Pao Alentejano

This bread was a nice discovery I made this summer, after meeting Nelson Carvalheiro at the Foodblogger Connect conference in London. On that occasion, during a long chat in front of a pizza at Franco Manca’s, Nelson asked me to be a guest on his blog, with a recipe of Portuguese bread. Needless to say I immediately accepted with enthusiasm. Other commitments and various things came in the way, and we have postponed the project. But now, with the upcoming changes, I decided to post this recipe and another one that will be posted on the blog Friday. Pão Alentejano is a long fermentation bread made with sourdough. It positively struck me for its taste, texture and beautiful crispy crust. Discover with me how to do it at home, it will take some time but it is absolutely worth it!

Sourdough Surprises September: Aniseed flavoured Blue Corn Johnnycakes / Sourdough Surprises Settembre: Johnnycakes al mais blu e semi di anice

It seems ages from the last Sourdough Surprises I have taken part to, with the Gozleme. Might it be the injury leave, which left me idle for a few unbearable weeks, or just that healthy summer “withdrawal from work” feeling? Almost fully recovered from my injury, feeling my usual self, I am ready to get my sourdoughs working on some proper recipes.

Crunchy Licorice Snails / Chioccioline croccanti alla liquirizia

It has been a while that I’ve been entertaining the idea of experimenting a little with basic grissini dough and some time ago, a morning before going off to work, I baked my first batch of grissini snails.

Sourdough Surprises: Hot Dog Buns

I am back on track with Sourdough Surprises, one of my favourite bread events from which I had withdrawn a bit due to other obligations. But I am more than glad to be back on track and with a recipe totally new to me. Hot dog buns. I am not a big meat eater, and very rarely eat hamburgers and hot dogs. But the thought of being able to pull together a good and more or less healthy fast food recipe appeals to me. So much I ate Hot Dogs two days in a row!

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.

Panissimo’s Ecole de boulangerie: Le Boulot / Panissimo e la sua Ecole de boulangerie: il Boulot/Baulotto

It has become a habit lately, to defer my post for Panissimo‘s École de Boulangerie. Between one thing and another posting the École bread of the current month has become more of a challenge, and in the end I decided to just let go! Overdoing it now is not an option, as it would mean saturate the blog on almost a daily basis. I’d rather stick to quality – both in the recipes and pictures – than rush for the next post. The chosen bread shape for the month of March was boulot, a loaf with a nice central slash. Bread slashing, my damnation!

#Twelve Loaves: Rye and fennel seeds snails with blood oranges and red onion chutney / #Twelve Loaves: Girelle di segale e semi di finocchio al chutney di arance sanguinelle e cipolle

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recipe, most of all because the need to create a savoury bread was stronger than ever. What triggered this flavour combination was the poll that Lora-Cake Duchess launched in Twelve Loaves to choose April’s theme.

Easter Bread: Hot Cross Buns / Pane Pasquale: Hot cross buns

Yet another month and Panissimo is back again. March marked the beginning of the “Easter leavened season”, which is usually known for complex and rich in fat recipes. Usually the time required for testing and improving these recipes is significant.

Panissimo’s Ecole de boulangerie: La Coupe Saucisson / Panissimo e la sua Ecole de boulangerie: la coupe saucisson

Panissimo also has it’s little school of baking, and every month we are given homeworks in the guise of a new bread shape. Last month finally my friend Michela’s wishes were met, and the shape we had to bake is this very nice saucisson which she had been wanting to make from the start.

Daring Bakers: White Chocolate and Pistachio Flower Brioche / Daring Bakers: Fiore di brioche al cioccolato bianco e pistacchio

Beauty surrounded the Daring Bakers this month as our host, Sawsan, of chef in disguise,
challenged us to make beautiful, filled breads. Who knew breads could look as great as they taste?

This month Daring Bakers is hosted by one very good blogger I’ve been following since the early days of my blog, Sawsan of Chef in disguise. Her choice fell on a recipe and shape I know quite well, a recipe that brought a good share of luck to my life landing me to Azione with whom I collaborate every now and then and to an interesting collaboration with Maroggia’s Mill: the Brioche Flower.