Went to Boston's famous North End Monday with family. We had

[yy4me]

a great lunch and then set out to find the famous Italian bakery, Bova's. I wanted to buy the real old type of Italian Bread. You remember the type. Round, really crunchy crust and a very course interior. Lots of holes, very chewy (never to be bought sliced). I thought I found it there but when I got home and cut the thing, it shredded and the inside was very fine textured. I could not cut it without making a mess. Only thing this $5.00 loaf is good for is bread crumbs.

I am sure I could make this bread but somehow, the thought of leaving dough for ages in the refrig is not what I feel like doing. It has to be a 1 day project.

Any old time Italian cooks know the type of bread I am looking for? A now-gone bakery in Revere used to make a bread they called Abruzzi(SP) and that was great and a fraction of the price. The bread has a texture of a good French baguette.

[elleng]

1. Don't really know to what you're referring,

but I do know somethings Italian, :loveya: and I love them.


http://www.recipejoint.com/recipe-bread/abruzzi-bread.html

[yy4me]

2. Hi, thanks for your reply. The bread in question is a plain round

loaf and I believe it uses no yeast. No other ingredients other than those typical for bread appear.
The recipe you referred me to is for something that makes a meal as a result.

I have come to think it is from the Abruzzi area of italy.

You'd think it would be easy to find in the North End. Every bakery sells a round loaf but it seems I chose the wrong one. The crusts all look pretty much the same, it is the chewy inside with the big-or not-so-big holes is the one I'm looking for.

[elleng]

3. Have fun!

May have to go to Baltimore's Little Italy soon!!!!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=recipe+italian+bread&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

[yy4me]

5. From you link, I found this and it sure looks like what I am trying

to find. Seems easy enough to make, it will be a weekend project(after I fix the mortar in my fireplace).

I'll give a report on how it comes out. As Warpy said below. It is the kind of bread you'd sop up olive oil and spices with as you wait for dinner to be served. For a great Italian sandwich, it can't be beat.

http://www.serenejourney.com/2009/03/quite-possibly-the-best-homemade-crusty-bread-ever/

[Warpy]

4. I used to go to a little hole in the wall place

two streets over from the main drag. The oven was in the basement with the store front up top. They made both round and typical long loaves. The texture was as you described. It was chewy sauce sopping bread.

However they were yeast breads. I don't know of any completely unyeasted Italian bread out there, although I'm sure some might be leavened with baking powder and lots of whipped eggs.

One thing any bread knife has to be is exquisitely sharp. I don't bother with the big serrated bread knife most of the time because my super sharp MAC knives do a superior job. I can even cut the supermarket balloon bread with those when I've been too wiped out to bake.

[yy4me]

6. Never serrated, I'm half italian. The technique used by my

Nana was to hold the loaf in her left hand, edge against her chest as though it was a frisbee. Then the stone sharpened old steel knife was drawn toward her to slice. With my skills, I'd do damage to myself. I do, however stand the bread on its edge and slice on a cutting board.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. I know the bread you describe. It is a yeast bread. The difference is in the flour and the technique

I don't know the secret to either of them, but that's the bread I grew up with.

It sounds to me as if you bought a different bread or they really screwed it up.

It has a very open structure .... like this:



The loaf shape in the picture is wrong, I know.

One of the keys to this kind of bread, I am almost certan, is a very high level of flour hydration.

[yy4me]

9. That is the one! Now we have to figure out what it is called so

I can have some fun. Tesha has a great sounding recipe but I no longer have the food processor. It died several years ago and I now use just my little Oscar. It would never handle the amount of flour.
This is the real stuff I grew up with too.

[Warpy]

13. I would guess the other is very gentle handling after proofing

when the loaves are shaped.

I've had a few lazy breads come out like that one but find I prefer a slightly finer crumb so I don't end up with jelly in my lap.

[Tesha]

8. Oh, I love the north end....

and there are a whole bunch of exquisite loaves of bread to be found. I think you want a yeast bread, not the sour dough kind, and I make it at home now for a pittance.

Got a food processor?

3.5 cups flour
2 t salt
1 t yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups warm water

put in the dry, start the machine, pour in the water - you want a wet dough, maybe 10 to 20 seconds later - stop.
do not mix too much *THIS REDUCES THE HOLES IN THE FINISHED BREAD
Scrape into a bowl rubbed with a little olive oil and let rise for a couple of hours.
Drop onto a stone or board and lightly shape - do not handle too much of use too much flour see*
I prefer the long slender loaf, some make a boule - your choice - Let rise an hour or 2
Slip into a really hot oven 400 to 450 on a stone if you have one, in a preheated cast iron casserole if you have one or whatever you've got
and bake 15 - 20 minutes

one day - a few minutes here and there - the house smells wonderful - you've accomplished something special - why NOT make your own?

[yy4me]

10. I always seem to be one item short on everything I try. No longer

have the processor, it died. I use just the Oscar for myself. Suppose this can be done by hand?

[Stinky The Clown]

11. It can be done by hand because it **was** done by hand, orginally.

But it is hard work. You need arms like Popeye!

That said, some of these breads get almost no kneading. Particularly the high hydration breads.

I wonder if Housewolf is around and about? She'd know,

[Tesha]

12. by hand! egads!

I did it like that for ages... I just use the tool because it keeps me from over mixing!

So, use the same recipe but remember not to over-mix or add too much flour. You want a very moist dough, so moist your really can't knead it.

just stir or use a mixer if you have one - and after the first rise, when it's time to shape it? I use a dough scraper to pull it into shape, very quickly, under a minute if possible.

It's a very hands-off process...

[MagickMuffin]

14. Pane Rustica: No Knead Easy Italian Bread Recipe

http://www.imafoodblog.com/index.php/2009/02/12/pane-rustica-no-knead-easy-italian-bread


This could be what you're looking for, I started to post a pic from their blog but it was huge. They have several pics and a couple of recipes.