| An enriched, dark, shiny loaf traditionally made for All Saints' Day, surprisingly light and delicious when toasted with butter. |
You can orientate yourself in the calendar year by gazing into the windows of Italian bakeries. Like their savoury dishes, Italian sweets reflect and celebrate the seasons. During Sarah and Aitana’s time in Veneto and Tuscany last autumn, the bakeries were filled with sweet breads and biscotti made from chestnut flour and flavoured with pine nuts, raisins, figs, walnuts and rosemary.
One day they came across a dark and shiny deeply crossed loaf studded with raisins and walnuts. This was the duo behind The Little Cooking Pot's first meeting with pan co’ santi ("bread with saints"), an enriched bread traditionally eaten on All Saints’ Day, the 1st November. At first glance, you’d imagine this weighty loaf to be dense but, thanks to the pre-fermented poolish, it’s surprisingly light once sliced, toasted and spread with butter.
Sarah and Aitana’s recipe was inspired by the wonderful Juls’ Kitchen, whose blog is a wealth of knowledge, stories and recipes from Tuscany.
Ingredients
Poolish
- 200g Strong Bread Flour
- 200g Warm Water
- ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast
Dough
- 150g Raisins or Sultanas
- 50g Currants
- 100g Olive Oil
- 300g Walnuts
- 50g Honey or Golden Caster Sugar
- 50g Mixed Peel
- 50g Warm Water
- 325g Plain Flour
- 325g Wholemeal Emmer Flour
- ½ tsp Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Dried or Fresh Rosemary, chopped
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- ½ tsp Active Yeast
- 50g Fig Leaf Vinegar
- 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
|
Method
- The evening before baking, mix the poolish ingredients (bread flour, warm water, and yeast) in a bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave overnight at room temperature.
- Cover the raisins and currants with warm water and leave to soak.
- The next morning, strain the dried fruit, discarding the water. Gently warm the olive oil in a pan and add the walnuts, sugar or honey, strained fruit, and mixed peel. Remove from heat and let sit to infuse the oil.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine flours, black pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds, and yeast.
- Slowly mix in the poolish, followed by the warm water and the fruit, nut, and oil mixture (ensure all the oil is added).
- Mix on low, adding the vinegar gradually, then finally the salt. Mix until the dough is smooth and combined, approximately 8-10 minutes.
- Shape into a round, place on a lined and oiled tray, and cover with a damp towel. Leave to rise for about two hours until doubled in size.
- Gently knock back the dough and divide into two equal rounds. Place on the tray with space between them and score a cross on top of each.
- Cover and let rise again for a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Brush tops with milk or egg yolk, sprinkle with extra fennel seeds, and bake for 45-50 minutes until dark brown and the internal temperature reaches 95°C.
- Allow to cool completely; these breads are best if left until the next day before slicing. Wrap in a clean tea towel once cool.
|
