Notes about Recipes in this book

• Como bread of the past, or French bread (Pane di Como antico o pane Francese)

  • emiliang on July 28, 2013

    Really great flavor, especially for a non-sourdough bread, but the raising times are much longer than specified in the recipe. The first fermentation took about 12 hours at 75 degrees. For that reason, though, this is probably the tastiest commercial yeast-based bread I've ever made.

• Sicilian bread (Pane Siciliano)

  • Zosia on February 11, 2014

    Perhaps not as good as Peter Reinhart's 3-day version, but with a crisp crust, chewy crumb and nutty flavour, perfectly acceptable for a same day bread.

  • redbird on October 02, 2020

    I concur with Zosia that Peter Reinhart's version has a better flavor but this works in a pinch.

• Rosemary bread (Panmarino)

  • Zosia on April 15, 2014

    Dense, chewy, crusty bread with the lovely fragrance and flavour of rosemary. The dough was quite stiff and a challenge to shape (I made sandwich buns/120g ea) but otherwise very easy to make.

• Herb bread (Pane all'erbe)

  • Zosia on February 05, 2014

    Wonderfully fragrant loaf with a crackly crust and soft crumb speckled with fresh parsley. I sautéed the onion and garlic first in the oil needed for the recipe and baked as (100g) sandwich buns (19 minutes).

• Country bread with bran (Campagnolo)

  • Zosia on April 08, 2014

    Great sandwich bread that toasted beautifully. I allowed the dough to ferment in the fridge overnight so the loaves had very good flavour and no trace of bitterness from the added bran.

• Christmas bread of Milan (Panettone)

  • carlenedrake on December 14, 2015

    I loved this recipe. I split the dough into four loaves and used the 5.25 inch paper Panettone molds and it did not rise over the top of the mold. I think I'll try splitting it into three loaves for that size next time. I have the 1985 edition of the book and some of "grams" information is not correct. I followed the "volume" measurements and calculated the "grams" using the King Arthur Flour Master Weight Chart and had excellent results. I also added the "Almond Glaze" that Marcellina of the blog "Marcellina in Cucina" posted on December 27, 2012. The glaze added a really nice touch.

• Little rolls from Florence (Semelle)

  • Zosia on February 21, 2014

    Cute little dinner rolls with a crisp exterior and soft crumb. Made from a lean dough, they weren't as flavourful as those made with a preferment, but they were good for the little amount of time and effort that went into them.

• Breadsticks from Turin (Grissini Torinesi)

  • Zosia on February 15, 2014

    Easy to make, especially in a food processor, and much better than store-bought, but in the end, you have to be a fan of breadsticks to appreciate these. My family are clearly not fans. I liked them but did prefer them warm from the oven while they were still chewy. They baked in 15 minutes in my oven.

• Pizza of Naples (Pizza alla Napoletana)

  • Zosia on February 25, 2014

    Baked up with a perfectly crisp bottom crust but wasn't particularly flavourful and was missing the chewiness I prefer in a pizza crust. I won't be making this again since there are many, much better, same-day pizza crust recipes out there.

• Whole-wheat flatbreads (Schiacciate integrale)

  • Zosia on May 14, 2014

    Like focaccia in flavour and a nice crisp and chewy pizza crust in texture, this recipe was a big hit. But I don't know what I was thinking when I followed the directions to make only 6 pizzette....10 would have a more reasonable size. Lacking lard, I used vegetable shortening.

• Pasta frolla I

  • Wojtanowski on July 11, 2018

    Easy to work with...I chilled it slightly and pressed into a tart pan...too soft to roll out and try to transfer... pressing worked great.