cuchaule: Swiss saffron bread / pane svizzero allo zafferano

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

golden bread in the golden hour

The twelfth stop of our World Culinary ABC¹ is Switzerland (Svizzera), a country I have visited a number of times. 

An area we particularly like is Engadin (Engadina). The photo below shows an example of the traditional decorations that grace the façades of buildings in the valley, called sgraffiti, from the Italian graffiare (to scratch)².

traditional decoration called sgraffiti

To celebrate this stop, I made my version of cuchaule, a traditional bread from Canton Fribourg that includes saffron among the ingredients. As usual, I took the basic elements from online recipes, then applied my experience and preferences. This is a nice, festive bread. I lightened it up to make it more of an everyday bread. The concurrent reading of a novel inspired one of the choices I made in terms of ingredients.

The novel The Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch, the current selection of our Cook the Books Club, tells the story of a young woman running away from her past: she moves to a new place every year following her honeybee queen (ape regina). The cast of characters is quite colorful and the protagonist, aptly named Sugar, tries her best to bring the smile back to their faces. Among them, Ruby, a young woman robbed of their smile by anorexia. The few 1/8 of a rice cracker portions she doles out to herself daily made me want to bake bread for her, the quintessential nourishing food of the culinary tradition in which I grew up, and sweeten it lightly with honey. Its yellow color is a way of bringing a ray of light in Ruby's life.

homemade bread with homemade cheese: a perfect couple

For my recipe I use a preferment, so preparation starts the evening before baking day. I also let the saffron infuse the milk overnight.

Printer-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Cuchaule

Ingredients:

For the preferment (to be prepared the night before baking):

• 60 ml water at 80 F / 27 C
• 1/8 teaspoon / 0.4 g instant yeast
• 65 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour (this is the flour I always use to make bread)

For the saffron-infused milk (to be prepared the night before baking):

• 150 ml milk (I used non-fat)
• A pinch of saffron threads

For the dough:

• 65 g whole-wheat flour (I use locally grown and milled Hollis wheat)
• 200 g King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon / 3 g dry milk (powder)
• 1/16 teaspoon turmeric (curcuma), optional, for color
• 2.3 g instant yeast
• 20 g fluid honey
• 1 ounce / 28 g unsalted butter, softened
• 2 g sea salt

For the egg wash:

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml water

Prepare the preferment
Pour water in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast on the water then whisk lightly to blend. Add the flour and stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. The morning after it will be bubbly.

Prepare the milk
Warm up the milk to 115 F / 46 C. Sprinkle saffron on it and stir. Cover and let sit for an hour or so, then place in the refrigerator. The morning after, take it out of the refrigerator.

Prepare the dough
Weigh the flours and place in a bowl. Add the dry milk and turmeric, if using, and stir in. 

Warm up the milk to 85 F / 30 C. Pour onto the pre-ferment, sprinkle yeast on surface and stir to form a batter. Add the honey and stir, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients.

Stir briefly with a dough whisk, spatula or wooden spoon. Add the butter and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Sprinkle salt on the surface, cover the bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Stir some more until a cohesive dough forms. Empty the bowl onto your working surface and knead briefly until the dough is homogeneous.

Clean and oil the bowl. With wet hands, letter-fold the dough, then flip it and place it into the bowl. Cover and let rest for half an hour.

Stretch and letter-fold the dough in the bowl, rotate 90 degrees then stretch and letter-fold again. Flip the dough so it is seam side down. Cover and let rest until well risen (doubled in bulk) and the gluten is well developed.

This very nice video on The SF Baking Institute website describes and shows a couple of important techniques I apply to bread dough.

1. Stretching and folding
2. Pre-shaping and shaping rounds (useful for later)

The video is not long, but if you don't have time to watch it in its entirety, you can start at 4':30" and watch about 8 minutes until Mac shows how to shape a boule.

Shape the bread
Lightly flour your working surface and transfer the dough onto it (top side down).

Gently pat the dough to flatten it into a thick square and degas. Fold corners of dough towards the center, flip (so it is seam side down) and pre-shape into a boule on an unfloured section of your working surface, which offers some resistance (see video at 8'). Move the round towards you, then back with a slight rotation, all the while tucking dough underneath. Bring a bit of tension to the dough, but not as much as you will later, during shaping.

Let the pre-shaped round rest for 20 minutes, covered.

Flip the dough (so it is seam side up) and flatten lightly, then fold corners of dough towards the center. Flip (so it is seam side down) and shape into a boule on an unfloured section of your working surface, which offers some resistance (see video at 12'). Move the round towards you then back with a slight rotation, all the while tucking dough underneath. Bring tension to the dough, but do not overdo or the surface will tear.

Gently transfer the dough, seam side down, to a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Cover and let the dough rest until well risen: a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists. How long it takes depends on the room temperature.

Prepare for baking
Preheat the oven to 350 F /177 C.

In a small bowl, whisk water into the egg yolk.

Bake the bread
When the dough is ready to be baked, score the surface with a shallow grid pattern using a sharp blade. With a pastry brush, paint the surface with the egg wash. 

Place baking sheet in the oven and bake until the internal temperature reaches 200 F / 93 C. In my case it takes 35 minutes for the bread to bake.

Transfer bread to a rack to cool. Restrain your desire to go at the bread with your knife: let it cool completely, at least two hours, then slice and enjoy.

We particularly liked it with my homemade strawberry preserves and with my homemade Crescenza.

---

¹ The World Culinary ABC kick-off post.
² Sgraffiti

---

I contribute my bread to the 12th installment of the Abbecedario culinario mondiale (World Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit 27 countries of the world using the alphabet as guide. L like Lucerne (Switzerland) is hosted by Ivy of Kopiaste.

The list of recipes contributed to the event and their slide show.

---

This is also my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole.

The roundup of the event.

---

Finally, this is my contribution to the 24th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started some time ago and that I continue to host.

The roundup of the event.

---

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

pane svizzero allo zafferano

or launch the pane svizzero allo zafferano audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

bread, saffron, milk, Swiss cuisine

[jump to Comments]

cuchaule (pane svizzero allo zafferano)

pane dal caldo colore

La dodicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale¹ è la Svizzera, paese che ho visitato diverse volte.

Una zona che ci piace in modo particolare è l'Engadina. La foto qui sotto mostra un esempio delle tradizionali decorazioni sulle facciate degli edifici chiamate sgraffiti.²

esempio di sgraffiti

Per celebrare questa tappa ho preparato cuchaule, pane tradizionale del Cantone di Friburgo. Come al solito, ho preso gli elementi fondamentali da ricette consultate sul web e ho poi applicato la mia esperienza e le mie preferenze per fare questo pane. L'ho alleggerito un po' in modo che sia un pane per tutti i giorni.

pane e formaggio fatti in casa: una coppia perfetta

La mia ricetta utilizza dell'impasto pre-lievitato quindi la preparazione inizia la sera prima del giorno di panificazione. E metto lo zafferano nel latte la sera prima di utilizzare entrambi.

Ingredienti:

Per la pasta lievitata (da preparare la sera prima del giorno di panificazione):

• 60 ml acqua a 27 C
• 1/8 cucchiaino / 0,4 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
• 65 g farina di grano forte

Per il latte infuso con lo zafferano (da preparare la sera prima del giorno di panificazione):

• 150 ml latte (io ho usato quello scremato)
• Un pizzico di stimmi di zafferano

Per l'impasto:

• 65 g farina per pane integrale
• 200 g farina di grano forte
• 1/2 cucchiaio / 3 g latte secco in polvere
• Una puntina di cucchiaino di curcuma, facoltativa, per dare colore
• 2,3 g lievito di birra secco istantaneo
• 20 g miele fluido
• 28 g burro non salato ammorbidito
• 2 g sale marino fino

Per la superficie:

• 1 tuorlo d'uovo codice 0
• 2 cucchiaini / 10 ml acqua

Preparare la pasta lievitata
Versare l'acqua in una ciotola, poi aggiungere il lievito e mescolare brevemente con una frusta. Aggiungere la farina e mescolare fino a formare un impasto soffice. Coprire il contenitore con della pellicola di plastica e lasciar lievitare a temperatura ambiente per tutta la notte. Il mattino dopo vedrete la superficie cosparsa di bollicine.

Preparare il latte
Scaldare il latte a 46 C. Aggiungere lo zafferano e mescolare brevemente. Coprire il contenitore e lasciar riposare per un'oretta poi metterlo in frigorifero. La mattina dopo tirarlo fuori.

Preparare l'impasto
Pesare le farine e metterle in una ciotola. Aggiungere il latte e la curcuma (facoltativa). 

Scaldare il latte a 30 C. Versarlo sulla pasta fermentata, aggiungere il lievito e mescolare fino a formare una pastella. Aggiungere il miele e mescolare, poi versare il tutto nella ciotola con gli ingredienti secchi.

Mescolare un po', poi aggiungere il burro e mescolare solo fino a quando si forma un impasto. Distribuire il sale sulla superficie. Coprire la ciotola e far riposare per 5-10 minuti.

Mescolare ancora per un paio di minuti. Infarinare leggermente il piano di lavoro e trasferirci sopra l'impasto. Impastare brevemente fino ad ottenere un impasto omogeneo.

Pulire la ciotola e oliarla. Con le mani umide, tirare leggermente l'impasto da un lato e piegarlo verso il lato opposto. Ripetere dall'altra parte, come se piegaste un foglio di carta in terzi per metterlo in una busta. Voltare l'impasto piegato sottosopra e trasferirlo nella ciotola. Coprire con della pellicola di plastica e lasciar lievitare per mezz'ora.

Con le mani umide, tirare l'impasto da un lato e piegarlo verso il lato opposto. Ripetere dall'altra parte, come se piegaste un foglio di carta in terzi per metterlo in una busta. Ruotare l'impasto di 90 gradi e ripetere tiratura e piegamento. Rivoltare l'impasto in modo che la piega sia in basso. Coprire e lasciar lievitare fino a quando l'impasto sia raddoppiato di volume e il glutine sia ben sviluppato.

Questo video sull sito del SF Baking Institute mostra un paio di tecniche importanti:

1. Tiratura e piegamento
2. Preformazione e formazione di una boule, o pane rotondo (utile in seguito)

Il video non è lungo ma se non avete tempo di guardarlo tutto, potete cominciare a 4':30" e guardare circa 8 minuti fino a quando Mac forma la boule.

Formare il pane
Infarinare leggermente il piano di lavoro e rovesciarci sopra l'impasto.

Spianare leggermente l'impasto a formare un quadrato spesso. Piegare verso il centro gli angoli, rovesciare e su un pezzo di piano senza farina far roteare l'impasto in modo da creare un pochino di tensione in superficie (vedi video a 8').

Corprire con la ciotola rovesciata e far riposare 20 minuti.

Rovesciare l'impasto e spianarlo leggermente, poi piegare verso il centro gli angoli. Rovesciare su un pezzo di piano senza farina e far roteare l'impasto in modo da creare tensione in superficie (vedi video a 12'), ma senza lacerarla. Muovere l'impasto verso di voi con una leggera rotazione e allo stesso tempo rimboccarlo sotto.

Trasferire su una placca da forno foderata con un tappetino da forno di silicone o un pezzo di carta da forno. Coprire e lasciar riposare fino a quando l'impasto sia ben lievitato  e una fossetta fatta sulla pasta colla punta del dito persiste. Il tempo necessario dipende dalla temperatura ambiente.

Preparare il forno
Riscaldare il forno a 177 C.

In una ciotolina, mescolare il tuorlo d'uovo e l'acqua.

Cuocere il pane
Quando l'impasto è pronto ad essere infornato, con una lama affilata segnare la superficie con dei tagli a griglia.

Con un pennello da pasticceria spennellare l'uovo sulla superficie del pane.

Infornare e cuocere fino a quando la temperatura interna raggiunga i 93 C, circa 35 minuti.

Trasferire il pane su una griglia e far raffreddare senza disturbarlo, almeno due ore, poi affettare e gustare.

---

¹ Post inaugurale dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale.
² Sgraffiti

---

Con questa ricetta partecipo alla dodicesima tappa dell'Abbecedario culinario mondiale, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare 27 paesi del mondo usando le lettere dell'alfabeto come guida. L like Lucerne (Svizzera) è ospitata da Ivy di Kopiaste.

La lista di ricette contribuite all'evento e lo slide show che le mostra.

 

 

Comments

[lucia]

è bellissimo il tuo pane! e tecnica perfetta! Un abbraccio :)

[Ivy]

Thank you Simona for your contribution. The bread sounds amazing and I always admire your ability to make bread and cheese. The novel sounds very interesting.

[Simona Carini]

Grazie, Lucia :)

You are welcome, Ivy, and thank you for your kind words.

[Frank @Memorie di Angelina]

Looks really nice. I have to admit, I've never made bread with milk before. Does it change the texture or flavor much?

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Frank. Milk makes the bread softer and richer tasting (depending on the fat content of the milk used). It affect the flavor as well, lightly. Using some dry milk helps in the flavor department. The bread stays soft a bit longer and then it makes a nice French toast.

[Debra]

I would love to participate in Novel Food this round, but life is getting in the way. Love this bread for CTB. And, I was relieved to realize that the due date is in August for this book! For some reason I was thinking it was at the end of June! :) Thanks again for hosting.

[Rachel Jagareski]

A gorgeous slice of bread and cheese. The saffron lends such a gorgeous, warm color.

[Paola]

Ciao carissima !!!
Il tuo pane è perfetto, soffice e gustoso...davvero ben fatto!!!
Fra poco ti raggiungo in America!!!!

[Simona Carini]

No problem Debra, hopefully you will be able to join the next edition, in late summer.

Thank you, Rachel.

Ciao Paola e grazie. Ci vediamo in America :)

[Claudia]

I just finished that author's Blessed are the Cheesemakers, and quite enjoyed it. Very inspiring; so looking forward to reading this one. Your bread sounds lovely, and thanks for the SF Baking Institute link.

[Simona Carini]

Glad to read you enjoyed that novel, Claudia. You are welcome!

[Alicia (foodycat)]

Beautiful bread!

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Alicia :)

[Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm]

It's always nice when your post can be a twofer. Thanks again, Simona, for hosting this month.

[Simona Carini]

All excuses are good to read and cook, Wendy. You are welcome :)

[Debra Eliotseats]

I like the tie-in to the book. Surely Ruby would have eaten more than one bite of this. Thanks for hosting this month!

[Simona Carini]

I certainly hope so, Debra. You are welcome!

[Amy]

The bread looks delicious - perfect for poor Ruby!

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Amy :)

[Delaware Girl Eats]

Simona I am always amazed at your baking and this one is no exception. Although I spent a lot of time in the land of the Swiss during my working days Fribourg is one place I never got to.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Cathy :) I, on the other hand, know only a small portion of Switzerland and Engadin is my favorite area among those I have visited. The next time I go, I would like to experience some cheese making.

[Delaware Girl Eats]

Cheesemaking... don't remember if I told you that for our anniversary Michael and I took a trip to eastern France where they make the reblochon cheese. We were invited to visit one of those cheesemakers and spent a lovely day touring their caves. It was pretty cool.

[Simona Carini]

Yes, I remember you told me about your visit to the cheesemakers. I like Reblochon. It was one of the cheeses we made at the workshop I attended in Shelburne Falls.

[Deb in Hawaii]

This sunny-colored bread would have definitely put a smile on Ruby's face--especially with that glorious homemade cheese. ;-) Yum!

A fun book pick Simona--thanks for hosting and I truly apologize for being so tardy in my commenting and for missing this past round of Novel Foods. I plan to take part in this next round.

[Simona Carini]

I am glad to see you back, Deb. And I am glad you enjoyed the novel :)