Before I left for Italy, I asked my farm host Iris if there was anything in particular that I should bring.
The reply: “A flashlight.”
This was not the kind of answer that gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I thought about the significance of this statement for days but it took me less than 24 hours at Casa Lanzarotti to be clear on why one is friends with his flashlight (in my case, an ultra-light-weight adjustable Petzl.. thank you Stephen).
My first Italian Petzl employment was chasing our 13 chickens back into their coop for the night. Broom in hand, Petzl on forehead, I ran around at dusk yelling “here chicken chicken”, ensuring all had returned safely. If the count wasn’t thirteen (“counting chickens” is mandatory but turns out - not easy), the Petzl came in handy as the sky quickly becomes dark.
My second Italian Petzl exercise was making bread. Perhaps you are like me and presume that bread baking occurs indoors – say in the clean lab I wrote of earlier. Clearly then we are both mistaken. This is why my bread that comes out of a Kitchen-Aid bread-maker tastes nothing like the bread that comes out of an outdoor stone wood-burning oven.
There are three steps in making bread: kneading, rising, and baking. At Casa Lanzarotti, while Iris kneads and sets the dough to rise, Gian-Luca heats the outdoor stone wood-burning oven with a wood-burning fire (of all things). The heating process takes a couple of hours as does the kneading and rising.
The dough is separated into 39 loaves while the outdoor stone wood-burning oven is cleaned of its fire, soot and ashes. The oven accommodates 13 loaves which bake 25 minutes; the next set of 13 bakes 30 minutes and the last set of 13 bakes 35 minutes (this is where conventional ovens are smug.. their temperature doesn’t cool with time.)
On Bread Making Day, this entire process is repeated THREE times! It is no wonder then, that the last 39 loaves are baked in the dark (hence the Petzl). It is also no wonder then, that on Farmer’s Market Day, 117 loaves are spoken for by early morning.
(BTW, Gian-Luca wears a Petzl)
When you get back, pick up the book "Bread Alone." Craig has it in his library and it's very fascinating and explains a lot about traditional bread making, opposed to the kitchen aid method. :)
ReplyDeleteKeep up the posts! LOVE reading them!
Vive la Petzl! Should you be making Pretzels with any left over dough? Wow, that bread must taste so good and smell so good! Yum! What do they charge for a loaf? Sounds like you're picking up some great new skills. E come viene suo italiano? Anche i piccoli topi parlano italiano? Lei sano felice. Amarla, suo Pods
ReplyDeleteMy dear Bri!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to hear from you, and your wonderful experiences. Hope you are happy there and learning the art of pane, so we can reproduce it when you are back here!!! :))
Have a fantastic time!!! let me know if you need some extra batteries for your petzl!!! baccione!! lala
Hi there most beautiful Brigit!!
ReplyDeleteIs that snow on the ground?? You best keep warm and start thinking
about the cooking classes you can give when you get home!
Hope the hosts are appreciating the energizer bunny staying on the
farm.
Love you, Louise
O.K. now I am sure that you have a heart of gold - with all this blood and pig guts, you are still there - what a trooper, Brig! They aren't paying you for the privilege of all the hard work you are doing? I'd be backing out of the barn and heading for the bread oven. Stay warm, deep breaths, have some more tea, and give yourself a hug. Love you, Joy
ReplyDelete