As time passes, I find that making bread has become a soothing ritual, one of those enormously reassuring traditions which speaks of family, home, garden, simplicity and the pure joy of the basics - of one of mankind's most fundamental foods.
It is also one of the cooking chores that Maurizio and I always do together as a team, by choice...and by necessity.
The first phase is mixing the two and a half kilos of flour, yeast and water and leaving it for at least three hours in a tepid oven with a bowl of hot water to ensure some dampness. (no photos of this phase)
After this first phase, Maurizio kneads the massa at length, working in the small cubes of the auricchio, pecorino and emmenthal cheeses, the roasted walnuts (our very own) and pinenuts, the salt and the freshly grated parmesan. He works on a board he built himself over 25 years ago.
the little hand-forged wrought iron scraper has been in the family for over 200 years
dividing and shaping the six loaves
and preparing them to go back into a tepid oven for another 30-40 minutes while
Maurizio brings the wood-burning oven in the garden to the right temperature by feeding it, little by little, with very dry small olive twigs. After about 40 minutes of constant attention, the wood burning oven is ready. At this point I bring out the six loaves which have risen even more in the tepid oven inside. Maurizio slides them in, one by one, on a bread palette and quickly closes the tight, heavy wrought iron door.
Another 45 minutes and the bread is ready to be brought in, filling the entire house with a heavenly scent. The bread freezes well - we toast a slice every morning for our leisurely breakfasts along with our steaming cappuccinos. Heavenly...the deeply satisfying ritual of making bread the traditional way from scratch without any shortcuts or machinery. Magical!
Comments (3)
Your bread looks so wonderful (nuts AND cheese) that I am certain it's worth the effort.
How remarkable that you and Maurizio have preserved the family's iron utensil.
Posted by sandrac | March 15, 2010 7:40 PM
Posted on March 15, 2010 19:40
These look so wonderful-my mouth is watering!
Posted by janie | March 17, 2010 3:23 PM
Posted on March 17, 2010 15:23
What a wonderful description of breadmaking complete with photos!! I feel like I am right there with you....You have me planning to make some bread...though no wood oven!!
Posted by holly | March 18, 2010 6:20 PM
Posted on March 18, 2010 18:20