Pane Toscano (Tuscan Bread)

Tuscan Bread is one of the things that has been on my to-make list for quite a few years now. Honest to goodness, real, UNsalted Tuscan Bread (or Pane Toscano). Pane Toscano is a particularly large roundish loaf of bread that is traditionally cooked in the wood-fired ovens of Tuscany. Aside from being so large, its main distinction is its lack of salt.  It is made with sourdough or a bit of a starter, which gives it a slight tang, and it has a thick, chewy crust.

The dough is somewhat wet and slack, but the moisture in the dough, combined with a bit of steam (introduced here with ice cubes) and a super-hot oven, gives you that magical, sought-after crust crackle (sometimes called a singing crust) once the loaf is pulled from the oven.  Once you've removed the loaf from the hot oven and it begins to cool, the inside of the bread contracts a bit, which pulls at the crust. That thick, hard crust that was formed begins to form hairline fractures and cracks from the pressure, hence that much desired crackle.

I'll just say, that beautiful singing crust can incite quite the reaction. At one point, my whole family was gathered around the counter oohhing and aahhing over it.

Pane co' Santi {Saint's Bread}

This bread is typically made around All-Saint's Day in November, but really I think it's a lovely loaf year round.  I normally associate sweet or enriched breads with this "holiday", but that's not the case with this loaf.  The dough itself is a cinch to work with...it's totally the fruit and nuts that make it.  Bright bursts of sweetness from the yellow raisins and a triple-nutty punch that comes not just from the pecans and walnuts, but also seems to emanate from the olive oil that they were sautéed in.  

Tessa Kiros shares that while many think the name of this bread refers to the day on which you can usually find it popping up, others think it's so named because it is "only fit for a saint".  Another explanation...perhaps my favorite...is that the name refers to the ingredients (olive oil, walnuts, sultanas) as being saints themselves.  This is equally fitting served with your morning coffee or after a meal with a glass of Vin Santo.

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Pane co' Santi (Saint's Bread)

by Heather Schmitt-González (adapted from Twelve: A Tuscan Cook Book by Tessa Kiros)

Prep Time: 2½-3 hours

Cook Time: 45-50 minutes

Keywords: bake bread nuts raisins Easter Tuscan Italian

Ingredients (2 loaves)

• 8.75 grams active dry yeast
• 310 ml (1¼ c.) lukewarm water
• 27 grams (2 Tbs.) superfine sugar + a pinch
• ~500 grams (1 lb. 2 oz.) bread flour
• 4 Tbs. olive oil
• 60 grams (½ c.) yellow raisins
• 62 grams (½ c.) pecans, chopped coarsely
• 62 grams (½ c.) walnuts, chopped coarsely
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg yolk
• splash of milk

Instructions

Stir yeast into water and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl until it looks a bit foamy, ~10 minutes.

Mix flour and sugar together in a large bowl. Pour in liquid mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon. Once it gets too stiff to mix, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, ~10 minutes. Adjust by adding a touch more flour if dough is too sticky...or adding a bit more water if dough is too dry. You're looking for a texture that is slightly tacky, but not sticky at all.

Form dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with a film of plastic or a clean kitchen towel. Let sit until doubled in size, ~1½ hours.

In the meatime, saute the raisins and nuts in a small pan with the olive oil over low heat until they just begin to turn golden in spots. Stir in salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and flatten it slightly. Spread the raisin-nut mixture over the top and knead gently to work in to the dough. Divide in half and form into two flattened rounds or ovals.

Place them on a lined baking sheet, cover with plastic and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until slightly risen.

Preheat oven to 350° F during last 15 minutes of rise time. Remove plastic and beat the egg yolk with a splash of milk. Brush over the loaves.

Slide into oven and bake for ~45-50 minutes, or until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

note

When kneading in the raisins and nuts, I recommend pushing any raisins that are sticking out back inside the bread before baking. Otherwise, the ones that are sticking out will turn puffy and black...as in little puffs of charcoal. Not too appetizing.

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I am sharing this post with:
IHCC theme: Under the Tuscan Sun
Yeastspotting
Bookmarked Recipes at Tinned Tomatoes (founded by Ruth's Kitchen Experiments)

Ribollita, inspired by The Kitchen Daughter

What is "normal"? Can it be defined...or is it all a matter of perspective? Ginny, a twenty-something who uses the sensual nature of food as a focal-point in her daily struggle to understand herself (and her Asperger's), grief, those around her, and just being normal, is the main character of The Kitchen Daughter, a novel by Jael McHenry. But what Ginny doesn't expect when retreating to the safety of her familiar kitchen are the spirits that are invoked when she cooks a handwritten recipe, as written. I am a believer in the supernatural...and I am a believer in the the power of food memory...so these moments in the book were what fascinated me the most. I wish they would have lasted longer, actually.

The story of the struggles between sisters and lovers and family also played their role at keeping me wondering what was going to happen next. Sometimes it is the things that our loved ones work so hard at sheltering us from that actually wind up bringing relief and a sense of who we are once they are out in the open. While she "collected" normal her whole life (read it...you'll understand), it took the death of her parents for Ginny to actually believe that she was just as normal as the checker at the market, the girl with red hair down the street, or the doctor in the next room.

From tears in my eyes to cheeks that ached from grinning to a belly that grumbled at me from the fabulous descriptions of food and recipes on these pages, there were many different aspects of this book that I enjoyed. I actually find myself wanting a sequel so that I can experience the next stage in Ginny's journey. From the first ghost-summoning recipe for her Nonna's Ribollita all the way to Ginny's own version in the end...I knew that this was what I would wind up making first from this book. And I am so glad that I did.