Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [293]
THERE IS a restaurant in Bologna whose tables, for nearly a century, have always been full. Their secret is solidly traditional cooking that satisfies that most solidly traditional of palates, the Bolognese. The restaurant is Diana, and the women in the kitchen there still roll out pasta by hand with the long Bolognese rolling pin, making incomparable tortellini, tagliatelle, and lasagne. While you wait for the tortellini, a waiter will put on your table a plate of thick mortadella cubes and sliced Parma ham, and squares of what is probably the most subtly savory of all focaccia, Bologna’s crescentina with bacon. The following recipe is adapted from Diana’s version. Here is an instance in which I prefer to use the food processor, because it does the best possible job of chopping the bacon and distributing it uniformly in the dough.
For 6 to 8 servings
¼ pound bacon, preferably choice quality slab bacon
1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
1¼ cups lukewarm water
3¼ cups unbleached flour
1¼ teaspoons salt
A tiny pinch sugar
Extra virgin olive oil for oiling a bowl and pan
A baking stone
A 9- by 13-inch rectangular baking pan, preferably black
A pastry brush
1 egg, lightly beaten
1. Cut the bacon into pieces without stripping away any of the fat, put it into the food processor, and chop very fine. Do not take it out of the processor bowl.
2. Dissolve the yeast, stirring it into ¼ cup lukewarm water. When completely dissolved, in 10 minutes or less, put it into the processor bowl together with 1 cup of the flour, ½ cup lukewarm water, the salt, and the sugar. Turn on processor. While the blade is running, gradually add the rest of the flour and the remaining ½ cup water. Stop the processor when the dough masses together into a lump.
3. Use about 1 tablespoon olive oil to film the inside of a large bowl. Put the dough into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm, protected corner to rise until it doubles in bulk, about 3 hours or slightly more.
4. When the dough has doubled in bulk, put the baking stone in the oven and preheat oven to 400°.
5. Thinly oil the bottom of the baking pan. Put the risen dough in the center, and gently spread it out with your fingers toward the sides until it completely covers the pan. Be careful not to make any thin spots, or they will burn through when baked. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, and put in a warm, protected corner for 30 to 40 minutes, until the dough rises some more.
6. Use a razor blade to cut a broad diamond-shaped, cross-hatched pattern into the top of the dough, then brush it with beaten egg. Don’t attempt to use all the egg. Place the pan on the preheated baking stone, and bake for 30 minutes, until the dough becomes colored a deep gold on top. Take out the pan and turn off the oven, but leave its door closed. Loosen the focaccia from the bottom of the pan with a long metal spatula, lift it out of the pan, and slide it onto the baking stone in the oven. Take the focaccia out after 5 minutes, and place on a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pizza
THE RECIPES for pizza dough are beyond numbering. Although some formulas are certainly better than others, none may credibly claim to be the ultimate one. What matters is knowing what you are looking for. I like pizza that is neither too brittle and thin nor too thick and spongy, a firm, chewy pizza with crunch to its crust. The dough that has satisfied my expectations most consistently is the single-rising one given below. I have never succeeded in getting the texture I like from pizza baked in pans, so I prefer to do mine directly on a baking stone.
Basic Pizza Dough
For 2 round pizzas, about 12 inches wide, depending upon how thin you make them
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3½ cups unbleached flour
Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon for the dough, 1 teaspoon for the bowl, and some for the finished pizza
½ tablespoon salt
A baking stone
A baker’s peel (paddle)
Cornmeal
1. Dissolve the yeast completely in a large bowl by stirring