An Italian bread for this month's challenge of Aparna's group We Knead to Bake: Pane Siciliano, Sicilian Bread, simple semolina bread crusted with sesame seeds.
I love this bread very much and I use a very fine and selected flour, named Senatore Cappelli, which is a special cultivar of very high quality.
Apana gives a little information about this bread:
On the 13th of December every year, feasts are held in Sicily and around the world celebrating the bravery of Santa Lucia. One way is by baking a special bread which is known as Pan Siciliano. What is different about this bread is that it is made with semolina (flour from durum wheat). In Sicily (and Italy), the semolina used for this bread is a specific grind of durum wheat called semola di grano duro rimacinato or just rimacinato, which translates as ground again. This refers to semolina which is ground once more to break the coarser grain into finer flour for bread.
You can use the finest grind semolina you can find.
Traditionally this bread is made using a pre-ferment which the Sicilians call cresciuta. This produces a more flavourful loaf of bread and isn’t all that much more work than a recipe without the pre-ferment. Pane Siciliano is generally shaped into one of two shapes: Occhi di Santa Lucia meaning the Eyes of St. Lucia or the Mafalda, a snake shape.
Aparna suggestion for shaping the bread:
the Mafalda produces a rather odd looking bread, but if you’d like to shape your bread like this, then wind the rope of dough back and forth on itself a few times, leaving about 7” for a “tail” to lie over the top (here a video about making Pane Siciliano).
To form the Occhi di Santa Lucia or a scroll shaped loaf of bread, roll the bread dough into a long rope and lay it out straight. Then coil it from each end in opposite directions (detailed pictures here).
Recipe adapted from Ciao Italia.
For the Cresciuta (Biga):
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
For the Dough:
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water (110° to 115°F)
2 tsp honey
all the prepared Cresciuta
2 to 2 1/2 cups fine durum semolina flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
a little water for brushing on the bread
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
For the Dough:
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water (110° to 115°F)
2 tsp honey
all the prepared Cresciuta
2 to 2 1/2 cups fine durum semolina flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
a little water for brushing on the bread
1/8 cup sesame seeds
First make the Cresciuta. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a small bowl and stand it aside for about 10 minutes till it is frothy. Stir in the flour with a fork and loosely cover the bowl. This mixture should be a little wet/ stringy. Leave it in a slightly warm place for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
The next morning, mix the dough for the bread. In a large bowl (or the bowl of your processor), dissolve the yeast in the warm water mixed with the honey. Let it stand for 10 minutes till it is frothy.
Add the cresciuta and mix well. Mix together 2 cups of the semolina and salt and add it to the bowl with the olive oil. Mix well and then add as much more semolina as is necessary until you have a smooth ball of dough.
Stir the cresciuta into the yeast and water mixture and blend well. Add 2 cups of the semolina flour and the salt and mix until a pancake like batter forms. Add additional flour a little at a time and knead well until you have a soft and smooth ball of dough that is just short of sticky.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it to coat well, then loosely cover and let the dough rise till about double in volume. This should take about 1 1/2 hours.
Deflate the dough, and then roll it out into a “rope” that is about 30” long. Place baking parchment on your baking tray, grease it lightly, and then gently lift up the rope of dough and place it on the baking tray. Curl the dough back and forth on itself leaving a 6 or 7 inch tail. Fold the tail over the shaped loaf. Do not tuck it under the loaf. If you’re making the “occhi”, then shape the rope accordingly.
Loosely cover and let the shaped dough rise for 2 hours till almost double in size. Lightly brish the top of the dough with water and then sprinkle the sesame seeds over this pressing them in lightly with your fingers.
Pre-heat your oven to 190C (375F) with a baking tray placed upside down in it. Place your baking tray with the dough on the hot tray and bake for about 30 minutes until the bread is brown and done, and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Cool on a rack completely before slicing.
This recipe makes one small to medium sized loaf and should serve 3 to 4 people.
This recipe also goes to Susan's weekly YeastSpotting.
