PANE RUSTICA Italian Peasant Bread ©David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Chemistry University of Cincinnati Clermont College, Batavia OH 45103
The secret of crusty bread is high humidity. Here we bake it in a covered dutch oven.	This page has been accessed  times since 9 January 2007.	The finished bread is crusty,chewy and yummy...

 Anyone who has lived in or traveled to France or Italy has experience the wonderful bread which is their staple.  Its is crusty and crunchy on the surface, and the interior has large holes, is translucent and yellowish, and is chewy so that you know you are eating food!  During a sabbatical in a rural neighborhood near Naples, Italy (on Via Romano), this bread was not only the staple in the local bakery, but also baked by our friend Louisa in the out door wood fired brick oven of the extended family which which we lived.  This is our personal experience with "Peasant Bread:" Pane Rustica.  For us, the name, deceptively modest,  elevates the bread to a level worthy of wonder and respect, for making it is the practical art evolved from many centuries by people who have lived close to the earth, and developed extrordinary culinary skills.

Since posting this page in 2006, I have developed a whole wheat/unbleached hybrid version of this delicious bread. Look at the bottom of this page for that healthful modification of the recipe.

EQUIPMENT	SUPPLIES
1 gallon pot or mixing bowl with cover measuring cups (one pint  and one quart) measuring spoons (1/4  and 1 teaspoons) whisk dish towel, non-terry cloth heavy 1-2 gallon covered cast iron pot (Dutch oven) cooling rack	3 cups white enriched flour (after you make it once, try 1:1 whole wheat + white) 1 1/2 cups fresh water, warmed to 75 F 1 to 1 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt 1/4 teaspoon active yeast additional flour for dusting dough and cloth (or cornmeal)

	1)  Assemble the ingredients: 3 cups flour 1 1/2 cups water, 75 F. 1 to 1 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp yeast suspended in 3 Tbl of the above water. While the yeast is proofing, dissolve the salt in the warmed water.			11)  After about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, set oven to 450.
	2)  a)  Mix the suspended yeast with the rest of the salted water b)  Whisk in the flour			12)  Place a heavy pot (here, a Dutch oven) and its lid in the oven to pre heat.
	3)  The resulting dough is quite moist and sticky			13)  After 1 1/2 - 2 hours, the dough should have doubled in size, and not rebounded when you  press the surface with a finger.
	4)  Cover the raw dough, and let sit at room temperature (at least 70 F) for 12-18 hours			14)  a)  Remove the HOT pot from the oven (CAREFUL). b)  Slip your hand under the cloth and lift the dough. c)  Flip the dough into the HOT pot.  If it is uneven, shake pot to even out.  Don't worry
	5)  The next day, the surface of the soft dough should be all bubbly.			15)  Cover with the HOT lid.
	6)  Turn the dough out on a floured surface.			16)  Place covered pot in the 450 oven. b)  Set timer for 30 minutes
	7)  Sprinkle a little flour on the surface.			17)  After 30 minutes, remove the top, and bake for 10-15 more minutes, until golden brown.
	8)  a)  With floured fingers, lightly fold the dough over on itself two or three times. b) lightly dust the surface with flour.			18)  Remove the bread from the oven, place on a cooling rack to cool, and exhale a little more moisture.
	9)  Generously dust a non-terry dishcloth with flour or cornmeal, lie the dough, seam side down, on the cloth. (If you do not use enough flour, the dough will stick like crazy to the cloth in the next step...			19)  This bread looks and tastes very similar to the Italian "peasant" bread I have been trying to replicate for a decade or more: a)  Wonderfully crusty (because of the baking in the covered pot, which maintains high moisture in the baking environment.  (Yes--for me, it is counter intuitive:  higher moister makes for crustier bread.  I hear that some French bakers throw water into the oven to achieve high moisture) b)  Large bubbles in the bread, and the texture is chewy and yellowish-translucent.  YUM
	10) Fold the cloth over the dough to cover.			20)  OK...  So cutting it is not the easiest task... Alternative 1:   You can do like they do in Southern Europe:  At the table, hold the loaf in the L hand, and carve off a thin wedge with a knife in the R hand. (Have you seen the "best movie ever made" "Children of Paradise"? You will see the technique there.) BTW, the superstition in rural souther Italy is that unmarried girls never do this, or they will never marry... Figurati. Alternative 2:  We have a long bread knive with a scalloped edge which will reach across the loaf. (see picture at the L)  Even so, one must take care to cut straight even thin slices... Alternative 3: You could cut the loaf in half immediately (after you slather the hot heel with cold butter as it comes out of the oven (YUM!!!)) Then you only have to cut slices half width.