A Ladin Sandwich with Spices and Tyrolean Prosciutto
I used to eat this sandwich whenever I arrived in Corvara, I went straight to the bakery to get some local flatbread and then to the butcher for prosciutto. Outside the shop, I prepared my sandwich, sat on a bench in the snow and enjoyed the start of my holiday.
Last week I read about this bread, the bread of my mountain village of choice. It is a flatbread made with rye flour mixed with coriander, fennel and aniseed. It's a speciality in the Ladinia region around the Sella mountains in the Italian Dolomite Alps. In Italian this area is called Val Badia and the Ladin name (which is an autonomous language) is Alta Badia.
There are two ways to prepare this bread, one is more flat, it becomes dry, hard and brittle after baking. It's very thin and you "shake" the dough to loosen it up which gives it its name, "Schuettelbrot" (shaken bread). This method was used to preserve the bread for the long and lonely time in the mountain huts where the supply of fresh bread and food was an unfrequent and laborious task. It keeps for months, the texture is hard but it retains its strong taste of spices.
The second one is thicker and this is the one I choose to make, at it's best when fresh and warm. Although it's not as light and fluffy as a flatbread made with wheat flour, it's denser and more complex in taste. Traditionally you eat this bread together with Tyrolean Prosciutto at Vesper time, in the afternoon or evening when you feel like a little snack. My mother sent me a nice piece of prosciutto from San Cassiano, so I use this special occasion for this week's Sandwich Wednesday.
A Ladin Sandwich with Spice Flatbread and Tyrolean Prosciutto
I spread some cream cheese on the flatbread, traditionally it's made without, but I was in the mood for it.
For 8 little flatbreads you need
rye flour 180g / 6.5 ounces
spelt flour 180g / 6.5 ounces
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
water, lukewarm, 125ml
milk, lukewarm, 50ml
coriander seeds, ground, 1 teaspoon
fennel seeds, ground, 1/2 teaspoon
aniseed, ground, 1/2 teaspoon
caraway seeds, ground, 1/4 teaspoon
salt 1/2 teaspoon
olive oil to grease the baking sheet
For the sandwich
Tyrolean Prosciutto 3 slices for each flatbread
cream cheese (optional)
crushed black pepper
Combine the flour with the spices, yeast and salt, add the lukewarm water and the milk, slowly, not all at once (you might not need all of it). Mix with your dough hooks for a few minutes. The dough should be more on the dry side. Continue kneading and punching with your hands until you have an elastic dough ball, not sticky at all. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with a tea towel and let it rise in the warm oven (35°C / 95°F) for 45 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
Take the dough out and punch it down. Divide it into 8 pieces and roll them out into discs (on a floured working surface, between 1 - 1 1/2 cm / around 1/2" thick). Cover with a tea towel and let them rise for another 25 minutes.
Set your oven to 250°C / 480°F. My oven has a special pizza setting which I use for this recipe but you can use top / bottom heat as well. Grease your baking sheet with some olive oil.
Put your flatbreads on the baking sheet and bake them on the lowest level for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Take them out and let them cool for 2 minutes. Cut a bread in half, spread with cream cheese and cover with a few slices of the prosciutto. You can sprinkle some crushed black pepper over it too.
White Pizza with Spinach and Ricotta
A few years ago curiosity got the better of me and I tried a "white pizza" at one of my favourite pizza restaurants. White pizza is made without tomatoes and I didn't quite know what to expect. I had my virgin white pizza moment with a spinach and ricotta topping and all my reservations melted away after the first bite. Lighter and with more space for the single ingredients, the absence of tomato sauce didn't lessen that feel good pizza pleasure.
I wrote about my Sunday pizza tradition a few weeks ago and yesterday was no exception. It has been ages since my last white pizza and, as it's been on my mind for a while, I bought some crisp winter spinach and ricotta. To finish it off I added some olive oil infused with garlic and some crushed black pepper. The dough was light and crisp, it soaked some oil, but not too much, a bit like a Focaccia. The spinach was crisp and had some bite as in winter it's a bit thicker while the ricotta brought a touch of velvety smoothness.
White Pizza with Winter Spinach, Ricotta and Olive Oil
I start to prepare the dough 2 hours before I bake it to give it enough time to rise.
For 1 big pizza (size of 1 baking sheet) you need
For the topping
fresh spinach, rinsed, 250g / 9 ounces
fresh ricotta 250g / 9 ounces
olive oil 4-6 tablespoons
garlic, cut in half, 1 clove
salt and crushed black pepper
Warm up the olive oil together with the garlic for 2-3 minutes.
For the dough
plain flour 350g / 12.5 ounces plus more for mixing
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
water, lukewarm, 190ml
olive oil 3 tablespoons
salt 1 teaspoon
Combine the flour with the yeast and salt, add the olive oil and the lukewarm water, slowly, not all at once (you might not need all of it). Mix with your dough hooks for a few minutes. The dough shouldn’t be moist and sticky at all, more on the dry side. Continue kneading and punching with your hands until you have an elastic dough ball, not too hard, not sticky. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in the warm oven (35°C / 95°F) for 40 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
When the dough is well risen, roll it out on a very well floured (this is very important!) working surface. It should be a bit smaller than the size of your baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for another 10-15 minutes.
The pizza
Set your oven to 260°C / 500°F. My oven has a special pizza setting but you can use top / bottom heat as well. Put the baking sheet on the bottom of your oven to heat it.
Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven, flip it over and place it carefully on two stable wooden boards or mats as it will be very hot. Place your risen dough carefully but quickly (best done by two people) on the baking sheet, push it gently into place if necessary. Sprinkle the olive oil and the ricotta in lumps on top. Put the baking sheet back into the oven, on the bottom again, and bake for a few minutes until the pizza is golden. Take it out and spread the spinach on top immediately. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle some more olive oil on top if you like and enjoy!
Umbrian Torta al Testo with Rucola and Mozzarella
This week's sandwich is my version of Torta al Testo - the Umbrian flatbread - stuffed with rucola and mozzarella together with a dressing of olive oil and balsamico. Originally, this bread is unleavened, just made with flour, salt and water. I add some dry yeast, some use baking soda or sourdough. The name Torta al Testo comes from the fact that, traditionally, it is cooked on a hot disc of clay or metal - al testo - over the open fire, as I don't have that I use a skillet on a normal cooker.
Torta al Testo has everything a good sandwich needs: amazing bread and a tasty filling. What I also like about it, is the way it's cooked. It's fun to see the flat disc of dough rising and cooking in the hot pan within a couple minutes. It's very entertaining! I recently had friends over for dinner and Torta al Testo was the starter. We gathered in the kitchen, crowded as always, I cooked the bread and we all watched it rise. The kitchen was packed with people and food, I cooked one batch of flatbread after the other (I had to make quite a few of them) and the room got more and more smokey from the hot pan. Thankfully no one left, even though you could barely see anymore after I had left one in too long. We were all kind of mesmerized by the rising bread but don't worry, if you watch your bread it will be fine, no need for a fire alarm!
Torta al Testo with Rucola and Mozzarella
For 6 Torta al Testo you need
For the dough
plain flour 250g / 9 ounces plus more for mixing (I use spelt flour type 630 but you can use any other flour)
dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons
water, lukewarm, 140ml
salt 1/4 teaspoon
For the filling
mozzarella, cut into cubes, 125g / 4.5 ounces
rucola around 100g / 3.5 ounces
olive oil (6 tablespoons) mixed with balsamic vinegar (3 tablespoons) and seasoned with salt and pepper
Mix all the ingredients for the dough with the hooks of your mixer. Add some more flour if the mixture is too sticky. After 5 minutes continue mixing with your hands for a couple minutes. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place or the warm oven (35°C / 95°F, top/ bottom heat, no fan) for 40 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 pieces. On a well floured working surface, roll each one out into a flat disc. Leave the discs on the floured surface, cover with a tea towel and let them rise for another 20 minutes.
Heat a large skillet on highest temperature (no oil!). Cook the bread on one side for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes, turn and cook on the other side for another minute, at that point it will start to rise rapidly. You might have to cook it for a few seconds more or less - but keep an eye on it so as not to burn it.
Take the bread out of the pan and let it cool for a minute. Cut your flatbread in half and fill with the mozzarella and rucola. Drizzle some dressing on top and close your Torta al Testo.
My Sunday Pizza Tradition
Another tradition of mine - I always bake pizza on Sundays, always. My friends joke about my unwavering dedication (I barely break this tradition) but to me pizza is the ultimate cosy mood food. Nothing beats an evening on my sofa with a nice big piece of pizza in my hands and a good movie. It's the perfect preparation for a smooth transition into a new week. So why change it. The only variation is what's on top which depends on the season, my appetite and spontaneous inspiration. So far, my Sunday tradition has never seemed boring.
For today, my pizza gets a topping with aubergine slices (grilled with garlic and oregano oil), Pecorino slices and one part with ricotta. A very concentrated tomato sauce with lots of oregano and slices of organic Mozzarella go with it, that's all it needs. I make the pizza dough with olive oil which makes it richer and very tasty. A very easy recipe, it takes its time to rise but it's worth it. Nothing beats homemade pizza dough! It makes such a big difference to the taste - and kneading the dough with your own hands is great stress relief!
For years I made my pizza base the same way. First I let it rise in a bowl and then, a second time, on a baking sheet before I put the topping on. This summer I got a great tip from a friend of mine from Switzerland. He told me to put the baking sheet for the pizza on the bottom of the oven while the oven is heating up. As soon as the baking sheet is hot you take it out of the oven and flip it over. You take the well risen pizza dough (which has been rolled out) and place it on the hot baking sheet. The dough will start to rise and bake straight away which makes an amazing crust - like pizza stone. Once the topping is on, bake it in the oven for a few minutes and you will get the crispiest pizza you can imagine!
Pizza with Aubergine and Pecorino
I start to prepare the dough 2 hours before I bake it to give it enough time to rise.
For 1 big pizza (size of 1 baking sheet) you need
For the dough
plain flour 350g / 12.5 ounces plus more for mixing
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
water, lukewarm, 190ml
olive oil 3 tablespoons
salt 1 teaspoon
Combine the flour with the yeast and salt, add the olive oil and the lukewarm water, slowly, not all at once (you might not need all of it). Mix with your dough hooks for a few minutes. The dough shouldn't be moist and sticky at all, more on the dry side. Continue kneading and punching with your hands until you have an elastic dough ball, not too hard, not sticky. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in the warm oven (35°C / 95°F) for 40 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
When the dough is well risen, roll it out on a very well floured (this is very important!) working surface. It should be a bit smaller than the size of your baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for another 10-15 minutes
For the tomato sauce
tinned tomatoes 400g / 14 ounces
oregano, dried or fresh, 1 tablespoon plus more for the topping
salt (1 teaspoon) and pepper
Mix the ingredients in a small sauce pan, chop the tomatoes and let everything cook down until very concentrated and thick. If you leave the sauce too liquid it will be soaked up by your pizza base.
For the topping
I prepared the grilled aubergine (eggplant) a day before. You can keep it in the fridge for days and use it for other recipes as well, or enjoy it as antipasti.
aubergine, cut in thick slices, 1
garlic, crushed, 1 clove
olive oil, to brush the aubergine and to drizzle on top of the pizza
salt and pepper
pecorino cheese, cut in thin slices, 100g / 3.5 ounces
mozzarella, cut in cubes, 125g / 4.5 ounces
ricotta, 100g / 3.5 ounces (I sprinkled just 1/4 of the pizza with ricotta)
Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Grill in the oven until golden brown and soft and cut in long strips.
The pizza
Set your oven to 260°C / 500°F. My oven has a special pizza setting but you can use top / bottom heat as well. Put the baking sheet on the bottom of your oven to heat it.
Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven, flip it over and place it carefully on two stable wooden boards or mats as it will be very hot. Place your risen dough carefully but quickly (best done by two people) on the baking sheet, push it gently into place if necessary. Spread the tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with oregano, continue with the aubergine, Pecorino, mozzarella and ricotta. Put the baking sheet back into the oven, on the bottom again, and bake for a few minutes until the pizza is golden brown, bubbling and crisp!
A Mountain Bun
When I was a child we used to go to the Italian Dolomite Alps. Every year, in December, we stayed in a beautiful village in the Alta Badia region called Corvara. I loved being there as it looked like a wintery fairy tale (I always had a weak spot for places like this). Old wooden houses, trees packed with thick snow and the most amazing Tyrolean food - my childhood heaven. Yesterday I thought about how much I would love to be in the mountains again, in a wooden hut with an open fire and lots of snow outside. I would sit at a rustic old wooden table and eat rustic food.
Although I will not be visiting Corvara this winter, at least I have the wooden table and the hearty food. Therefore, my Wednesday Sandwich has to be a mountain sandwich - kind of - rich, with ham and cheese, homemade plum chutney and ground pepper. This morning, I baked my own buns with coriander and aniseed and I got some nice ham and cheese. I made a plum chutney with lots of spices a couple months ago which is great together with cold cuts and mountain cheese. You could also use any other chutney or even plum butter, you just need something that adds a bit of fruity sweetness to this sandwich.
A Mountain Bun
For 2 sandwiches you need
2 buns, or 4 thick slices of bread
slices of ham, 6
thin slices of aromatic mountain cheese, like Swiss Appenzeller
plum chutney
a few leaves of lettuce (I used field salad as I had some left)
crushed peppercorns
Set your oven to grill (highest temperature).
Cut the bun in half, spread the chutney thinly on one half and put a slice of ham on top. Cover with 3 slices of cheese and put in the oven until the cheese starts to melt. Take the bun out, sprinkle with pepper, add some lettuce and put the other half of your bun on top.
I know it's a bit of work, but baking your own bread or buns is definitely worth the effort and I'm sure you will agree after your first bite of the warm and fluffy buns. I prepared mine last night and let the dough rise overnight. Then you just have to put the buns into shape the next morning, let them rise for 40 minutes and bake them. If you want them plain just leave out the coriander and aniseed, they are still delicious!
For the Mountain Buns
This recipe makes 12 fabulous buns or milk rolls
plain four 550g / 1.1 pound
dry yeast 1 package (for 500g / 1 pound of flour)
milk, lukewarm, 300ml
butter, melted, 50g / 2 ounces
organic egg 1
sugar 1 teaspoon
salt 1 1/2 teaspoon
coriander, crushed, 1 teaspoon
aniseed, for the topping, 1 teaspoon
Combine the flour with the yeast, coriander, sugar and salt. Mix the milk with the melted butter and the egg. Mind the temperature as the mixture should be lukewarm. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour and start mixing with your dough hooks for around 10 minutes until you have an elastic dough ball. Put the dough on a floured working surface and continue kneading with your hands for a couple minutes.
When I prepare the dough in the evening I place it in a clean, buttered and covered bowl in the fridge and let it rise overnight. You will have to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you can continue with the next steps.
In case I want to bake my buns the same day, I put the dough in a clean and buttered bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in the 35°C / 95°F warm oven for 60 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
Set your oven to 220°C / 430°F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
When the dough is bigger and puffy punch it down and knead for 1-2 minutes. Cut into 12 pieces and roll them in your hands into a round shape. Place the buns on your baking sheet, sprinkle with anisseed and give them another 40 minutes in a warm place to rise again (covered with a tea towel).
Bake the buns for 6 minutes, take the temperature down to 200°C / 390°F and bake them for another 7-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let them cool for a couple minutes.
Chocolate Cinnamon Rugelach, Happy Hanukkah!
We are invited to celebrate Hanukkah together with our friends and godchild and I will contribute rugelach which is a wonderful flaky, croissant like pastry. They are made traditionally for the important Jewish feast Hanukkah, the "Feast of Light and Dedication".
When I tried them the first time I fell in love with their flakiness, they are buttery but still light. They taste divine, absolutely addictive, and due to their tiny size you end up eating lots of them. I enhanced the chocolate filling with cinnamon (which I love all year round), so it fits perfectly to the season. The pastry is a bit like short crust with added cream cheese which makes them so fluffy but still buttery. Look at the photo and you will want to try one!
Rugelach with Chocolate and Cinnamon
For 24 of these bite-sized sweets you will need
plain flour 150g / 5 ounces
icing sugar, 2 heaped tablespoons
butter, cold, 125g / 4.5 ounces
cream cheese, at room temperature, 120g / 4.5 ounces
a pinch of salt
bittersweet chocolate 80g / 3 ounces
sugar 40g / 1.5 ounces
cinnamon 1 heaping teaspoon
You will need a baking tray, lined with baking parchment. Keep in mind that the dough has to sit in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for at least 1 1/2 hours.
Mix the dry ingredients (flour, icing sugar, salt). Cut the butter with a knife into the flour mixture until there are just little pieces of butter left. Mix with the dough hooks for a few seconds. Add the cream cheese and work it into the mixture with a fork or the mixer to get a crumbly texture.
Form 2 discs and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes. The dough should be very cold but not too hard, still rollable.
Preheat the oven to 185°C / 365°F. Put baking parchment on your baking sheet. Chop the chocolate finely and mix with cinnamon and sugar.
Roll out one disc. I do this between floured cling film as it become too sticky otherwise. When the diameter is roughly 30cm / 12" you should have reached the right thickness of a couple millimeters. Cut the disc like a cake into 12 triangles. Take one slice after the other in your hand (the dough might still stick a bit to the foil but don't worry, it is elastic) and sprinkle with your chocolate mixture. Don't forget to set aside half the chocolate mixture for the second pastry disc. Now roll the little rugelach in the palm of your hand tightly into a croissant shape and put them on your baking sheet. Follow with the second disc or leave it in the freezer if you want to stop after the first batch of 12. I recommend doing them all at once as you will regret it if you don't. When you have rolled up all 24 (they should all fit on one tray) bake them in the oven for 13 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. It's best to check them after 10 minutes to be sure that they don't get too dark.
Let them cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and enjoy with your tea or coffee. They are also great for a late breakfast or brunch or even for a party as they are perfect fingerfood.
Juicy Potato Bread with Beetroot and Walnuts
I love bread, I'm virtually obsessed with good bread and I need my daily dose of this wonderful, ancient invention. Every culture has their own bread tradition all over the world and it is so important to keep this up and to support traditional bakeries.
Potato bread has a nice crust and is very juicy inside. The kitchen smells divine when the loaf is freshly out of the oven. I love to cut it into thick slices and then let some butter melt on it. With the first bite I know why I love to bake my own bread!
Today I want to prepare a little sandwich with cooked beetroot slices. I drizzle some balsamico and olive oil on top and sprinkle with walnuts. This makes a wonderful snack or starter for a dinner party.
Beetroot
Cook 1 or 2 beetroots together with 2 bay leaves in salted water for 45 minutes (more or less depending on their size). Check with a skewer, it should come out easily, and rinse under cold water. Let them cool, peel and slice very thinly.
Potato Bread
For this bread I used spelt flour type 630 which I love to bake with but you can use any other flour. I chose dry yeast as it is a bit quicker to prepare but you can change to fresh if you prefer.
Sometimes I prepare the dough in the evening and let it rise overnight. This is convenient for the weekend if you want some warm fresh bread on the table for breakfast.
This makes 1 loaf of bread
potatoes, cooked, peeled, cut in cubes, cold, 150g / 5 ounces
potato water (the water the potatoes got cooked in), lukewarm, 150ml
plain flour 450g / 16 ounces
sour cream 3 teaspoons
olive oil 1 tablespoon
dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons
salt 2 teaspoons
Grate the potatoes or press through a ricer (mashing works as well).
Mix the potato water with the sour cream and olive oil.
Combine 350g / 12 ounces of flour with the salt in a big bowl. You will add the rest of the flour while kneading the dough. Add the lukewarm water to the flour together with the yeast. Mix with the dough hook of your mixer until everything is combined, add the potatoes and continue mixing for around 10 minutes. After a few minutes you can start adding the rest of the flour. Put the dough ball on a floured working surface and continue kneading with your hands. You can put all your energy in this which is good for you and for the fluffiness of the bread.
When I prepare the dough in the evening I place it in a clean, oiled and covered bowl in the fridge and let it rise overnight. You will have to take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you can continue with the next steps.
In case I want to bake my bread the same day, I put the dough in a clean and oiled bowl, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise in the 35°C / 95°F warm oven for 60-90 minutes. This works really well but make sure that your oven is set to top/ bottom heat and not to fan.
When the dough is bigger and puffy punch it down and knead for a couple minutes. This one doesn't rise as much as dough without potatoes but you should notice a change in size. Now place your future bread on a lightly oiled baking sheet giving it the shape you want and cover with a tea towel. Give it another 30 minutes to rise in the warm oven again.
Set your oven to 230°C / 445°F (for bread it works best to use top / bottom heat and not the fan setting). Bake your bread for 10 minutes, take the temperature down to 190°C / 375°F and bake for another 20 minutes. Test by knocking on the bottom side of the bread, it should sound hollow. Let it cool on a rack before you start cutting it. I minimise this to a few minutes as I can't wait to try it. Not with this smell in my kitchen.
