What I and Marika like the most about making our own home made bread is all the nice memories that it brings back.
There is nothing better than the flavors all around our house when we bake the bread in the oven. It reminds us of our childhood when our Grandmother would make the bread for all her grandchildren. She would call us when the bread was still in the oven and bring us together around her kitchen table: we would eat that delicious and warm bread with just extra virgin olive oil and fresh tomatoes. Nothing else. It was the best bread ever, made with lots of love.
Nowadays, once a week I and Marika make our own bread. The nice smell of the bread baking in the oven reminds us of those moments. We always use healthy flour to make our bread.
This is the recipe of the home made bread we made this week. We usually use durum wheat flour to make bread in Puglia, but for this specific recipe we used another healthy grain, the Kamut flour (asa Triticum turgidum and Khorasan). Kamut flour is an ancient type of wheat related to the durum variety. It is richer in protein, minerals (magnesium and zinc), Vitamin Bs and Vitamin E, than common wheat. It is easy to digest and, being not refined, it retains all nutritional qualities.
INGREDIENTS
2 lb 8oz kamut flour
3 cups water
5 1/2 oz sourdough starter (or natural leaven /mother dough)
2tsp sea salt
PREPARATION
First have to make your own sourdough starter (we will make a post about it).
Put 2lb 2oz of kamut flour in a bowl. Add the water and the sourdough starter. Stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Add the sea salt. Cover the bowl with a moisten napkin and let the dough rise for 24 hours.
Move to a marble table and knead the dough with your hands after adding the remaining 6oz kamut flour. Make a round or rectangular shape. Prepare a baking pan with some olive oil and flour. Place the dough on the baking pan and let it rise for another hour.
Pre-heat the oven and bake it at 400 F° for the first 10 minutes and at 350°F for the last 20 minutes.
What memories does home-made bread bring you back?
My Mom never baked bread, but she made the most fantastic desserts, and many based on whatever fruit was in season at the time. Pies, (that North American invention I think), of all sorts, peach, lemon, wild blueberry, apple, pear.
Me too Joseph! I used to love the pastina. My mother would make it with vegetable broth and parmigiano cheese. You make me remind me of such a warm atmosphere!
What most reminds me of happy times in a warm cucina and mama
keeping eye on me, is hot pastina with egg and a bit of cheese. It was so satisfying I would lick the bowl and smile until I went to sleep.Recently in Galatina I watched i giovani eating a similar meal, I smiled until I went to sleep.