Buckwheat Bretzels / Bretzels al grano saraceno

Laugengebäck is the whole spectrum of breads that are boiled in a solution of water and caustic soda (in the order of 3% on the amount of water and not more, being caustic soda highly corrosive) before being baked. I simply love any kind of bread that undergoes this process while it gives a shiny crust and a very characteristic taste. Since my early childhood I favoured this kinds of breads which are usually vaguely rubbery and a little sticky on the surface. Bretzels are one of those breads I cherish. Although more or less ten years ago I had a moment of “Sils only bread baking” (here in Switzerland these breads are called silser) only once I tried to bake bretzels. Failing miserably.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Ada’s sultana buns / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: I panini alle uvette di Ada

Sultanas, either you love them or you hate them. Usually when offering a cake containing raisins or even panettone (which strictly requires raisins in its dough) I hear choruses of protest rising: “Noooo pleaseeee, not sultanas.” So just imagine the joy and amazement when asking my three years old niece Ada what she liked to eat the most she answered: “”Sultanaaaaassss!”. Not to mention when I noticed she was surgically dissecting the buns to remove the sultanas, but not to eat the soft inside of the bread…no sir, that he just ignored it at large and focused her attention on the berries. And what about you? Are you a sultanas lover us or hater? Well in any case the basic recipe for these buns is spot-on if you need something easy to bake for your children’s afternoon snack. The size of the buns is ideal for children my niece’s age who cannot manage to get through large bread rolls or buns, the dough is extremely soft and light and 100% vegan! If sultanas are just too hard to swallow you can replace them with chocolate chips, nuts, or other ingredients according to your taste.

Pistachios, Anchovies and Buffalo Mozzarella Arancini / Arancini ai pistacchi, acciughe e mozzarella di bufala

Summer is over. Fortunately the days of sweltering heat wave are only a distant memory. I do not know about you but this summer’s heat was reall unbearable to me. I stopped counting on the sleepless nights spent gasping for fresh air. Oh what a relief when the first rains came, finally, in late August. Finally the right climate to bake and experiment with doughs. July and August were particularly intense, with a lot of hard work to come up with a good recipe for croissants and different projects and works that popped out of the blue to both my surprise and delight. This year is ending definitely better than it started and I hope that 2016 will see a new chapter of my life unfold, hopefully one of many stimulating collaborations.

MTChallenge n°50: And the recipe is… / MTC n°50: La ricetta della sfida di Settembre è…

This month I will be throwing the gauntlet for September’s MTChallenge having won the previous challenge with my Horse Meat Hamburger with Eggplant, Beetroot crisps, Pepper Ketchup in a Liquorice Bun. It has been a hard task, picking the recipe and working on it to achieve a sort of kind of perfect version. Not to mention I have been working through July and August’s heat wave, handling butter and laminating dough. What is waiting for me is a lot of work, reading recipes, commenting, trying to to pick the best one of the bunch. I have the feeling I’ll get a proper headache… If you feel brave enough, if the temperatures are lowering and don’t exceed 20° C you might as well give it a shot. Check out my previous post on croissants to read more about techniques, tips and tricks.

50 E NON SENTIRLE! IL GIUBILEO DELL’MTC!

La 50esima sfida ad un tiro di schioppo (la prima risale al giugno del 2010, con la tortilla di patate) l’MTChallenge non da’ segni di perdere un minimo di smalto…anzi! Un gioco, una sfida e tanto studio contraddistinguono questa community (per vostra informazione la più longeva del web) che si è rinnovata negli anni arrivando a guadagnare un posto importante sul web, specie per quanto riguarda la credibilità dei contenuti e l’affidabilità delle ricette. Festeggiamo queste 50 sfide con il nostro stile, irriverente e scanzonato perché diciamocelo, nonostante tutto siamo ancora capaci di ridere e prenderci poco sul serio. Come ci promette la nostra inossidabile ed instancabile Mrs Van Pelt ci saranno sorprese, ricchi premi e cotillons, tutti in stile MTC (pure io fremo all’idea, non sapendo assolutamente nulla). Stay tuned!