Easy Italian Recipes

Temperature
Bakeries are warm places, so try to mimic them in your kitchen. Close the doors, turn up the oven and get cosy with your dough. Although yeast will work slowly even in the fridge overnight, a kitchen temperature of 20-23°C gives an unhurried rise; to speed up fermentation, try a temperature of 24-38°C. Some ovens have settings for rising dough, but a warm, draught-free place is ideal. You will find the perfect place in your home, such as an airing cupboard or a shelf over the tumble drier - I taught one lady who found that her humid indoor pool room was perfect!
Bread needs to be baked at a very high temperature. Most of the recipes here call for around 220-250°C (425-500°F/Gas Mark 7-9). This heat allows the dough to expand until it reaches 60°C, when the yeast is killed. If the oven is not hot enough, the dough will continue to rise and the top of the bread will be forced away from the bottom. This 'oven spring' also happens if the dough hasn't risen enough before going into the oven.

Photo: Woman baking a traditional sardinian Curasao Bread "Pane Curasao della Sardegna"

Water
A dough recipe generally comprises 60-65 per cent water to flour. The Neapolitans swear that the dough for their famous pizza is better than anywhere else because of the region's water. I am sure that water can make a difference - a heavily chlorinated water, for example, could affect the growth of natural yeast - but I find my tap water is fine. And whether your water is hard or soft makes little difference to the finished bread. If you are concerned, though, simply use bottled water, especially for making starters. When I refer to tepid water, it should be the same temperature as your hand - 22-24°C. You can test the temperature by looking away as you put your finger in a jug of water. If it is tepid, you should be unable to tell when your finger is in or out of the water, since there will be no sensation of hot or cold.

Salt
There is usually 2.5 per cent salt to flour in a dough recipe to inhibit the yeast from working too quickly and give depth of flavour. Mix salt into the flour before the yeast - direct contact soon kills the yeast. In Tuscany bread is made without salt, but I find it pretty unpalatable

Sugar or honey
If used at all in a dough, these comprise 0.5-1 per cent of the ingredients, to 'push' the fermentation. If using honey, add it to the water; mix sugar into the flour. Sugar gives a better colour and crust.

Covering the dough
Dough should be covered when left to rise or prove. Give it a light coating of oil first - put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, then turn until all its surfaces are covered. This will stop it developing a crust. Then cover with clingfilm or a linen tea-towel. In hot weather, wet the tea-towel first. Dough can also be left in a floured, linen-lined bowl.

Rising
It is possible to shape a loaf straight after kneading and achieve a perfectly good close-crumbed bread. If you require more spring and airiness, let the dough rise before shaping and then let it prove (rise a second time) before baking. When the dough has doubled in size and remains depressed if you touch it lightly with a finger, it is ready for baking, or for shaping before the next rising.

Steam
For a good crust, steam is required at the beginning of baking. Bakers use steam-injection ovens. To simulate this at home, spray the oven (being careful to avoid the light and the loaf) 10-15 times with water from a refillable spray bottle. Some people put a tray of hot water in the bottom of the oven to create steam.

When is the bread done?
I have always found tapping the base of bread to see if it sounds hollow quite difficult. Although it may not help first-time bakers, I feel it is better to trust your instinct and feel the weight of the loaf. Bread loses 20 per cent of its weight during baking, so if it feels heavy, it is probably underbaked and should be left in longer. After you have baked a particular bread a few times, you will get the feel of this. Don't be afraid to adjust the oven temperature; all ovens are different and often have a hot spot. Allow loaves to cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Storing bread
Wrap completely cooled focaccia tightly in clingfilm. It will be slightly hard but still good next day. Focaccia is good toasted when past its best - use it for crostini.

 Photo: Original Piadina Romagnola

Equipment

Digital scales
Weighing using digital scales is a quick and exact way to measure ingredients. I wouldn't be without mine, especially when using very small amounts of yeast or salt. You can measure water using these scales, since millilitres of water weigh the same as grams, making a measuring jug unnecessary. However, don't worry too much about weighing when you are used to a recipe; most Italians don't even have scales in the house - all is done all'occhio (measuring by eye).

Tablespoons and teaspoons
Having an accurate tablespoon and teaspoon measure to hand helps when measuring oil and salt, although salt can also be measured on a digital scale.

Measuring jug
This is necessary if you don't use digital scales.

Mixing bowls
Ours are very cheap plastic bowls bought from Italian markets for a euro each. The thin plastic adapts quickly to the temperature around it, easing the rising process.

Mixer
I like to use a mixer with a dough hook for kneading if I am short of time, if the dough is very wet, or I want to get on with something else while the dough churns and turns all by itself. However, since I hardly ever knead any dough for longer than 10 minutes and enjoy the exercise, I usually do it by hand - the other plus is that hand-kneading means less washing up.

Dough scraper
This essential bit of kit is used for mixing the dough, transferring it to the bowl, cutting shapes and cleaning the work surface afterwards. Our chefs used to cut their scrapers from disused plastic containers. However, you can easily buy metal or plastic dough scrapers through cook shops today; once you get used to using one, you will wonder how you survived without it.

Linen cloths
Ideal to place beneath the rising dough, since floured linen does not stick. In very dry conditions, wet cloths are good for introducing humidity into the dough.

Sharp knife or razor blade
Use these to slash dough before it goes into the oven.

Pala or peel
This thin wooden board is great for transferring the bread from work surface to oven. If you don't have one, a thin baking sheet without a lip is ideal.

Refillable water spray
Use for misting the oven to ensure a good crust.

Baking stones
Buy from a cook shop to transfer heat to the bottom of a loaf and help a home oven simulate a baker's oven. A large stone or tile from a DIY shop works fine, too. We use a terracotta tile to make pizzas in our oven at home.