To say that bread is an important part of day-to-day life in Italy would be an understatement.  In fact, it’s more likely that the Italian political and economic system will be reformed over the next couple of years than it is that Italians will change their longstanding relationship with pane or bread.   Most modern Italians still buy artisanal bread […]

  (photo: beautiful bread is a work of art and our reader Dr. K is a maestro!  photo courtesy of Dr. K.) I have to admit that I get very jealous of folks who bake with great success as I’ve been slow to experiment with baking bread, for example.   And it’s also why I’m incredibly thankful for skilled Scordo readers like […]

(photo: courtesy of Dr. K., notice the great exterior crust and color) Dr. K.’s Bread Baking and Some Detail Behind the Recipe It’s been a while since we featured a guest post from our good friend Dr. K who’s wowed us in the past with bread recipes such as Whole Wheat Pita and Coccodrillo Ciabatta.  In turn, we’re delighted to […]

Pizza Sauce Recipe I’ve always stuck to the claim that you can make pretty good pizza at home.  My critics argue that making “pizzeria” type pizza in a home environment is impossiblegiven that a home stove cannot reach the 900+ degree Fahrenheit temperature a proper wood burning stove can and, moreover, impart the appropriate flavor and heat to pizza dough (click here […]

The following Pagnotte di Enna recipe was adopted from theArtisan.net web site who adopted their recipe from the book, Scienza e Technologia della Panificazione by Prof. Giovanni Quaglia.  The actual 100% whole durum flour bread pictured above was made via our esteemed contributor, Dr. K.  In turn, this lovely recipe is many levels removed from Scordo but I, nonetheless, find […]

Making Bread “Under the Fire” The Italian word focacciameans “under the fire” and it shares many of the same traits as pizza.  However, focaccia is usually about 3/4 of an inch thick (versus the standard less than 1/2 inch thick pizza found in most parts of Italy) and is meant to be served at room temperature.  Focaccia is also prepared […]

(photo: courtesy of Dr. K; pita bread puffing up in the oven) In the spirit of spreading love on Valentine’s Day I’d like to share a wonderful bread recipe and guest post by way of Dr. K.  This week the super home cook made homemade pita and the results are outstanding, as usual.  While pita isn’t an Italian food product […]

(Photo: Courtesy of Dr. K., whole wheat and durum ciabatta) The importance of quality bread cannot be overstated and I’m convinced that access to the very best bread would cause a food revolution in the United States (how’s that for a shocking claim on a Tuesday afternoon).  Like pasta (or noodles) and beans, bread is a staple food product found […]

Our friend and avid home cook Dr. K. continues his mastery of all things Italian with a terrific homemade bread from Sicilia; namely, Durum Pane Siciliano – a bread shaped in the form of the Occhi di Santa Lucia (i.e., a pair of eyeglasses in homage to Santa Lucia, the patron saint of vision). Dr. K. utilized a recipe from Carol Field’s, The […]

Crostini literally means “little toasts” in Italian and they are Italian appetizers or tapas consisting of flavorful toppings.  Crostini are usually made from Italian baguette, sliced about 1/2 thick and quickly toasted or grilled.  In the US, the word bruschetta is used to refer to crostini with a fresh tomato, basil, salt, and pepper topping.  Bruschetta, like crostini, can be topped […]