Homebaker’s Cookbook: 4 Seeds Crackers / Il Ricettario di Homebaker: Crackers ai 4 semi

 Crispy baked goods have always been an obsession of mine…during the past years I had to face countless disappointments with full trays of grissini and crackers that wouldn’t turn out as crispy as I would have liked them. Stubbornness pays off though, and finally with time I came up for the recipe for perfectly crispy crackers. Ideal for aperitifs or to nibble on during work breaks, especially needed when spending a whole day in front of the computer. A simple and reliable recipe, just top with fresh cheese, two lemon zest, sprinkle with freshly cut chives and you will have a stunning aperitif with zero effort! For today’s Homebaker’s Recipe Book I present you with my tasty 4 seed crackers recipe crackers. Follow me and discover our online shop!

Tigelle

Street food is now everywhere on the streets of our cities and at every special event around Ticino. A few years ago when I attended Food Immersion Festival I was impressed by Tigella Bella‘s stand but there was so much to say and eat that I realized I had completely forgot to mention them! The thought of these soft flat breads didn’t leave me but only now I had the idea to reinterpret the original recipe. The result? Spectacular! Try them as soon as baked. Warm, soft and fragrant they lend themselves beautifully for a brunch in your backyard!

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

 

Street food is now everywhere on the streets of our cities and at every special event around Ticino. A few years ago when I attended Food Immersion Festival I was impressed by Tigella Bella‘s stand but there was so much to say and eat that I realized I had completely forgot to mention them! The thought of these soft flat breads didn’t leave me but only now I had the idea to reinterpret the original recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. The result? Spectacular! Try them as soon as baked. Warm, soft and fragrant they lend themselves beautifully for a brunch in your backyard!

ZZAFF!: Ciambella ticinese

The ciambella ticinese is a crunchy and crumbly biscuit, spiced with anise seeds or sometimes fennel or cumin seeds. The typical shape of the ciambella is a ring with a hole in the middles, and its diameter is of about 8 cm. Apparently the ciambella ticinese was born in Lugano, at the hands the baker Bianchi who baked these biscuits in the early 20th century, flavouring them with different spices. It was he who made famous the ciambella ticinese, which spread in Ticino thanks to pastry chefs in urban areas. Once upon a time ciambelle could be bought in a bakeries or grottoes, bars and restaurants, usually stored in a typical glass jar. It was a daily consumer product, like bread. They were often eaten as afternoon snacks, dipped in red wine or milk. Widely popular in taverns, the ciambelle were strung into wooden rods resting on the bar counter and the customers enjoyed them accompanied by a glass of wine. Unfortunately ciambelle have lost importance in Ticino due to the competition from industrially produced biscuits. Today, family recipes are handed over, like the one I am presenting to you today which my aunt Luciana passed on to me.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Trapizzino, my way / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Trapizzino a modo mio

Here we are with our usual appointment with Maroggia’s Mill. This time it Alessandro was the one suggesting the recipe to try out: trapizzino. Stefano Callegari is the inventor of Trapizzino, a triangle of pizza-like dough with a soft crumb and crisp crust stuffed with all things good. A bread pocket which can be filled with whatever you like the most and is just the right size for a little snack or a quick lunch on the go. The inspiration for my own version came from this interview which is accompanied by the original recipe. Since not everyone keeps sourdough at home I decided to solve this problem by making a preferment. The dough is super soft and the bread can be filled with everything, even runny sauces, as in fact is done in Trapizzino’s shops around Rome. Why not organize a nice picnic outdoors with your friends? You can bring your trapizzini already cut in the centre and ready to be filled, along with tupperwares of various foods and sauces to personalize your trapizzino, isn’t it brilliant?

Soft Milk Rolls / Panini al latte

I don’t know about you, but these rolls to me are all about childhood. The inevitable snack in the lunch box my mum would pack for school trips, an evergreen of impromptu snacks…the milk roll is the emblem of sharing made carbohydrate. Split it in two and enjoy it with the ones you love the most, stuff it with slices of ham or chocolate bars, wrap one in wax paper and place it safely in a little corner of your bag. The soft milk roll will never disappoint you!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Bread Bunnies / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Marogggia: Coniglietti di pane

Here comes another appointment with Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook which is also a good opportunity to celebrate. Easter is approaching and what more appropriate than a recipe for festive bread bunnies? The dough is super soft and can be also used to make simple rolls or to be shaped into any kind of animals to make tour children’s snacks more fun!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Tonka Bean and Tangerine Taralli / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Taralli alla fava tonka e scorza di mandarino

Here we are, with our usual appointment with Maroggia’s Mill and its Cookbook. Today I propose you a very addictive recipe, which I turned into a sweet version…taralli! You can have them as a snack during coffee break rather than offer them as an alternative to popcorn at your next movie night. I assure, there won’t be much left!

Butternut Squash and Licorice Muffins / Muffins alla zucca butternut e liquirizia

Butternut squash mon amour. I started appreciating pumpkin and butternut squash quite late into my twenties, but since my father grows these vegetables in his garden I now cannot wait for the arrival of the cold season in order to taste sweet and savoury dishes cooked with this versatile ingredient. Its natural sweetness makes it an excellent ingredient for cakes and muffins so why not do a little experiment and combine it with one of my favourite ingredients ever? And here it is…the omnipresent liquorice! Needless to say the pairing is superb, these muffin are soft and sweet (but not too much). You can’t get any better than this!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Vegetarian Seitan Empanadas / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Empanadas vegetariane al seitan

Another day at the Mill, a new recipe for the Cookbook…or rather two new recipes! Today I will be teaching you how to make seitan, a product that has gained more and more visibility in the past years. It takes very little time to make it and the result is excellent. Seitan is a high-protein food of oriental origins that is often used in vegetarian and vegan diets. Being very rich in gluten it is not suitable for celiacs. If cooked with seaweed or flavoured with soy sauce seitan is a complete food, containing 8 amino acids essential to our diet. A very versatile product and a good alternative to meat (it can be flavoured in many different ways), it is worth to include this ingredient in our diets. One kilo flour is enough to obtain 500 g of seitan in just a few minutes of kneading and washing the dough. The rest of the job is done by soaking and boiling the mixture of flour and water.