How to make bread

Ingredients
500 g of “0” soft wheat flour
15 g of fresh yeast
4 spoonfuls of oil (optional)
1 teaspoonful of salt
about 250 ml of lukewarm water
a pinch of sugar


Description
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and then add the sugar.
Measure the flour in the Misurone, add the 4 spoonfuls of oil, pour it with the yeast into the mixer and switch on. Add the salt after 2 minutes and continue mixing for a further 4/5 minutes.
Take the dough out, make a ball with it and sprinkle with flour.
Cover with a cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes in a warm and draft-free place. Once risen, put the dough back into the mixer for a further 4/5 minutes.
Take the dough out, give it the desired shape and let it rest for about one and a half hours.
Pre-heat the oven at 220° C and bake the bread for 20 or 40 minutes according to the shape (the bigger the bread, the longer it needs to cook), till golden brown.
Check the bread from time to time by pricking it with a wooden skewer.
Get the bread out of the oven when the skewer comes out dry and cover it with a cotton cloth in order to keep it soft.

The first Pasta Poduction Centres

The First Pasta Production Centres.

From recipe books and historical documents dating back to the end of the 16^th century, it is possible to deduce that there where three main centres in Italy for making durum wheat pasta: Palermo, Naples and Liguria. Egg pasta was widespread in the North and centre of Italy while the main condiment was parmesan.

It is curious to note how practical sense made up for the limited food knowledge of those times by adding eggs, that is the protein and amino acids that are rarely present in wheat.

In 1800 the capitals for the production and export of pasta were Naples and Genoa. Naples was supplied with durum wheat from Puglia and Russia (the unrivalled Tangarog wheat), Genoa was supplied from Sicily, North Africa and Russia (Tangarog again).

The popularity of pasta and its wide consumption promoted the birth of the first plants for industrial production. Climatic conditions in Naples and its hinterland were ideal for drying which was the delicate stage for a quality product.

Nowadays modern technology allows processes to be standardised and ideal climatic conditions are recreated artificially so much so that the production of Pasta has spread in many countries.

Energy in Pasta

Energy in pasta

Pasta is characterized by high energy and moderate protein content (11-12%).
Its nutritional properties result from its digestibility (its starch content is 70-75%).

Its calory contents is approximately 350 Kcal per 100 grams. On the other hand its fat content is quite low (less than 1%).

Pasta contains few vitamins and is unbalanced as far as the mineral salt content is concerned since potassium is prevalent. In spite of this, the addition of different ingredients (meat, fish, legumes, vegetables and various sauces) changes its nutritional value favourably.

AS bit of History

A Bit of History

Pasta has very old origins. The Etruscans used to make a kind of lasagna with spelt mixed with water, The Romans used to make a “schiacciata” (flata bread) consisting of water, flour but no yeast called làgana (from the Greek laganoz and from the latin làganum, Italian lasagne). Cicero and Horatio loved it.

Pasta as we know it (maccheroni, spaghetti, etc.) was born in Sicily and precisely in Trabia near Palermo. A particular type of pasta, called “itryah” in Arabic was made here. Vermicelli di Tria are well known in Palermo even today. At the end of the 18^th century pasta was generally called “maccheroni” and the term included: lasagne, drawn pasta, filled pasta and so on.

Therefore it was not Marco Polo, on his return from his travels to China, to make pasta known in the West since it was already known in times gone by, neither did Neapolitans invent it.

Neapolitans deserve credit though for making long drawn pasta (maccheroni first, spaghetti later) famous in Naples, in Italy and woldwide.

At the beginning of the 19^th century wayfarers are portrayed eating pasta served with cheese and pepper (with their hands) in front of the sellers in the streets of Naples.

The stroke of genius due to the Neapolitans’ gastronomic knowledge is the use of tomato sauce on maccheroni!

The success of pasta

The success of pasta

Because of the success of the “Mediterranean diet” nutritional model, pasta is conquering a growing number of admirers worldwide.

The reason for this success is to be found in the characteristics of the food that is easy to make even at home, quick to cook, tasty, easily digestible, nourishing, cheap and above all fun

In the kitchen, pasta allows us to free our imagination and create recipes that will not fail to amaze and satisfy the most demanding palates of friends and relatives.