Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [299]
5. At least 30 minutes before you are ready to bake—the dough will have been rising for about 2½ hours—put the baking stone in the oven, and preheat oven to 400°.
6. Sprinkle cornmeal on the baker’s peel, then proceed to roll out the dough and assemble the sfinciuni as described, with the following adjustments for this particular stuffing:
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs over the bottom round of dough.
• Spread the ricotta over the bread crumbs.
• Use a slotted spoon or spatula to lift the broccoli out of the pan so that as much of the cooking oil as possible is left behind. Spread the broccoli out over the ricotta, then sprinkle the grated Parmesan over it. Follow it with 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs, and top by drizzling 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the crumbs.
Cover the filling with the remaining dough, seal the sfinciuni, brush the top layer of dough with water, bake it, and serve it as described in the basic recipe.
Variation: Broccoli Conza Without Ricotta
For a more explicit broccoli flavor than the filling in the preceding recipe, omit the ricotta entirely and increase the grated Parmesan to ½ cup. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the broccoli after spreading the vegetable over the dough.
Mantovana—Olive Oil Bread
IF YOU FOLLOW the eastern-bound course of the Po river, Italy’s largest, as it slices much of northern Italy in two, with parts of Lombardy and the Veneto on its left bank, and Emilia-Romagna on its right, you will be traveling across some of the country’s best bread territory, once studded with flour mills powered by the river’s currents.
These handsome loaves, notable for their fine, crisp, tasty crust, and soft crumb are popular on both the Emilia and the Lombardy side, but take their name from the ancient ducal town of Mantua, in Lombardy.
2 mantovane loaves
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
¼ teaspoon sugar
About 5 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
A baking stone
A baker’s peel (paddle), 16 by 14 inches, OR a cookie sheet OR large piece of stiff cardboard
Cornmeal
A pastry brush
1. Dissolve the yeast completely in a large bowl by stirring it into ¼ cup lukewarm water with the ¼ teaspoon sugar added. When dissolved, in 10 minutes or less, add 2 cups flour and ¼ cup water, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
2. If kneading by hand: Pour the contents of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead steadily for about 10 minutes. Push forward against the dough, using the heel of your palm and keeping your fingers bent. Fold the mass in half, give it a quarter turn, press hard against it with the heel of your palm again, and repeat the operation. Make sure that you keep turning the ball of dough always in the same direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise as you prefer. Add a little more flour, if you find it necessary to make the dough workable, and dust your hands with flour if they stick to the dough. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky, but smooth and elastic. It should spring back when poked with a finger. Shape it into a ball.
If using the food processor: Pour 2 cups flour into the processor bowl, with the steel blade running add the dissolved yeast gradually, together with ¾ cup water. When the dough comes together forming a lump on the blades, take it out and finish kneading it by hand for 1 or 2 minutes.
3. Choose an ample bowl, dust the inside lightly with flour, and put in the dough. Wring out a wet cloth towel, fold it in two, and cover the bowl with it. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place, and let it rest for about 3 hours, until it has doubled in bulk.
4. If kneading by hand: Pour the remaining 3 cups flour onto the work surface. Place the risen ball of dough over the flour, punching it down and opening it with your hands. Pour the remaining 1 cup lukewarm water over it, and add the salt and the olive oil. Knead steadily as described above.
If using the food processor: Pour the