Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Coffee and caraway seeds bread / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pane al caffé e semi di cumino

What makes a loaf special? Is it the crust, thick and evenly browned under proper blazing heat or is it a balanced crumb, pillowy soft and moist? Is there anything that can beat up a plain rustic loaf made with water, flour, salt and any leaven agent of choice, simply shaped? Probably not. But what would be of the art of baking if early bakers would have been content with just their first attempts at baking bread? We would be missing on gorgeous brioche doughs, on aromatic fougasses, on crispy yet chewy focaccia. We wouldn’t be eating beetroot flavoured bread, pain au chocolat, and caraway seed bread. Caraway seed breads are quite typical in northern countries such as Germany, Austria, the Trentino region in Italy… You can find fully leavened bread as thick yet crispy flatbreads, which very much resemble knäckebröd. I simply love spices and flavoursome seeds of all kind and use them in both savoury and sweet dishes. But I had never tried to bake my own caraway seed bread. I have some memories of eating a caraway flavoured bread in Toronto, at Forno Cultura, but I’m not sure whether it had some coffee in the dough too, it might have. It’s nothing new, but it’s something simply too good to miss on. So I am proud and glad to present my own caraway bread for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. Try it with honey, you will be amazed at how the two flavours blend marvellously but make sure to savour it with a slice of good cured ham and a generous spread of mustard. Simply heavenly!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Traditional Wheat Loaf, baked in a Cast Iron Pot / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pane classico di frumento cotto in pentola

Yet another Friday and to make up for my macaron incident two weeks ago (for those who don’t know I should have posted a recipe fro Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook but messed up with the schedule) yet another recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. For today’s post I baked a simple, classic loaf. A round loaf with a crispy and fragrant crust.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Rye and Extra Virgin Olive Oil Bread Rolls / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Panini all’olio e farina di segale

Ooops, I messed up with the blog. Many of you may have noticed that last Friday I mis-scheduled my post. Instead of posting a recipe for the Mill I posted a recipe for macarons…too many things to do, appointments, too many bad days and then I lost track of the usual scheduling (I have to go back to the good habit of writing down a special calendar only for blog posts). I apologize to Alessandro, who has to deal with my head in the clouds, and all of you that expected a new recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. I have to get used to the new routine Macro-Monday and Baking-Friday. The recipe that I am finally posting was developed very spontaneously, going with the flow feeling the dough as it takes shape under the kneading hands. Bread rolls so fragrant, soft and tasty you simply cannot fall for them. To give them a special flavour and rustic texture I added whole rye flour (I think it is quite plain to everyone how much I love this flour) and extra virgin olive oil. Have them for breakfast or just a quick snack to fill your hungry belly. Want to try and make them together?

Macro dumplings for MTC Challenge / Canederli macro per l’MTC Challenge

New year, new challenges. It seems only yesterday that Francesca challenged us with a her literary inspired muffin, but it has been two months now. Enough to relax and forget how the MTC Challenge can put my brain and creativity under enormous pressure. Couple this with my macro lifestyle adventure and you can just imagine how difficult it will be for me from now on…but stubborn as I am the goal this year will be to be able to participate to all of MTC’s challenges by inventing all sorts of macro alternatives to the recipes and ingredients we will be given. Honestly these dumplings were a walk in the park if I consider the risk of running into a dessert recipe, or worse a brioche dough rich in eggs, butter and sugar. But challenges are vital in my life and for my blog(s) too and I am ready to face any recipe, even though I fear many tears will be shed being failure and disappointment just around the corner with macro cooking!