Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Marjoram and Orange Zest Focaccia / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Focaccia maggiorana e scorza d’arancia

And yet again another focaccia recipe! For today’s Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook I present you the recipe for a high hydration, fresh, spring-mood flavoured focaccia. Mix a hint of creativity, a sprinkle of marjoram a pinch of orange zest and you will have a delicious bread to accompany your salads with. Keep aside the recipe to accompany cold summer soups…try it with a fresh gazpacho, you will love it! To make it I used Maroggia’s Mill pasta and pizza flour, a skilful mix of wheat flour and finely ground semolina flour. When I don’t have any of this special flour around I usually mix 50% of wheat flour with 50% of semolina flour. The recipe has been tasted and approved by my guinea pigs, what are you waiting for?

“Cuochi d’artificio”: An easy peasy home baked bread / “Cuochi d’artificio”: Pane casereccio facile facile

Ready, steady, go! With a little delay on the start of the new “Cuochi d’artificio” season, but here I am. This year we start with a few changes. From now on the cooks on the show can be consulted directly by the public by writing an email. All of the show’s chefs are here to help you resolve problems in the kitchen, giving tips and providing you with the best recipes.

The first question that was sent to me concerns homemade bread in its simplest form. Thinking about it, I realized that this question often comes from people who haven’t got much experience in the kitchen, who might have tried over and over the same recipe without obtaining any satisfactory results but still want to be able to make a genuine bread in their own kitchen. Better if all the process is sort of fast, effortless, without messing the kitchen too much. Daunting task…Luckily a few months ago I came across this gadget, a rubber bowl which allows you to mix the dough, let it proof and bake it in the same container. Not bad for those who do not want to havee too many kitchen tool to clean (after baking the mold is basically clean and just needs a good rinse) and doesn’t have a great dexterity to engage in types and shapes of bread which are far too complicated. The proofing schedule is specifically meant for people who work. This bread just needs a little kneading, proofing a few hours and can be put to rest in the fridge during the day if you want to bake the bread in the evening to return from work, or overnight if you want to cook it the morning after a good night’s sleep. I added a bit of whole wheat flour and seeds to give a more rustic and authentic flavor to the bread, to make it more homely.

Here you will find the list of ingredients and step by step description of the recipe, and here you can see the video recipe to have a more accurate visual reference.

And what about you, do you have any questions?

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Wholemeal and Cinnamon Rusks / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Zwieback integrali alla cannella

The first meal of the day is the most important, needless for me to say it for the nth time. May it be breakfast on working days or a rich Sunday brunch spent in the company of family and friends it doesn’t really matter, it’s carbohydrates that make the difference. A proper source of energy, carbohydrates are better to be consumed during the first part of the day mainly because by approaching the night hours our capacity to burn down calories is reduced and this may lead, if carbs are consumed in excess, to an important weight gain. Today’s recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook is a twist on zwieback, a great classic of Swiss breakfasts. I admit I do prefer them much to their Italian cousins, rusks, which always seem to be inconsistent and unwilling to be properly dunk in tea. For while dunking a rusk in tea it is important not to exceed those five seconds soaking time separating a properly soaked slice from an impalpable slurry which irredeemably splashes in the cup resulting in Pollock splatters all around, staining clothing, tablecloth and newspaper. Zwieback on the other hand are more compact and can be dunk twice. Italy 0 – Switzerland 1. And why not…lets be dragged by a little national pride, roll up our sleeves and accomplices our faithful and reliable Maroggia’s Mill flours let’s bake together these crispy delights! I added whole wheat flour and a pinch of cinnamon to the mixture to differentiate our zwieback from those available on the market, but you can try to make the classic version using only white wheat flour or pick any other combinations of sweet and savoury ingredients to flavour them. For the record this recipe has been subjected to a brunch tests and got top marks from all of my five enthusiastic guinea pigs. What are you waiting for? Ready, steady, bake!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Bread in a can / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pane in lattina

Today for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook I want to present you with a very practical and entertaining recipe, as well as delicious of course! Bread in a can is the perfect example of how man can use anything as a cooking tool. Really, there is no point in owning multiple moulds and bread tins when you can re-use tin cans. Besides the result is so nice and the rounded slices of bread are perfect for making appetizers!

Garlic and Lemon Thyme Ciabattas for Twelve Loaves / Ciabatte all’aglio e al timo limonato per Twelve Loaves

When this month’s Twelve Loaves theme came out I was so happy! Onions, garlic, chives, shallots, leeks and Co. Love them all and the choice is so vasti t was only a matter of flavour pairings. Michela just came by for a few days, bringing with her nice presents and a few little glass jars filled with herbs and spices. One particular herb stole my heart and amazed my tastebuds: lemon thyme. I wanted, at all costs, to use it in a bread. Lemon thyme and garlic, I just knew it would work.

Requiem for a Sourdough: Whey bread and a Fendu Fail / Requiem per una pasta madre: Pane al siero di latte e il fendu fallimentare

Sourdough is a funny creature. Sometimes it greets you with a bubbly surface and a heavenly white wine perfume, ready to start another adventure in the bread baking world, confident in a good rise and excellent flavour. Other times, when neglected , it can turn nasty and sour with a grey appereance that speaks for itself. Sourdough is alive, and as many other living creatures it’s easy to create a bond with it.