102PANI REGIONALI E RUSTICI Pane di Como Como Bread This is a spectacularly delicious white bread with a crunchy dome and a feathery floury top that tastes of the sweetness of wheat. It is excellent for breakfast. The loaf is engraved with the delicate pattern of the basket in which it is given its final rise and the interior is honeycombed with irregular holes. The breads of Como are more than slightly confusing. Both the ciabatta and the pane francese (recipes follow) are also breads from Como, but this Como bread is what is made and eaten there today. Makes 2 round loaves STARTER 1 teaspoon active dry yeast or 1h small cake (6 grams) fresh yeast 1 scant teaspoon malt syrup Ih cup warm water 2h cup milk, room temperature 1 cup (135 grams) unbleached all"purpose flour Stir the yeast and malt into the water; let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the milk and beat in the flour with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon about 100 strokes until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until bubbly, at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. DOUGH 2 cups water, room temperature 6 1;4 cups (860 grams) unbleached all"purpose flour 1 tablespoon (15 grams) salt Cornmeal BY HAND Add the water to the starter; mix and squeeze it between your fingers until the starter is fairly well broken up. Mix the flour and salt and stir 2 cups at a time into the starter mixture. When the dough is too stiff to mix with a wooden spoon, just plunge in with your hands. Mix until well blended, 4 to 5 minutes. Knead on a well,floured surface until elastic but still moist and tacky. Once it has come together nicely, crash it down vigorously on the work surface to develop the gluten. BY MIXER Mix the starter and the water with the paddle until the starter is well broken up. Add the flour and salt and mix for 2 to 3 minutes at low speed. The dough will be smooth but won't pull away from the side of the bowl. Change to the dough hook and knead at medium speed, . this bread is a remarkable and delicious loaf with a big. about 1 hour. Today it is known all over Italy as pane francese.floured . Place the starter on top of the flour mixture. Unless you have a large processor.. Known Today as French Bread It is said that the legendary taste of Como bread owes a lot to the air and water of the famous lake. Coolon racks.floured hands. Sprinkle the stone with cornmeal.REGIONAL AND RUSTIC BREADS 103 scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. creating quarrels over every dish and gastronomic tradition. holed chewy interior and a crunchy crust. Thirty minutes before baking. Shaping and Second Rise. 3 to 4 minutes. Baking. Finish kneading by hand on a floured work surface.surface with well. Place the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the dough blade and process with several pulses to sift. Place in oiled and floured 8. and let rise until doubled. until the dough is elastic but still slightly sticky. Very carefully invert the loaves onto the stone and bake until the loaf sounds hollow when the bottom is tapped. heat the oven with a baking stone in it to 400 0 F. but even without those particular ingredients. The dough will be tacky and moist.inch round bannetons or in baskets lined with generously floured kitchen towels. Place in a well. Finish kneading on a well. make the dough in two batches. Pane di Como Antico 0 Pane Francese Como Bread of the Past. or French bread. First Rise. BY PROCESSOR Refrigerate the starter until cold. cover tightly with plastic wrap.. When it was still called Como bread. about 1 hour. Cover with towels and let rise until fully doubled and risen to the tops of the bannetons. it was the only food that brought about a rapprochement of sorts between the contentious regions of Lombardy and Piedmont. about I 1h hours. Each was fiercely proud of its culinary specialties. pour 2 cups cold water through the feed tube and process until the dough comes together and gathers into a ball.. Cut the dough in half on a floured surface and shape into 2 round loaves. but they did relax their differences long enough to speed this bread from the Paduan plain .. The dough is ready when it is very bubbly and blistered. With the machine running. Process 30 to 45 seconds longer to knead.oiled bowl. with green salads. a total of 8 to 12 minutes.104 PANI REGIONALI E RUSTICI Pane di Como Antico (continued) where it was baked to the far reaches of both areas. I am told that it reached its pinnacle of tastiness on the Sunday bicycle ride from Milan to Como when it was served as a snack after about 25 miles of pedaling. sprinkling with up to Ih cup additional flour and using the dough scraper to scrape up the fine film of dough that will accumulate on the work surface. He uses a complicated natural yeast for which I have substituted a starter made with a minuscule amount of yeast and mixed with a little whole'wheat flour into the unbleached flour to give it the authentic taste of a time when flours were less refined than today. moist. sliced salami. and smoked meats. room temperature 1/2 cup (65 grams) whole-wheat flour 3 to 3 14 cups (435 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons (10 grams) salt Cornmeal BY HAND Cut the starter into small pieces in a large mixing bowl. as well as to turn and lift the dough. I have often made this dough and refrigerated it overnight for the second rise. fresh cheeses. 1 cup at a time. After about 5 minutes of kneading. Change to the dough hook and knead at medium speed until soft. I based this recipe on one from Giancarlo Grignani. a scholar and master baker in Milan. slam the dough down hard several times to help develop the gluten. Knead on a floured surface. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth. BY MIXER Mix the starter and all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the water with the paddle in a large mixer bowl. Mix in the flours and then the salt dissolved in the remaining water. moist. stir in the salt dissolved in the remaining water. and sticky. The dough should still be soft. When the dough is a fairly rough and shaggy mass. Makes 2 long loaves 34 cup (180 grams) Biga (page 100) made with half the yeast 11/2 cups water.purpose flour. Serve it with stews and meats with rich sauces. it only gets better with the long cool development of the yeast. who researched the bread as it tasted in earlier centuries. Add all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the water and mix until the starter is in fine shreds and the liquid is chalky white. Stir in the whole'wheat flour and most of the all. and sticky but obviously . with many visible air bubbles. Carry the peel or baking sheet to the oven and very gently invert the dough onto the stone.4 to 11. Let them relax under a cloth for 20 minutes. 11. With the machine running. The dough should feel delicate but extremely springy. . cover with plastic wrap. Line baking sheets or peels with parchment paper and flour the paper generously. 11. The dough is ready when it has numerous bubbles and blisters under the skin. Baking.2 to 2 hours. (See illustration in Ciabatta recipe. Dimple the loaves all over with your fingertips or knuckles. Cover the loaves and let rise until doubled. Shape into 2 round loaves. Finish kneading by hand on a floured surface. and let rise until doubled.2 hours. until the dough is smooth but still soft. Shaping and Second Rise. BY PROCESSOR Refrigerate the starter until cold. as for focaccia. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Finish kneading by hand on a floured surface. sprinkling with additional flour. sprinkling with additional flour. The dough will be moist and sticky. about 4 minutes.REGIONAL AND RUSTIC BREADS 105 elastic. Coolon racks. Roll each ball into a fat cylinder and place seam side down on the paper. until smooth but still soft. Gently remove the parchment paper. Divide the dough in half on a floured surface without kneading it. Process the starter and llh cups cold water with the steel blade and remove to another bowl. pour the starter mixture through the feed tube as quickly as the flour can absorb it. Sprinkle the baking stone with cornmeal. 35 to 40 minutes. Change to the dough blade and process the flours and salt with 2 or 3 pulses to sift. to keep the dough from springing up. Process 30 to 45 seconds longer to knead. First Rise.) Immediately reduce the heat to 400 0 F and bake until golden. Thirty minutes before baking. page 107. heat the oven with a baking stone in it to 425 0 F. Ciabatta means slipper in Italian. you may feel certain you've done it all wrong.floured surface. add to the bowl. This dough should be made in the mixer.. Mix the flour and salt. I have made it by hand but wouldn't recommend it unless you are willing to knead the wet. about 10 minutes.. adding as little flour as possible. and twisting it rather like taffy. made 12 hours before 33. Ciabatta is a remarkable combination of rustic country texture and elegant and tantalizing taste. You can't put it on the table because the natural inclination is to add lots of flour to this very sticky dough and pretty soon you wouldn't have a ciabatta. It is much lighter than its homely shape would indicate. room temperature 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cups (500 grams) Biga (page 100). The loaves rise nicely in the oven. Resist the temptation to add flour and follow the instructions. And that's not the only unusual feature-the shaped loaves are flat and look definitely unpromising. let stand until creamy. even when they are puffed after the second rise. although it also works in the processor. sticky mass between your hands-in mid. and the porous chewy interior is enclosed in a slightly crunchy crust that is veiled with flour. your hands covered with dough. very springy. and moist. supple. then 2 minutes at medium speed. one glance at the short stubby bread will make it clear how it was named. Makes 4 loaves. oil. Change to the dough hook and knead for 2 minutes at low speed. folding. each about the width of a hand and the length of the arm from wrist to elbow 1 teaspoon active dry yeast or 1h small cake (6 grams) fresh yeast 5 tablespoons warm milk 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons water. you'll never think of white bread in the same way again. Add the water.106 PANI REGIONALI E RUSTICI Ciabatta Slipper--Shaped Bread from Lake Como I can't think of a way to describe the fabulous and unusual taste of ciabatta except to say that once you've eaten it. Everyone who tries this bread loves it. .air-turning. until the dough is velvety. Knead briefly on a well. and mix for 2 to 3 minutes.4 cups (500 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon (15 grams) salt Cornmeal BY MIXER Stir the yeast into the milk in a mixer bowl. and starter and mix with the paddle until blended. The dough will feel utterly unfamiliar and probably a bit scary. Eat for breakfast or slice an entire ciabatta horizontally and stuff it with salami and cheese. Don't give up. Roll up each piece into a cylinder. pour the starter mixture through the feed tube and process until the dough comes together. Add 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons cold water. and let rise until doubled. Cover loosely with dampened towels and let rise until puffy but not doubled. Place the flour and salt in the food processor fitted with the dough blade and process with several pulses to sift. then stretch each into a rectangle. floured surface. spraying 3 times with water in the first 10 minutes. Stir the yeast into the milk in a large bowl. let stand until creamy. Generously flour 4 pieces of parchment paper on peels or. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces on a well..REGIONAL AND RUSTIC BREADS 107 BY PROCESSOR Refrigerate the starter until cold. Finish kneading on a well. about 10 minutes. Dimpling the dough Baking. Shaping and Second Rise. sprinkle the stones with cornmeal. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Just before baking.. Carefully invert each loaf onto a stone. and sticky. 3. on a paper. 1. just work it free from the paper gently. Pulling and stretching the dough 2. pulling with your fingers to get it long and wide enough. elastic. seam side up. cover with plastic wrap. baking sheets. very supple. Dimple the )oaves vigorously with your fingertips or knuckles so that they won't rise too much. about 10 X 4 inches. heat the oven with baking stones in it to 425 0 F. The dough will look heavily pockmarked. but it is very resilient so don't be concerned. about ItA hours. Turning the ciabatta off parchment onto stone . If the dough sticks a bit. Place each loaf. The dough should be full of air bubbles. Process about 45 seconds longer to knead. the oil. moist. First Rise. Place the dough in an oiled bowl.floured surface until the dough is velvety. supple. and starter and mix. Thirty minutes before baking. I 1h to 2 hours. The loaves will look flat and definitely unpromising but don't give up for they will rise more in the oven. squeezing the starter between your fingers to break it up. With the machine running. and very springy. Coolon racks.
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