Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Mock panettone with candied orange and dark chocolate / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Finti panettoncini all’arancia candita e cioccolato fondente

It has been hanging around for a long time, this thought. Unfortunately having many things to do and little time to stop and think and do something about it…but I couldn’t stop thinking this blog was born thanks to my passion for sourdough but lately my recipes have been increasingly lacking this ingredient. What happened? Nothing serious, some of it is to blame on the discovery of long fermentation which can make yeasted bread more digestible and fresh for longer time, just like sourdough bread. A little blame is on “Cuochi d’artificio” for which I decided to restrain myself to the use of yeast, being sourdough leavening too complex. And last but not least lately time to plan refreshments and dough rising has failed me big time.

At the first occasion I knew I had to do something about it. I threw a quick loving glance to the jar of my dear Hannibal Dolores Frank, my liquid sourdough culture, and rolled up my sleeves. In a jiffy I found the right ingredients and I started to put down, off the cuff, the recipe for these mock panettoncini fo Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. Mock because mind you, panettone is a serious matter. The recipe is regulated by a disciplinary from which you can not escape, and the commitment needed to come up with a good homemade panettone is remarkable. This recipe in a way is no exception and I don’t recommend it to the faint of heart, or better faint of hand. Unless you are familiar with very hydrated or high in fat doughs, if you’re not quite skilled with handling and shaping breads I warn you nervous breakdown is around the corner waiting for you. But if you are experienced or daring enough go all the way and this recipe will not disappoint you. These little panettoni are perfect for a special, and why not romantic, breakfast. Soft as a pillow and sweet, I tell you. Bake them on a Saturday afternoon for Sunday morning. Pop them for a while in the oven before you tasting them while cocooning in the warmth comfort of your bed, wide smile under your cappuccino foam moustache. That’s amore!

Cardamom and Turmeric Pancakes / Pancakes al cardamomo e curcuma

Sunday morning, 6 o’ clock, Chiasso. I must be crazy but I have a mission, a very complicated recipe I have been wanting to bake for many years. Breathe in, breathe out. I reach to the bag of special flour I purchased a few months ago fr the purpose…only to find out it is full of flour bugs! I have no alternative but a change of plans and must decide what to bake quickly. Luckily I had refreshed some liquid starter just the night before, but what could I come up with in order no to waste too much time and be able to take pictures while the sun was still out?

Semolina Flour Tozzetti / Tozzetti di semola rimacinata fine

Bread sticks, bread sticks…an endless love. Grissini have always been my favourite snack (as a child when we went out for a pizza I would steal grissini bags to all diners at our table, then grissini became the staple snack I would nibble during trips on trains when I went at the university), I never get tired of trying new recipes and mix of ingredients. This time I tried to put together one of my favourite flour (the friscello or fine semolina) with some farina bianca nostrana, equivalent of a strong bread flour. From the fridge I removed a tiny jar of shortening which was left from making pies, mainly out of curiosity (shortening is often amongst the ingredients of artisanal bread sticks that can be found in shops and supermarkets) as it seemed the right amount for this recipe and waste not want not, right? I used some refreshed and very active liquid sourdough and voilà the perfect recipe is served, more out of luck than anything else. I’m not sure whether the flour, lard or simply the mix of all these ingredients made the trick, but this recipe is among the best I’ve created so far. These tozzetti (meaning stocky, as I named them for their flat, short and thick shape) are the apotheosis of crunchiness.

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!

#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.

MTC Challenge: Italian Stew, how I Iove you! / MTC Challenge: Spezzatino o anche di un amore nato a fuoco lento

To every recipe an introduction. A story, a few anecdotes. When I first read this month’s MTC Challenge recipe I got shivers in my spine. No, not those sweet old memories shivers. Cold and scary ones. My mother being British we grew up eating sheperd’s pies, Lancashire hot pots, pork and I remember few occasional stews. But not spezzatino, the italian version of stew. No nonna recipes, no Sunday lunch tradition, nothing.