If you were born in Calabria, you will have eaten baked bread at least once in your life!
Baked bread is much more than just a recipe...
It is a link with tradition and a precious memory that many of us carry in our hearts. Yes, because baked bread is that dish that used to be eaten at our grandparents' house when the bread in the pantry was too hard to eat.
In fact, bread, which has always been considered a sacred food, was reused in this simple recipe, becoming the main ingredient: it was put to cook on the fire in the earthenware pot with water, oil and bay leaves, and a wonderful smell enveloped the whole house.
This dish, so light and with poor ingredients, was also used for weaning babies and many mothers still prepare it for their children here in Calabria.
For those with a sweet tooth, it can also be enriched with other ingredients at the end of cooking, such as Parmesan cheese, toasted bacon or chilli pepper for a spicy version.
Light and tasty, baked bread is the comfort food of yesteryear, when eating vegan and waste-free was not a fad but a necessity!
Try it yourself, perhaps adding a personal touch to the recipe.
Ingredients x 4 people
- 500 g stale bread
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- water to taste
- salt to taste
Method
In a large saucepan, place the stale bread slices, add the oil, bay leaves and cover completely with water. Turn on the heat, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. When the water has been completely absorbed and the bread has reached a soft and creamy consistency, turn off the heat, add salt if needed and serve!
Tasty, light and fragrant, you can enhance this dish with other ingredients: some grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, a sprinkling of spicy chilli pepper, pan-roasted cubes of bacon or guanciale or cubes of caciocavallo silano.
Curiosities
Baked bread is only and exclusively made from stale bread. Woe betide using fresh bread or toasted bread: the texture and flavour would not be as good.
It can also be prepared in a ‘red’ version, like Tuscan pappa al pomodoro, by adding peeled tomatoes to the other ingredients while cooking.