April 2019

Puglia – The Breadbasket of Italy

Italy’s answer to French Pain Rustique bread, Pugliese bread origins stem from the Puglia region of Italy, in the Southeastern “heel” or “boot” of the country.

Puglia is widely known for its whitewashed hill towns, centuries-old farmland and wide tranquil scape of Mediterranean coastline. Its attractions include the vibrant port Capital Bari and the historic city Lecce, being the ‘Florence of the South’ for inspiration baroque architecture. The small town of Alberobello is famous for it’s preserved and unique historical trulli buildings, which are small dwellings built from the local limestone with dry-stone walls and conical roof.

Puglia is also Italy’s top regional produced of olive oil with approximately 40% of total output with an estimated 60 million olive trees. Making it heavenly liquid gold within local recipes and dishes.

Puglia’s overall landscape and blissful settings is as memorable, satisfying and historically rich as their signature bread. It’s often noted as the breadbasket of Italy.

Puglia, or Apulia has a long tradition of bread making dating back to the Roman empire. Pugliese bread has small holes due to the dough being stretched and folded at intervals during the bread making process. This gives the final load a chewy heavenly texture. This artisan handmade bread often crafted with lots of extra virgin olive oil is produced through a slow fermentation process for a greater depth of flavour. From wet dough a pre-ferment is made (often known as a starter). Some of the finely milled flour is mixed with water and yeast and left overnight to develop flavour. The following day, the dough is mixed with the remaining ingredients. Pugliese bread is typically shaped as a batard (oval) or a round loaf with a dimpled top. It is then processed with long slow rises before being baked.

The recipe for Pugliese bread also requires a Biga, an important step within Italian baking. A type of pre-fermentation that adds complexity to the bread’s flavour and provides the light, open texture whilst helping to preserve the bread by making it less perishable.

Like all good things in life Pugliese bread requires dedication, skill, patience and time – and can never be rushed. Its flavour is enhanced by a long fermentation period making it a crucial step within its production. A remarkable and distinguishable flavour you can enjoy.

Its light, airy and moist and sometimes complimented with the flavours of basil or freshly hand-stripped rosemary to create a gourmet aroma and memorable taste. It’s soft porous and moist interior contrasts with a thin, light and crisp crust. Beautifully caramelised crust and chewy textured interior. The handcrafted bread is great with prosciutto, salami and similar fillings. Pugliese bread is great for making sandwiches or simply dipping into olive oil.

Are you a cafe, venue or restaurant looking for a local supplier of fresh baked pugliese, ciabatta, sourdough and other artisan breads? Dolce Forno delivers freshly baked artisan breads and pastries within Hertfordshire, St Albans, Surrey, Berkshire, London and Buckinghamshire.
Contact us today to arrange a FREE sample tray of our artisan breads or pastries. Call our team at Dolce Forno Breads on 01727 762 456 or alternatively email contact@dolceforno.co.uk to find out more.

The French Baguette

The ‘baguette’ is considered one of the iconic symbols of French culture. A traditional baguette is made with wheat flour, water, yeast and salt, and consists of a crisp crust filled with a soft, fluffy centre.

Like Italy, France has a strong history in bread. Long wide loaves of bread have been around since the time of Louis XIV, and thin ones since the mid-18th century. It’s increasing availability was due to the cheapness of wheat during the 19th century. This meant that white bread was no longer exclusively for the rich.

The first steam oven was brought to the city of Paris in the early 19th century by an Austrian office. This was also when the the croissant was introduced. With the use of deck and steam ovens, loaves could be baked to produce a crisp crust and white airy centre. Deck/steam ovens are a combination of a gas-fired traditional oven and brick oven, a thick ‘deck’ of stone or firebrick heated by natural gas instead of wood.

In 1920, a law passed that prevented french workers to start work from 4.00am. This made it impossible for bakers to get the bread cooked in time for customers’ breakfast. The solution was… to make bread into long thin forms, allowing them to cook faster – and just in time for breakfast!

Interesting Facts about the French Baguette

  • The baguette was not labelled the ‘baguette’ until the 1920s. Stemming from the latin word baculum which became baccheto (Italian) meaning staff or stick.
  • The average French man eats a half a baguette a day, compared with almost a whole baguette in 1970 and more than three in 1900.
  • National law dictates that ‘French’ bread should contain only flour, yeast, salt and water.
  • Baguettes are now widely eaten as sandwiches. Cut a baguette in half then slice each half along the middle. The bread is versatile enough to be sweet or savoury and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  • March 21st is National French Bread Day.
  • According to a legend, it was Napoleon who asked for the baguette to have a long shape. This made it easier for his soldiers to carry their bread around down their pants while in the battlefield.
  • In 2013, a Parisian baker installed the first vending machine for baguettes, available 24/7!

There are ways of telling the difference between a artisan produced baguette and one from a supermarket… Many feel the loaf will smell much more strongly of bread, the crust tends to be darker and richer and the interior is usually a cream colour rather that pure white.

So while you enjoy the memorable taste, texture and sight of the beloved french baguette – take a bite and think about the long history this magic baton has created since its beginnings!

Are you a cafe, venue or restaurant looking for a local supplier of fresh baked ciabatta, sourdough and other artisan breads? Dolce Forno delivers freshly baked artisan breads and pastries within Hertfordshire, St Albans, Surrey, Berkshire, London and Buckinghamshire.

Contact us today to arrange a FREE sample tray of our artisan breads or pastries. Call our team at Dolce Forno Breads on 01727 762 456 or alternatively email contact@dolceforno.co.uk to find out more.

Sourdough Bread – Time and Tradition

What features make bread #realbread? Some argue it comes down to taste, but others note down it is a combination of the crust and texture inside the bread, smell and characteristics of taste.

Artisan bakers use passed down traditional processes to ensure that these features are embodied within each loaf. The fermentation of the dough during bread-making plays a pivotal role.
Bread such as sourdough requires a long fermentation process to achieve a good rise. But the process towards #real bread begins with the pre-ferment (also known as bread starter). Also referred to as the mother dough, it becomes the main foundation of the bread-making process. The combined water and flour (starter) requires wild yeast, which lives everywhere (in the air, in a bag of flour etc), which is then regularly fed with more fresh flour and water until the starter is bubbly and billowy. Due to this process, breads such as sourdough are distinctive to each bakery and no two bakeries as the same.

Yeast is the most commonly used leavener in bread making and fermentation is the key secret to making great #realbread. For fermentation to take place, yeast requires food, moisture and a controlled warm environment. The by-products are carbon dioxide, alcohol and other organic compounds – with gas acting as the rising agent and alcohol and compounds playing a significant role in flavouring and texture.
Yeast provides the enzyme zymase, which acts as a catalyst in fermentation – this largely begins after the dough is mixed. This creates the leavening effect, with gas bubbles created by carbon dioxide causing dough to rise. This then allows protein and water molecules to move about and form more gluten networks.
The fermentation process results in better-developed and more extensible dough. This also gives the bread a greater aroma, which is notable during the final steps to baking.
Did you know?
– Fermenting dough with wild yeasts for at least 12-15 hours improves the digestibility of the bread and lowers its glycaemic index.
– Ancient Greeks used wine in their bread making process
– Ancient Gauls and Iberians used the foam produced atop ale for dough fermentation
– Breads that have gone through a timely and proper fermentation process have a better shelf life than those that have not

One popular, well known artisan bread that utilises the long fermentation process is sourdough. Its notable features include a glossy, open crumb structure with large holes, a irresistible crackling but chewy crust and a complex, delicious and mouth-watering taste and aroma. Sourness is dependable on both the skill and choice of the baker ranging from barely noticeable to a robust tang.

Fermentation is considered a great art and artisan bakers work towards preserving tradition by offering a unique experience with each loaf of bread. Dolce Forno provides breads such as sourdough, which you can enjoy with a dip, in a sandwich or even enjoy by itself (toasted can accentuate certain flavours!).

Dolce Forno offers five delicious, hearty and wholesome sourdough breads with each loaf developed with a fermentation process that is more than twenty-four hours. We believe in keeping to traditional processes to provide the ultimate artisan bread experience with #realbread.

Are you a cafe, venue or restaurant looking for a local supplier of fresh baked pugliese, ciabatta, sourdough and other artisan breads? Dolce Forno delivers freshly baked artisan breads and pastries within Hertfordshire, St Albans, Surrey, Berkshire, London and Buckinghamshire.

Contact us today to arrange a FREE sample tray of our artisan breads or pastries. Call our team at Dolce Forno Breads on 01727 762 456 or alternatively email contact@dolceforno.co.uk to find out more.