Source: Tokyo bakery professional
There are so many types of bread that even if you don't consider the bread characteristics of some niche countries or regions, you can count hundreds of bread types in minutes by just counting a few "hot" countries. If you can't finish learning, you can't finish learning at all. That's why we decided to open a bread section to introduce you to the special breads of different countries, or the single breads that are popular all over the world.
We have previously introduced the origin of bagel and the worm bread of New Zealand, and in this issue, we would like to share with you the characteristics of Italian bread - in addition to focaccia and ciabatta, what do Italians eat?
01
Italian bread features
When it comes to Italy, the image is pizza, but in fact, Italian bread is also rich in variety, and it is an important food for daily consumption, with an ancient tradition, Italy is a gastronomic country that we underestimate.
Due to the narrow terrain of Italy, its bread combines the crops harvested in various places and local customs, resulting in more than 300 varieties, each with its own special bread, its flour, yeast and cooking methods are different, and its bread culture is comparable to our baked bread, which blossoms all over the country.
However, there are a few things in common, such as the fact that most Italian breads are low in salt, so eating them alone may feel a little bland.
Some scholars say that this may be traced back to a long time ago, when the rulers imposed heavy taxes on salt, so people at that time tried to add as little salt as possible to the dough, and others say that it was because Italian cuisine was more heavily seasoned, and in family restaurants, bread was often used to dip the sauce left over from the plate, so the taste did not have to be too heavy. Most Italian bread is not suitable for butter, but is served with traditional meals or soups, and bread is actually part of Italian cuisine.
Perhaps it is also due to a combination of two reasons.
Another characteristic of Italian bread is the use of olive oil instead of water. It's no surprise that high-quality olive oil is abundant throughout Italy. The easiest and most classic way to eat bread in Italy is to dip bread in olive oil, which is perhaps the only way to taste it in Italy.
Next, we will introduce you to a few Italian specialties or more unique bread categories.
02
Cubana bread
It is a special type of Easter bread that is commonly found in northeastern Italy. Its name is derived from the name of a well-known lord of the province in the 16th century. This bread was first mentioned in writing as one of the dishes served during Pope Gregory XII's visit to the region in 1409.
This bread is so precious that it was once used to pay wages or rent, and 20 loaves of gubana bread is equivalent to a high-ranking mason's wages in one day. It's more of a dessert, half brioche and half strudel – traditionally filled with a crumbly paste of walnuts, raisins, pine nuts, lemon and vanilla in decreasing proportions. The butter dough is filled with nuts, apricot jam, cocoa and a mixture of candied fruit and dried fruits. It can also be mixed with liqueurs and distilled spirits to form a dense and sweet bread with a unique rich and delicious swirling filling. Of course it is now also present in bread menus throughout the year, not just Easter.
We have also prepared a modified recipe for Cubana bread, which can be complicated to make, so we have also included a recipe for making it, so you can try to make it.
Cubana bread ingredients
Get ready
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing
1 tablespoon golden granulated sugar
Fillings
100 g walnuts, roasted
100 g pine nuts, baked
70 g roasted hazelnuts
80 g bleached almonds, roasted
30 g of almond liquor
120 g raisins, coarsely chopped
6 dried Turkish figs, chopped
6 plums, pitted and chopped
40g of chopped candied orange zest
80g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lemon zest
185 ml almond plum liqueur
2 eggs, lightly beaten
dough
460g cake flour
2 tablespoons fine sugar
7 g dry yeast
4 eggs
60ml warm milk
1 vanilla bean, cut open and scrape off the seeds
1 lemon zest, finely chopped
130g unsalted butter, softened
Steps:
1. When making the filling, chop the nuts and bitter apricot wine separately. Place the dried fruit, orange zest, chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest and liqueur in a large bowl and stir to form a paste. Leave on for 1 hour or overnight. Before use, add the eggs and stir well.
2. To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender. Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla seeds, and peel in a separate bowl, gradually adding to the flour mixture, adding the butter and stirring on medium speed until the dough is smooth and shiny. Roll out into a round shape, place in a bowl, coat with a little butter, cover and let rise until the volume is doubled.
3. Coat the 25 cm spring mold with melted butter. Hammer the dough and knead until smooth. Roll it out to a thickness of 1 cm to form an oval shape about 40 cm wide x 50 cm long. With the long side facing you, spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 3 cm border. Starting at one corner, roll the dough diagonally into a tight log and pinch the ends to seal. With the seam side side down, roll the log into a loose spiral, with both sides touching. Finally tuck the tail underneath. Transfer to a tank, cover and place in a warm place until about a third of the fermentation.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C, brush the top with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar in a spiral and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160°C and bake until the top is deep golden brown and the bread hollows out when tapping the bottom (45-50 minutes). Drizzle with extra liqueur if desired. It is best enjoyed on the day of baking. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days and heat them in a low-temperature oven.
03
Pandi La Merino
Pandi La Merino is a traditional Florentine Easter bread whose origins date back to the 12th century. Ramerino means rosemary in the Florentine dialect, and the large rolls of dough are mixed with the unique flavors of raisins and rosemary, a bread with a perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors, originally conceived as a pious product, with each of its raw materials symbolic. Centuries have passed, and beliefs may have changed, but the Italian way of life has preserved.
The taste of this bread is completely different from what we think of as ultra-sweet bread in Europe, with fresh rosemary bringing a salty taste, the only sweetness comes from the naturally dried raisins, and the light syrup that is brushed on top of the bread when it comes out of the oven, and the bread itself is quite neutral. The dough is engraved with many small crosses, which are then blessed by the priest. For centuries, these rolls were baked only on Holy Thursday. But because they are so popular, they are now sold year-round in Florentine bakeries, and Pandi La Merino has become deeply embedded in Florentine tradition and culture.
Here are the ingredients for 8 loaves of bread to prepare:
Pandi La Merino material
500 g flour
400 ml milk, warm
7 g dry yeast (or 23 g fresh yeast)
80 g raisins or raisins
60 grams of raw sugar
15 grams or a few sprigs of dense fresh rosemary
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 small egg, beaten and used to brush the top of the bread
The final baked syrup is made by dissolving 6 tablespoons of white sugar in half of the water, or if you don't like it too sweet, you can also leave it unbrushed.
04
Rose bread
In Roman homes, it is bread that is often found for breakfast or lunch. In Milan and Venice, it is called "Michetta", and it was made in the northern Lombardy region during the Italian rule of Austria. Therefore, it is very similar to the Austrian Caesar bread, which is shaped into a rose shape by molds, so it is named after the Italian word "Rosetta". They are the perfect container for cheese and cold cuts, and in Italy no one can refuse a rosé bread stuffed with sausages.
It is made by cutting off the sticky gluten tissue, so that the kneaded dough is fully fermented and baked in a steam-sprayed oven, creating holes in the inside of the bread and creating a crispy crust. It is common to eat it with olive oil, but it can also be cut horizontally and sandwiched into meat dishes or salads, and enjoyed like a panini.
Rose bread recipe proportions
Formula ratio:
Cake flour: 100%
Baker's yeast: 1%
Salt: 2%
Maltose syrup: 1%
Water: 52%
05
Breadsticks
A well-known bread that originated in the northwestern Piedmont region - Doolin. There is a theory that the royal chefs who ruled the region in the 17th century came up with a food remedy for sick and weak children: easily digestible breadsticks. Napoleon later called this bread the Little Doolin stick, and was very fond of eating it, buying it from the Doolin region. It is also said that this bread has a history of more than 3,000 years.
In Doolin, no dignified lunch or dinner would be possible without this delicious and fragrant breadstick.
Grissini is made in a simple way by mixing flour, yeast, water and olive oil. The dough is made from these simple ingredients and stretched to achieve the desired length. Once done, some spices such as sesame seeds and vanilla can be added. In Italy, they are often eaten as an appetizer with a variety of cured meats. The baked bread is then left to dry to the point where there is almost no moisture, it is as crisp and firm as a biscuit, and it can be stored for a long time. Nowadays, Italian bakeries are factory-made, usually about 25 cm, but on the other hand, there are still personalized handmade products, which can be as short as 16 cm and as long as 75 cm.
Breadstick recipe ratio
Formula ratio:
French bread flour: 100%
Fresh yeast: 3%
Olive oil: 12 percent
Salt: 2%
Cream: 10%
Water: 52%
06
Calasso bread
This bread is what we like to call it bread as we are used to.
You can't really experience Sardinia without tasting one of Sardinia's iconic dishes: the pane carasau flatbread. It is also known as musical bread because of its distinctive popping sound when broken and eaten, which the locals find to be as beautiful as musical scores, hence the name. It is also one of the oldest types of bread in the world.
Caraso bread has a close historical connection to its origin, Barbagia. Landlocked and inhospitable, Barbaja is home to one of the most pristine natural treasures on the planet. The trade-off is that the area is full of hard hills and mountains, which can almost be called "the end of all paths".
Of course, there are also indigenous villages in the area, and Calasso was born out of the logistical needs of these indigenous people: it needed to be easy for shepherds to carry with them and to be able to keep it for as long as possible during seasonal grazing. The best Calasso bread is in Fonni, the highest town in Sardinia, surrounded by centuries-old forests and prehistoric ruins, with breathtaking views and majestic peaks towering over the Barbagia Valley.
This explains why it's double baked, more like a cookie, to make it dry and easy to store. This also gives it its characteristic crunch: Calasso is thin and flat, wide and extremely brittle. Due to the freshness of the raw material and its high energy content, the taste is light and nutritious, and now every Sardinian household prepares and stores it in large quantities.
The process of making it is still the same as in ancient historical times: bread made from water, salt, yeast and durum wheat semolina, or more commonly from bran-rich barley or mixed whole wheat flour, is baked in the oven for a few seconds, and the trick is to roll it out as thin as possible.
Caraso bread recipe ratio
Recipe ratio (5-6 can be made):
220 g plain flour
250 g semolina
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
350 ml of warm water
Serve with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt flakes
It can be served with sauces or fillings
07
Tuscan bread
Native bread from Tuscany, central Italy, is deeply rooted in the urban soul of Tuscany, hence its name. (There are only a few breads in Italy that can be named directly from the place of origin, and Tuscany is one of them.)
The reason why the bread is not salted is that the reason why it is not salted in the bread recipe is based on the story of two old ladies.
There is a local story from the medieval period, when Florence and Pisa were rivals. Legend has it that in order to convince Florence to surrender to them, Pisa blocked the Florentine salt ships that arrived at the port of Pisa, preventing them from reaching Florence. It was from this event that Tuscan bread was born.
Another story tells of the widespread poverty that affected Italy in the Middle Ages, where salt is said to be a luxury that was too costly for the Florentines to be used to make bread. During this period of history, it was normal for every household to have a wood stove, and bread would be baked every two or three months, and then wrapped in cloth for long-term storage.
In addition to the fact that the bread is salt-free, its production process also includes a long fermentation period, which helps it maintain its freshness for several days. It has an unpolished exterior with a crunchy exterior and a soft interior. It comes in three basic shapes: round, elongated, and flat. The flat one of them is called the ciabatta chabata. If salt is added, Tuscany is no longer Tuscany, so Italians like to use it as a complement to balanced meals, such as adding ham or making Tuscany's famous soup "Tuscan Bread Soup".
Tuscan bread recipe ratio
Formula ratio:
Cake flour: 100%
Brewer's yeast: 5%
Water: 60%
08
Pandolo
Pandolo bread and Panatoni are both in the Christmas dessert category. Christmas in Italy wasn't really Christmas until the golden bread and Panatoni appeared on the table.
Pandolo or Panitoni? If you ask an Italian this question, it's like asking the Chinese whether tofu brains should be sweet or salty. You'll find two friendly factions: those who like raisins and preserves, and those who prefer a simple soft dough covered with powdered sugar.
The history of Pandolo begins in the city of Verona, the birthplace of confectioner Domenico Melegatti, who was the first to obtain a patent for this eight-pointed star-shaped Christmas soft cake from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1884, this delicacy quickly became a true Christmas delicacy in Italy, inspired by the traditional Veronese dessert Levà, made in town on Christmas Eve.
However, the origin of Pandolo is not so certain. It has a lot in common with the star-shaped cake Nadalin, which was popular on Venetian tables in the 13th century, as well as Viennese bread. It is also said that the name derives from the pan de oro, a cone-shaped cake covered with a thin layer of gold leaf, which became popular in the Republic of Venice around 1500.
Pandolo and Panatoni have two things in common: they both appear in all corners of Italy during the Christmas season, and the recipes have some common ingredients such as sourdough, eggs, and butter, but the similarities end there.
The main difference between Pandolo and Panatoni is the shape, the former is an eight-pointed star and the latter is a cylinder with a dome, and their defining flavors: Pandolo has a simple taste and is covered with a layer of powdered sugar, while Pannatoni adds candied fruit and raisins and possibly chocolate chips depending on the recipe, among other things.
The dough also varies greatly. Compared to Pandolo honeycomb and lighter texture, Panitoni's dough has a denser consistency. The difference in ingredients also causes the two types of cakes to have a different aroma when they are cut. The aroma produced by the panitoni is enhanced by the sweet and sour taste of candied fruit and raisins, while the pandolo has a sweet aroma of butter and vanilla.
Rose bread recipe proportions
Formula ratio:
French bread flour: 100%
Panatone Species: 20%
Baker's yeast: 0.6%
Sugar: 35%
Salt: 0.9%
Honey: 4%
Cream: 33%
Cocoa butter: 2%
Whole egg: 60g
Egg yolk: 5%
Milk: 12%