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!

Chestnuts Flour and Walnut Bread / Pane alla farina di castagne e noci

How I love the cold season. Vendors at every turn of a corner, the thick smoke coming from the roasting racks. Paper cones filled with roasted chestnuts keep my hands warm. Autumn and winter are my favourite season for their distinctive perfumes and flavours. Chestnuts come in the first place of my cold season food top ten. Sweet and fragrant, once amongst the staple food of our ancestors here in Ticino it has now become quite an expensive ingredient to buy in stores. Definitely not an every day ingredient if not for those who have the chance of being able to go in the woods and pick some. Every now and then I treat myself with a bag of chestnut flour and bake kolache. Lately I have been experimenting a bit and came up for this recipe for a bread I took to a dinner with friends. It’s flavour is intense and lends itself well to accompany a vegetable soup which is so seasonal. Chestnuts, walnuts and polenta are all products which are typical of my region and blend perfectly. This bread is one with a strong personality, it is rich and dense and keeps fresh for several days…a bit like bread did in the old days.

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.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Multigrain Flour, Sesame Seeds and Polenta Taragna Grissini / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Grissini alla farina 4 cereali, semi di sesamo e polenta taragna

And it’s Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook time again! I love grissini, just ask my family and friends. One of the easiest and tasty way to use sourdough leftovers, those crunchy breadsticks (even though I loathe the word, bread is bread and grissini are…grissini!) never fail and I usually bake a batch once a week or on special occasions as having dinner with friends. Actually I have the habit of giving away tons of bags of grissini, being single and living on my own! The best thing is there are no limits to your fantasy when it comes to baking grissini.

#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.

Panissimo and Ethnic Bread: Turkish Pide / Panissimo e i pani etnici: la Pide turca

Panissimo‘s theme for the start of 2014 immediately grabbed my attention: Ethnic breads. I love the cuisine of distant cultures and countries, especially the ones of India and Middle East.

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.

Delinquent bread, don’t try this at home! An offence to bread baking but still tastes good. Excess sourdough wholewheat bread / Una pagnotta criminale o anche un affronto a tutte le regole della panificazione. Pane integrale agli esuberi brutto ma buono.

New year, new goals, new…news?
I’m still in a transitioning phase in which scheduling has to be done, ideas must not only be put on paper but need to get in action and unfortunately time is short. So short I’m posting a plain recipe, no anecdotes, no funny story…oh well maybe there’s something funny about this bread and a few things to say.

What I learned from my Panettone failure / Panettone mappazzone, cosa ho imparato da una grande dilusione

This year I decided to face my biggest fear in the world of leavened products: Panettone or even said, quite rightly, the “King of leavened”. The result, thinking ot the huge emotional stress and sleep deprivation involved, was extremely disappointing.

Of Buckwheat ciabatta Quest / Alla ricerca della ciabatta al grano saraceno perfetta

Some recipes are like miracles, perfectly balanced from the first test to the hundred times you cook/bake them after their discovery. Some recipes are like nightmares, thoughts of the numerous failures hunting you at night, the need to nail them a monkey on your back. Especially if you’re like me, instinctive and a bit lazy on the technical/study side of the cooking/baking world. I am improving, but to me nothing beats some proper experiments and action in the kitchen. Guerrilla cooking (oh and how many times I come out defeated!).