The Italian Baker
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Bread in Italy is rough country loaves with thick chewy crusts and flat disks of focaccia seasoned with the wild herbs of the fields. It is celebratory sweet holiday breads dense with fat raisins, toasted nuts and candied fruit peels. It is "new wave" wave" breads, recently invented by artisan bakers and studded with roasted peppers, sun. dried tomatoes and salty olive paste. It is imaginative multi-grain breads and rolls with tastes and shapes that vary dramatically from region to region. Recipes for the breads of all these regions, for the comforting rustic soups and salads and appetizers based on them, for breadsticks and rolls, pizza and focaccia, for holiday specialties, for pastries, cookies, cornetti and nut tortes, fruit tarts, cheesecakes and spice cakes and other confections-all are offered in this landmark volume which presents, for the first time in English or Italian, the diverse baking traditions of Italy. Knowing these regional specialties and the stories behind them is like taking a trip through the Italian countryside. Putting the recipes on paper as Carol Field has done is like preserving the villages in the Italian hillsides with their churches and frescoes, for they are part of a tradition that has never before been recorded. In preparing for this book, Carol Field spent two years working with the bakers of Italy, traversing the country again and again from Lugano and Como in the north to Lecce and Palermo in the south, tasting and testing, then going back to the States to rework the recipes in an American kitchen with American ingredients. The result is recipes that are impeccably written for utmost ease and flexibility. Some are simple and earthy, some elegant and refined, but all will be a revelation to Americans who have previously known Italian breads and desserts only from the limited and stereotyped range available until now. Each recipe offers instructions for making doughs by hand, by electric mixer, and by food processor. Illustrations provide clear step-by-step how-to, and chapters on ingredients, equipment and technique reveal all the whys and wherefores.
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I have slowly, over the last couple of years, been trying out recipes from this book. Last week I made the Pizza all Siciliana (Sicilian Pizza). Field describes this as a “fat pizza” and I think that's a great description. The Sfinciuni tomato sauce is to die for, a rich blend of tomatoes and onions that simmer on the stove for a couple of hours. Delish.
I also posted about this wonderful book a year ago on my blog. I share that post below:
“Bread is merely flour, water, yeast, and salt as the world is merely earth, water, fire, and air.”
Carol Field in The Italian Baker
Carol Field offers up recipes of the Italian countryside in this book, including breads, pizza, pastries, cookies, and focaccia. I decided to try focaccia, something that Field suggests has become the national dish.
Field notes that focaccia is “simplicity itself,” made from the herbs of the countryside, along with oil from Liguria, and garlic and olives. Sometimes there are variations with tomatoes or oregano, capers or anchovies, basil or sweet onions.
Schiacciata is the word Florentines use for the breads other Italians call focaccia.
Here is the recipe I used:
Schiacciata alla Florentina
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons lard at room temperature
2 1/2 tablespoons of nonfat dry milk
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
By hand, stir the yeast into the warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the oil, lard, and dry milk. Mix in the flour and salt and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and gradually stir the flour into the liquid. Stir until well combined. Knead on a floured surface until velvety and soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should be soft, so add any extra flour sparingly.
(I didn't have lard, so I substituted butter.)
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
Flatten the dough firmly on a lightly floured work surface and divide into two 8-ounce and one 10 1/2 ounce piece. Roll each piece into a ball and let rest under a towel for 15 minutes. Dimple and spread the balls with your fingers to cover the bottoms of two oiled 8-inch pie plates and one oiled 10-inch pie plate. Brush the tops with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.
(I had to use three 8-inch pie plates as I didn't have a 10-inch plate.)
Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
Cover with one of the following toppings:
2 red onions, thinly sliced and sautéed in 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of fresh basil
or 3-4 fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced, sprinkled with chopped basil leaves and 3/4 teaspoon of salt
or 2 yellow and/or red peppers, thinly sliced and lightly sautéed with a large garlic clove in 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil for 15 minutes; discard the garlic
or 4-6 small zucchini, cut lengthwise into thin slices and lightly sautéed with 2 whole cloves of garlic in 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil; discard the garlic; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.
(I used tomatoes with fresh basil for one pizza, cheese for another, and pepperoni for a third. I liked the cheese and the tomato pizzas best)
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using baking stones, if possible (turn on oven 30 minutes before baking) and place the baking pans directly on the preheated stones. Bake the schiacciata 25-30 minutes. Serve hot.
