Gennaro Slow Cook Italian (2015)

Breads

Pane contadino

Focaccia di patate alla Pugliese

Focaccia allo stracchino

Focaccine con cipolle rosse

Panini al rosmarino

Girelle con melanzane

Pizza ai funghi e speck

Pane dolce al cioccolato

For centuries, bread has been the staple of virtually every country and culture worldwide. The basic ingredients of flour, yeast and water and the ritual of kneading and proving the dough remains the same whether you make your dough by hand or use a machine.

My mother used to bake bread once a week in the big wood-fired oven; she would make enough to last the week. On bread-baking day, I would wake up to the wonderful aroma and rush downstairs to tear open a loaf of warm, freshly baked bread. Often she would make savoury breads, adding bits of leftover salami and cheese, similar to pane contadino, or sometimes she would sweeten dough with some sugar and dried fruit as a treat for merenda (tea time).

In Italy every town and village has at least one panetteria (bakery) that bakes an array of breads and dough-based products each day - by lunchtime they have usually sold out. Years ago, if you did not have your own oven, boys would carry their family’s precious cargo of bread dough to the panetteria on planks of wood covered in tea towels, to be placed in the hot oven and returned home as hot loaves.

Like most Italians, I enjoy bread with all my meals, from breakfast to supper, and could not imagine life without this most basic of foods. Italians consider bread to be almost sacred and never allow it to be thrown away; stale bread is always used up as bruschetta, fillings or made into breadcrumbs.

For me, making dough and baking bread is deeply satisfying. I love to wake up early and light the wood-fired oven in my garden. I then prepare the ingredients - I usually use fresh yeast, which I crumble into the flour, add water and watch the big bubbles explode as I mix it together. While the dough is rising I check the fire, add a few more logs if necessary, have my breakfast and get on with other things. This is the slowness when making bread. When the moment comes to shape the dough I like to be creative and use up leftovers such as grilled vegetables in girelle or use herbs from the garden in panini al rosmarino. I love the smell of bread baking and it never fails to overwhelm me with sweet, nostalgic memories.

Pane contadino

Rustic farmers’ bread

This is a country bread traditionally made by rural housewives for their husbands working in the fields. It was made using up leftovers of ham, salami, cheese and pork lard. In my region, we usually make this type of bread, with the addition of boiled eggs, at Easter; it is known as casatiello and is often made in large quantities to give away to friends and family. You can use any type of cured meats and hard cheese you have available - when I tested this recipe I didn’t have any other Italian cheese, so I used up some Gruyère that I had in the fridge and the result was just as tasty.

Serves 6

500g/1lb 2oz/4 cups strong (bread) flour

1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

3g salt

3g black pepper

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to brush

300ml/10fl oz/1¼ cups lukewarm water

70g/2½oz pancetta, cut into small cubes

70g/2½oz coppa (or prosciutto), cut into small cubes

40g/1½oz salami, cut into small cubes

70g/2½oz Gruyère cheese, cut into small cubes

30g/1oz pecorino (romano) cheese, grated

30g/1oz Parmesan, grated

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, pepper and olive oil. Gradually add the water and mix well to form a dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, then leave to rest for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the cured meats and cheeses.

Open up the dough slightly, incorporate the cured meats and cheeses and knead for about 5 minutes, making sure all the ingredients are well combined. Form into a long sausage shape about 65cm/26 inches long and seal the ends together to form a ring. Place on a baking sheet, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Brush the top of the bread with olive oil, reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and bake the bread for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Focaccia di patate alla Pugliese

Pugliese potato focaccia

Each Italian region has its own varieties of bread and focaccia. Puglia, the heel of Italy, is renowned for its amazing bread from the town of Altamura, but equally delicious is the potato-based focaccia. The addition of mashed potatoes makes the dough incredibly soft, and with its topping of cherry tomatoes this is a wonderful snack.

Makes 1 x 30cm/12-inch round focaccia

12g/¼oz fresh yeast 185ml/6½fl oz/generous ¾ cup

lukewarm water

400g/14 oz/3¼ cups ‘00’ flour

100g/3½oz potato, cooked and mashed

1 tsp salt

for the topping

100g/3½oz cherry tomatoes, halved

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

small handful of fresh basil leaves

Dissolve the yeast in a little of the water. Put the flour, mashed potato and salt in a large bowl, add the yeast-and-water mixture and gradually add the remaining water to form a smooth dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Form into a ball, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) or a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1½ hours, until it has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof (waxed) paper or baking parchment, place the dough on top and, using your fingers, gently spread the dough to form a rough 30cm/12-inch circle; it will not be as thin as a pizza base. Top with the tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, oregano and the basil leaves. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy hot or cold.

Focaccia allo stracchino

Cheese focaccia

This has to be one of the best focaccia around! It originates from Liguria and dates back to the Saracen raids in the ninth and tenth centuries, when locals fled the coastal areas to the safety of the mountains, where only basic ingredients such as flour, oil and cheese were available. Nowadays in Liguria this delicious cheese-filled focaccia is served warm as street food. Stracchino or crescenza, a soft cow’s milk cheese, is used for this recipe. If you can’t find it in your Italian deli, you can use Taleggio or, for a stronger flavour, dolcelatte. Make sure you stretch the dough as much as you can to get a really thin focaccia. Delicious served hot from the oven with a slice of mortadella.

Serves 4

500g/1lb 2oz/4 cups strong (bread) flour

1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

6g sea salt

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to grease and brush

250ml/9fl oz/1 cup lukewarm water

250g/9oz stracchino cheese, roughly chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the olive oil and gradually add the water, mixing well with your hands to form a dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 15 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until it has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Grease a 33 x 30cm/13 x 12-inch baking sheet with olive oil.

Divide the dough in two, making one piece a little bigger than the other. Take the larger piece and roll out into a roughly rectangular shape, then stretch by hand until it is about 3mm/⅛ inch thick. Line the greased baking sheet with the dough and pinch the edge to raise it to about 2cm/¾ inch high. Dot with pieces of cheese and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Roll out the other piece of dough to the same thickness. Place over the cheese, pressing down with your fingertips and sealing the edges well. Brush olive oil all over the top and bake for 20 minutes, until golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a couple of minutes, then slice and serve.

Focaccine con cipolle rosse

Savoury buns with red onion

Although the Italian title suggests otherwise, these are not the thin bread we know as ‘focaccia’-quite a few savoury breads in Italy are called focaccia. Very simple to make, the dough includes softened red onion, and is shaped into round buns and decorated with more red onion and a black olive. Delicious to eat by themselves or sliced and filled with mortadella or prosciutto to enjoy for lunch or a snack.

Makes 10 buns

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to brush

1 large red onion, finely chopped, plus 2 red onions, finely sliced, to garnish 700g/1lb 9oz/5½ cups strong (bread) flour

1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

10g/¼oz/2 tsp salt

350ml/12fl oz/1½ cups lukewarm water

10 black olives, to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and sweat for a few minutes until the onion has softened.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt and the softened onion. Gradually add the water and mix well to form a dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes. Form into a ball, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Knead again for 5 minutes, then divide into 10 equal balls and gently press each with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Decorate each bun with thin slices of red onion and a black olive, brush with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool before serving.

Panini al rosmarino

Rosemary bread rolls

Lovely bread rolls enhanced by the addition of rosemary make a welcome appearance in any bread basket. Delicious served with an antipasto of cured meats and preserved vegetables or simply as a snack on their own or with some creamy ricotta cheese. If you prefer, the rosemary can be replaced with black olives or, for a more pungent flavour, anchovy fillets - or a combination of all three - but if using anchovies you won’t need to add the coarse sea salt.

Makes 12 rolls

500g/1lb 2oz/4 cups ‘00’ flour

1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

7g salt

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to rub

250ml/9fl oz/1 cup lukewarm water

needles from 4 sprigs of rosemary

a handful of coarse sea salt

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast and salt. Add the olive oil and gradually mix in the water to form a dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Using your hands, roll the dough into a long sausage shape about 2cm/¾ inch thick - it may be easier to divide the dough in two or three pieces before rolling. Rub a little olive oil all over, sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt, slice into sausage shapes about 20cm/8 inches long and wrap round into a coil. Press lightly with the palm of your hand and place the rolls on a baking sheet, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Girelle con melanzane

Aubergine bread rolls

These lovely rolls remind me of my early baking days when I would make bread rolls with whatever leftover vegetables I had around. The dough is rolled into a rectangular shape, topped with grilled aubergines (eggplants) and scamorza cheese, rolled up and cut into spiral rolls. It takes a little time to prepare but is really worth the effort. If you prefer, you can replace the aubergines with courgettes (zucchini) and the scamorza with mozzarella.

Makes about 15 rolls

12g/¼oz fresh yeast

1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

3 tbsp lukewarm milk

300g/10½oz/scant 2½ cups ‘00’ flour

1 tsp salt

40g/1½oz/3 tbsp butter, melted

1 egg

for the filling

500g/1lb 2oz aubergines (eggplants)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to grease

salt and freshly ground black pepper

150g/5½oz scamorza cheese, thinly sliced

a few basil leaves, torn

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the milk and leave for about 10 minutes. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, add the yeast mixture, melted butter and egg and knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until you have a smooth dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Preheat a grill (broiler) or griddle pan. Thinly slice the aubergine lengthways and grill on both sides. Combine the olive oil, salt and pepper and brush over the grilled aubergine. Set aside.

Lightly grease a large baking sheet and line with baking parchment.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough into a roughly rectangular shape. Top with the scamorza, aubergine and torn basil leaves. Carefully roll up lengthways, taking care that the filling does not escape, and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut into slices about 4cm/1½ inches thick, place on the prepared baking sheet, cover and leave to rest for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, until golden. Leave to cool before serving.

Pizza ai funghi e speck

Wild mushroom and ham pizza

The secret to this pizza base is the sticky dough; it makes the resulting cooked pizza lovely and light. Don’t worry about it being too sticky to handle, you don’t have to knead it - if you prefer, wear some well-oiled latex gloves and you won’t get the dough all over your hands. Make sure the top of the dough is well oiled before covering, otherwise the clingfilm (plastic wrap) will stick to it. Another tip when making this sticky dough is to use solid-based round or square baking sheets rather than the pizza trays with holes. In season, mixed wild mushrooms go really well with speck, a smoky cured ham from the Tyrolean region of northern Italy. If you can’t find wild mushrooms, cultivated ones are delicious, too.

Makes 2 large pizzas

500g/1lb 2oz/4 cups strong (bread) flour

5g/1 tsp salt

10g/¼oz fresh yeast or 1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast

450ml/16fl oz/2 cups lukewarm water

for the topping

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to grease and drizzle

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

½ red chilli, finely chopped

300g/10½oz mixed wild (or cultivated) mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

6 slices of speck (or other smoked ham), roughly torn

100g/3½oz Parmesan, grated

Put the flour and salt in a large bowl, crumble in the fresh yeast (or add dried) and gradually add the water to make a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave to rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Generously grease two round baking sheets, about 33cm/13 inches in diameter, with olive oil.

Divide the dough in half and place each piece on a greased baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil over the dough, spread well, cover with clingfilm and leave to rest for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the topping. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and chilli and sweat for a minute or so. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8.

Loosen the clingfilm over the pizza dough and use the clingfilm to spread the dough out on the baking sheet. Drizzle the dough with a little more olive oil, top with the mushrooms, ham and Parmesan. Bake the pizzas for about 7-8 minutes, slice and serve hot.

Pane dolce al cioccolato

Chocolate brioche

A perfect treat for breakfast or merenda (tea time) for the children. The ‘slowness’ of this recipe is in the proving, which you must do twice for at least 2 hours; this will ensure the lightness of the brioche. The mixture is quite sticky to work with, so don’t worry, this is how it should be and the results will be worth it. You can make the mixture by hand, but a mixer will be quicker. I prefer to use dark chocolate, giving the brioche a slightly bittersweet taste, but if you are making this for children, use a good-quality milk chocolate.

Serves 8

250g/9oz/2 cups strong (bread) flour

4g (½ sachet) dried yeast

50g/1¾oz/¼ cup caster (superfine) sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 eggs, beaten

200g/7oz/generous ¾ cup butter, softened and cut into small chunks

85g/3oz dark or milk chocolate, broken into 8 pieces

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

Line a 20cm/8-inch diameter round cake tin with greaseproof (waxed) paper.

Put the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, cinnamon and 4 eggs in a mixer and whizz for 10 minutes. With the mixer still on, gradually add the butter and continue to whizz for another 5 minutes. Switch the machine off, transfer the mixture into a bowl, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave to rest in a warm place for 2 hours.

The mixture will be quite sticky; however, form it into 8 equal balls. Insert a piece of chocolate into the centre of each ball, making sure the chocolate is completely covered with dough. Place the balls in the prepared cake tin, cover with clingfilm and leave to rest for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Combine the egg yolk and milk and brush over the top of the brioche. Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and break off the pieces.