pan from the oven, place on a cooling rack and let rest for a couple of minutes.

With the tip of a knife, gently probe the small arches all around the pan to ensure that the crust does not adhere to them. Push up the tart bottom to remove the fluted ring and place back on the cooling rack.

After a couple more minutes, with the help of a spatula, transfer the tart onto a plate (a long icing spatula is perfect for this step).

Slice and serve.

the three layers

The tart has layered texture and taste: the rustic crust is nicely flavored by the caraway seeds. The potato layer is soft and the natural sweetness of potatoes is balanced by the tangy kefir. The carrot layer moves the palate more clearly on the sweet camp, thanks in part to the cinnamon nuance, but not too far into it. The combination is satisfactory to all the senses.

I most recently served this vegetable tart with a side of purple sprouting broccoli and it was a nice pairing.

My take on sklandrausis can be served as appetizer or main course. As the filling is firm, I can imagine offering thin slices of it even at a party where finger food is on the menu.

I contribute my vegetable tart to the 21st 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. U like Ūdens klinģeri (Latvia) is hosted by Brii of briggishome.

 

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This is also my contribution to edition #425 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 Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post. I could not find a phonetic description of the pronunciation of the Latvian word sklandrausis, so I cannot vouch for that part of the recording.

tortino di verdure stile sklandrausis

or launch the tortino di verdure stile sklandrausis 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.]

rye flour, potato, carrot, Latvian cuisine

Related articles

insalata turca di carote con yogurt / Turkish carrot salad with yogurt

cielo e terra / heaven and earth / Himmel und Erde

Wortelstoemp

savory carrot and fromage blanc tart / torta salata con carote e fromage blanc

rohlíky: panini cechi / Czech bread rolls

impossible not to eat one — or two

Another European country — another bread.

Our virtual tour of the EU has reached the Czech Republic and to honor it, I baked a beloved traditional bread roll called rohlík (plural: rohlíky, as Káta kindly told me). When I read expatriates wax poetic about a bread, I want to bake it. This has happened recently with the Maltese bread called ftira and now with rohlík. Trust the expats: they know what it means to miss a food they love. 

In reading about rohlík, I immediately learned that it is the Czech version of a bread roll I made not too long ago to mark our virtual visit to Hungary: kifli. While I made kifli with a savory stuffing and in a crescent shape, for my rohlík I privileged the elongated shape and used seeds to grace the surface.

breaking the crisp crust

Even after several years of bread baking, the satisfaction I derive from tasting bread that came to life in my own kitchen is undiminished. These rolls are relatively straightforward to make, they are pretty and with their crisp seeded crust and soft crumb make even a few bites a joyful experience. 

Topped with some fruit preserves, a warm rohlík makes a great breakfast; stuffed with some bresaola or a piece of my homemade cheese, it makes a satisfactory snack (spuntino). 

reveals the soft crumb

The inspiration for the dough came from the book Local Breads by Daniel Leader, which contains several recipes for Eastern European breads (in an earlier post, you can see an image of my rendition of his Czech Christmas braid). Besides using mostly a different shape (Leader's rolls are crescent-shaped), my rendition differs from the inspiring recipe in three main ways (and a few small ones): 1. the use of 20% whole-wheat flour; 2. delayed fermentation; and 3. larger rolls. 

Ingredients for the dough:

• 300 g / 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 15 ml / 1 tablespoon whey OR water
• 10 g instant yeast 
• 60 g whole-wheat flour
• 40 g sprouted whole-wheat flour OR whole-wheat flour
• 400 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)
• 50 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 10 g fine sea salt

Ingredients for the topping:

• 1 tablespoon / 8 g poppy seeds (semi di papavero)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon / 15 g sesame seeds (semi di sesamo)
• 1 teaspoon / 5 g sea salt

Note (in case you look at the inspiring recipe): since I used delayed fermentation, I reduced the amount of instant yeast, and since I used some whole-wheat flour, I increased the amount of liquid.

Mix the dough
Pour water and whey in a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients for the dough and stir with a wooden spoon until they come together into a rough dough.

Cover the bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.

Spray some olive oil on your kneading board. Empty the mixing bowl on the board, scraping it well. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. 

Clean the mixing bowl and oil it.

Flatten the dough. Fold the left third towards the right, then fold the right third towards the left. Fold the top third towards the bottom, then fold the bottom third towards the top. (For a visual help, go to this page, then scroll through the slides.)

Turn the folded dough upside down and place it in the oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly (for example, with a clean shower cap) and place it in the refrigerator overnight. 

Shape the dough
The following morning, line each of two half sheet pans with a silicone baking mat. Sprinkle a bit of flour on the mats.  

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured kneading board. With the help of a scale, cut the dough into 16 pieces, each weighing 55 g / 2 oz. 

Take a piece of dough and roll it into a rectangle about 6.5 inches / 16.5 cm long and 4.5 inches / 11.5 cm wide. Roll the rectangle starting from one of the shortest sides. While you roll the dough with one hand, gently pull the dough with the other.  You will end up with something like what you see in the photo below.

after the initial rolling

Gently roll the shaped dough to give it a cylindrical shape. You need to press the dough from the center towards the two extremities while you roll. You will end up with something like what you see in the photo below.

For a visual help, take a look at this short video (keeping in mind that the rohlík shaped in it is bigger than the one I made) or watch this longer video (the shaping starts at 4'45"). 

final shape — almost ready for proofing

Place each roll on the prepared baking sheets, seam side down. If you want, you can curve some of the cylinders into crescents, like I have done. Leave at least 2 inches / 5 cm space between rolls. 

a nice layer of seeds and salt

You can leave the surface plain or cover it with mixed seeds. To do so, prepare a small bowl with water and a pastry brush and place the seed and salt mix in a long, shallow bowl or plate. 

Lightly brush 2-3 rolls with water, then gently pick up one at a time, flip it and make the wet surface touch the layer of seed and salt mix in the bowl. I think this method is more efficient and gives a better result than sprinkling the seed and salt mix on each roll, but of course, you can do it that way, if you prefer. Repeat until all the rolls are seeded.

Lightly drape some plastic wrap over the two baking. Let the shaped rolls rise at room temperature until they are pillowy, but the layers are still visible. In my case that was one hour. 

Prepare the oven and bake the rolls
About 15 minutes before baking, place one oven rack in the top third of the oven and the other in the middle. Make sure that there is enough distance between the racks for the baking sheets holding the risen rolls. Heat the oven to 350 F / 177 C.

Gently lift the silicone baking mats with the proofing rolls and move them (plastic wrap and all) onto the kneading board or a table. Place one half sheet pan on each oven rack.

When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap. Take the sheet pans out of the oven and carefully move one of the silicone baking mats with the proofed rolls onto each of them. Place the loaded baking sheets in the oven.

After 12 minutes, switch the rack position of the baking sheets. 

Continue baking the rolls until the tops are golden. In my oven, the total baking time was 30 minutes. Each oven is different, so start checking the rolls closely after 25 minutes of baking time. 

When the rolls are ready, take the baking sheets out of the oven and place on wire racks. Let stand for 10 minutes. Harvest the rolls from the baking sheets.

Serve the rolls warm or at room temperature.

parbaked and ready to be frozen

Parbake (some of) the rolls for future enjoyment
In his book, Dan Leader suggests parbaking the rolls as an option and I applied it to half of the rolls. 

After 15 minutes of baking time (3 minutes after switching the rack position of the baking sheets), take out of the oven the top baking sheet. At this point, the rolls have risen and the crust is set, but still pale (see photo above). Put the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the rolls cool completely, about an hour, then place in resealable plastic bags and freeze.

I have not yet used the frozen rolls, but when I want to do it, I will follow Leader's instructions (adapted to my rolls, which are bigger than his): place the frozen roll on a baking sheet and let defrost for 1 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 350 F / 177 C and bake rolls until golden.  

I contribute my rohlíky to the 20th 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. T like Trdlo (Czech Republic) is hosted by Alessandra of Ricette di cultura.

This page contains the list of contributions to the event.
Questa pagina contiene la lista dei contributi all'evento.  

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I am sending this bread to the March 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 Patty of Il castello di Pattipatti.

 

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And also:

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

- to Yeastspotting. This page contains part 2 of the roundup and a link to the other two parts.

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

panini cechi

or launch the panini cechi 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, roll, Czech cuisine

Related articles

kifli / panini ungheresi / Hungarian bread rolls

ftira: pane maltese / Maltese bread

pulla / panini finlandesi / Finnish buns

ftira: pane maltese / Maltese bread

a really good bread

The sky always shone blue and cloudless. The sea was of a blue so intense it was impossible not to want to dive into it. I was on the island of Malta to study English and enjoy a vacation after over a year of working full time as a nurse and studying at a university full time. I was having a great time.

Going to Malta for my first study vacation (vacanza studio) was an excellent choice. We had language classes morning and afternoon. In October, the temperature was still mild and the sun welcoming, so we spent our lunch break along the shore. Colorful fishing boats dotted the water in front of us, houses built with a sand-colored stone called globigerina limestone and made pretty with brilliantly colored doors and shutters (porte e persiane), were behind us.

the grand harbor of Valletta

Every Wednesday and Saturday, the school organized a tour. We visited the capital city of Valletta. The postcard above (from the stack I brought back in lieu of taking photographs, which, at the time, I thought I could not do) shows the city's Grand Harbour (Port il-Kbir). Notice the buses parked around the square on the bottom of the image. Riding the bus in Malta was a bit of an adventure. The buses were old, not particularly comfortable and they did not really stop to let you get off, but merely slowed down, so you had to hop off. It was all right once I figured it was the custom of the country.

the walled city of Mdina

Our visit to Mdina, the old capital of Malta, located in the center of the island, was enchanting. It is called the Silent City and indeed in the evening it relaxed in a meditative quiet and the atmosphere was quite magical.

I have a lot more stories from my stay in Malta, from visiting Gozo, to admiring this beautiful painting by Caravaggio, from listening to Maltese language, to being introduced to Meissen china, but I need to move on to more edible matters.

Of the traditional Maltese foods that I tasted, I remember lampuki, which I liked. Did I have ftira? I don't remember, but that is what I decided to make to celebrate our stop in Malta.

After browsing around the web a bit, I chose this recipe as guide and made a good number of adjustments to it, mostly in the procedure. Does it taste ike the real thing? I have no idea, but the bread I baked tastes really good and I hope that if I served it to a Maltese expat, it would bring a smile to his/her face. I made it many times during the past three weeks to test various details, so if you come to my house for dinner soon, chances are high you will get a taste as I have a stash in the freezer.

the poppy seeds are my idea

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for ftira

Ingredients for the pre-ferment:

• 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 pre-ferment
• 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

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 pre-ferment.

Preparing the pre-ferment
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 pre-ferment 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 pre-ferment 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. I didn't get a good shot of the one I use, so take a look at this photo to give you an idea. You need a rectangular container that will allow you to stretch, fold and flip the dough: not too high and large enough. 

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Turn the tub 90 degrees and repeat step 1 and 2.
4. 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.

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 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.

shaping the dough into a disc with a hole

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.

Do you even look at your bread rising in the oven? I do: it's mesmerizing.

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.

a great bread

A nice open crumb and a delicate sourdough flavor makes this a great bread to put on the table or to snack on. It shines next to a soup, with some cheese on it or with some spread. Basically, a winner.

I ♥ bread

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My bread participates to the 18th 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. R like Ross Fil Forn (Malta) is hosted by Lucia of Torta di Rose.

This page contains the list of contributions to the event.
Questa pagina contiene la lista dei contributi all'evento. 

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I am sending this bread to the January 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 Sandra.

 This post contains the list of contributions to the event.

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And also:

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

- to Yeastspotting. This post contains part 1 of the roundup and a link to the other two parts.

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

pane maltese

or launch the pane maltese 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, sourdough, Maltese cuisine