Bread

First topic message reminder :

There are very many things OH & I love about living in Italia.  Among them are the food, the weather (especially in the summer but we also like skiing in the Apennines in the winter), the food, the very friendly natives, the food, the art & history, the food, the landscape and views and........oh yes, the food.  

But the one thing that disappoints us is Italian bread.  It always seems to be stale before one even cuts it.     So now we make our own.  We brought a breadmaker out from the UK, buy 'Molino Spadoni' bread flour here, and away we go!

Nothing is better first thing in the morning, as you enter the kitchen, than the smell of freshly baked bread   

You too?

Gala Placidia wrote:A good baker and a good butcher are irreplaceable!

 Even so, why do you want to shlep off to the local baker when you can relax at home and knock up a delicious freshly baked loaf in a couple of hours (or overnight if you need it for breakfast) in your breadmaker?

Simply because it would be too much of a temptation and I would eat it non-stop...

As if Gala.  As if! 

Today at Casa Ghiro we had OH & me, 2 daughters, one son-in-law, a granddaughter, a son and his friend and 2 Mexicans (don't ask!).

Consequently I was lucky enough to get a corner of a slice of bread to eat and fared no better with the next loaf I provided!  

I know the feeling... It used to happen to me when I used to make chocolate truffles... No matter how many I made, I never managed to eat more than one!  

 Think at it in a different way. They prevented you from over-indulging on carbohydrates.  
Bread eating can become a compulsion!

Love Pane Pugliese but have only ever bought it in Sicily.
Fresh PP - nothing like it.  Good when its warm with a little butter on, or Mortadella, Proscuitto etc.  Must see if I can pick some up in Essalunga.

Chriscol, if you're talking about the Esselunga on the roundabout from Lucca to Ponte Moriano, you know that it is closed until 2015 for refurbihment.

Thanks for that Flip.  No, I didnt know that.  I suppose i'll have to use the Essalunga in Lucca itself, near Brico.  
Or, in fantasy land, I would take a flight from Pisa to Catania, take a taxi to Siracusa, have a coffee and a wander around Siracusa for a couple of hours, and then head down to a wonderful little bakery near Fontane Bianche and buy the bread fresh!  Of course if I had to do that I could spend the day swimming in the warm clear waters of FB, have dinner in Siracusa and then fly back on my magic carpet, aka Ryanair.

I would be surprised if they don't do Pugliese bread in most areas of Italy, we have found it in many places. It's the only bread we buy here and we eat lots of it, so we buy and freeze on the day. not quite the same as fresh on the day of course, but at least we get to have it every day....

Pugliese is our Bread of choice, unless we happen by the nearest Carrefour, which does excellent bread of many sorts.

I have some friends for lunch tomorrow and I bought Pugliese bread from the Bagni di Lucca Conad. Looks very nice, but I have not tasted it. I used to buy Pugliese bread from Esselunga in Marlia, but it is temporarely closed for renovations. I will let you know if it is good. And yes, Flip, Carrefour in Italy, Spain and even France  has some decent bread, although I would not say that it is fantastic. Most of the bread sold at supermarkets has been frozen at some stage, so it can never beat the genuine product. Obviously, their prices are very low and the real bakeries cannot compete, as their production costs are much higher.
And then, nothing like a chunk of good bread, cheese and a glass of wine... Life's simple pleasures and absolute bliss!

Ah something I can agree with Gala about...

Gala wrote:...And then, nothing like a chunk of good bread, cheese and a glass of wine... Life's simple pleasures and absolute bliss!

Yup, Pugliese is just so 'eat me now' bread !!!

I think it is one of the few that are made with salt ? Hence it is a softer bread ?

V

You are right, Vicino, salt not only enhances the flavour of bread, it does other things too. It is very well explained here Worth its salt
I don't mind Tuscan bread with very salty spreads, though...But I always toast it to improve the texture.

We like the pane commune from the bread shop in Bagni although it's different this year as the baker went bust!  Silvana has taken over the shop and has a new supplier, at first we were dissapointed but now we have decided we actually like it more than the old one! it has to bought fresh every morning though!

.. think you will find the difference with pugliese bread is the biga....    

Lanacshire Lass -thats something I missed... a bread shop in Bagni? Whereabouts?

Why?  Why?  Why?

Why go out and risk it?  Please read my original post again!   

Pop out to your local supermarket and buy a 1Kg packet of 'Molino Spadoni' bread flour (white or brown).  Open the packet and locate the yeast (not always easy!).

Pop the yeast into your bread maker.  Add 500mg of flour, a teaspoon of salt and another of sugar.  Then 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 280mls of warm water.  Job done!

You can then decide whether you want your bread soon (white - 2 hours, brown - 3 hours) or the next morning.

But whatever you decide you can be absolutely certain your loaf will be fresh and delicious and you don't need to worry about whether your local bakery is open - or indeed where it is!

The bread shop is next to the dentist, she is only open in the morning and runs out of bread before noon, she also sells very nice pastries and focaccia. Part of the pleasure of being here for my husband is to walk to the bread shop and buy our bread for the day and then go for a coffee and talk to all the people he sees. Except for Wednesday's and Saturday's when we both go to the market for our fresh fruit and vegetables as well. We are retired! this is why we come here! to enjoy our retirement.My husband was born in Bagni it is home to him!

ghiro wrote:Why?  Why?  Why?Why go out and risk it?  Please read my original post again!   Pop out to your local supermarket and buy a 1Kg packet of 'Molino Spadoni' bread flour (white or brown).  Open the packet and locate the yeast (not always easy!).

Pop the yeast into your bread maker.  Add 500mg of flour, a teaspoon of salt and another of sugar.  Then 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 280mls of warm water.  Job done!

You can then decide whether you want your bread soon (white - 2 hours, brown - 3 hours) or the next morning.

But whatever you decide you can be absolutely certain your loaf will be fresh and delicious and you don't need to worry about whether your local bakery is open - or indeed where it is!

Simple, because the last time my OH made bread the pigeons could not take off after it was put out in the garden     

Nice one Steven !!!!!!!

V   

Just to let you know that the Pugliese bread purchased at Conad was quite a disappointment... Well, I will be feeding it to the ducks at Massaciuccoli Lake tomorrow.  

Looks like we need to avoid Conad for bread then. We do have a local bakery, but their version of Pugliese is also pants, so we go a little further down the road to another supermarket who are supplied by a village baker from miles away, but it's often still warm and superb!

Freshly baked bread makes a big difference. I am trying to avoid the temptation to buy a breadmaker... 

Gala Placidia wrote:Freshly baked bread makes a big difference. I am trying to avoid the temptation to buy a breadmaker... 

Don't buy one Gala.  Marry one!    

ghiro wrote:

Gala Placidia wrote:Freshly baked bread makes a big difference. I am trying to avoid the temptation to buy a breadmaker... 

Don't buy one Gala.  Marry one!    

Just in case, marry two or three!!!