Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Mustard Flavoured Pita / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pita alla senape

Flatbreads are amongst my favourite breads. Why? First of all they are already portioned and ready to be eaten on the go for a quick snack or stuffed for an easy lunch to take with you to eat on your mid-day break. They also make the perfect side dish bread, to be dunked in rich gravies, to clean the plate from the tomato sauce that hasn’t been trapped linguine or spaghetti or even to be used instead of cutlery to scoop food from the plate as one would do with a spoon or a fork. No slicing, no morsels, no fuss. For this recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook I thought to add a little flavour and spice to the dough by simply mixing in some mustard. Heavenly…you don’t need to spread mustard anymore as the flavour is already in the bread! These pitas are pillowy soft, melt in the mouth and keep fresh up to 5 days if stored in plastic bags. You can also freeze them and keep them stored on case of a bread emergency. Simply pop them in the toaster or the oven!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Rye Flour Focaccia / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Focaccine con farina di segale rotta

Focaccia mon amour. Once you’ve been to Genova and gained two solid kilos by feeding yourself daily with focaccia there is no possible way out, as this crispy and soft flatbread leads to severe addiction. Along the years I baked many focacce, the first one published in the blog was a gorgeous artichoke and red cabbage focaccia for Sourdough Surprises, then I ventured into potato focaccia and developed a recipe for semolina focaccia too. But up until now I had never baked a rustic version of focaccia. This is the reason why I decided it was about time to experiment a little with whole flours too, for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. Maroggia’s Mill special pizza flour helps the dough to develop and proof in the best possible way, providing with a soft crumb and a crunchy crust, while the rye flour gives this focaccia a rustic flavour and texture. Long fermentation, needless to say, helps obtain a more digestible bread, with an aromatic and soft crumb reason why I will never stress enough about the fact it is so much worth the wait of a day. With the sunny and warm weather finally setting in you can bake a batch to share with friends for a Sunday picnic brunch. This focaccia is simply heavenly with soft goat cheese and fresh salad. Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and bake?

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Semolina Flour Focaccia / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Focaccine con farina di semola

For once my english introduction to the recipe has to be completely different from the italian one. Why this? Focaccia is quite a common snack (or at least it was) in High Schools both in Ticino and in Italy. I remember those round flatbreads, that were handed out at screaming and pushing (and quite commonly spotty) teenagers during recreation time. There were few focaccias and pizzas, wrapped in grease paper (or was it the actual grease from the breads?) and many, too many of us. Those who had the chance to get their hands on such a treat would rarely share, grinning at those who were left with nothing. Oh teenagers! What was it that made to us those rubbery and greasy breads so appealing I still ask myself, watching back to those days. But let’s look forward. Luckily my tastebuds have had a proper breaducation along the years, no such “breads” are seen in my house, and I rather not eat than bite into rubber foam discs. This focaccia is what all High School pupils deserve.