Ohhh Sinu , I felt I just walked into this wee bakery ….Im so happy it was passed on to a new baker with passion , so this little gem continues …I could gorge myself happily on everything in the place - mind you I’d never leave !😂
Such places are ALWAYS the expression of someone’s soul …their mission …I’ll dream of this tonight !
I love finding authentic recipes and I love you way you describe how to make these. I remember buying buns like these in Montagnana and thinking how delicious they were. I’m going to have a go at making these this weekend.
I made these last weekend and they turned out beautifully, thank you Sinù. The crunchy crust contrasted beautifully with the fluffy interior. It's great to see artisan bakeries gaining a foothold here in Ireland - something we really have no tradition of - but sourdough really dominates their offerings. Don't get me wrong, I love sourdough, but this recipe shows that bread can offer a multitude of other textures and flavours.
Thank you so much for trying the recipe! You have no idea how happy that makes me :) Sourdough is amazing, but I've also noticed a flattening of the offerings, especially abroad and with new bakeries founded by really young people even in Italy. It's become so fashionable on social media, hasn’t it? Besides soda bread, what other traditional breads do you have in Ireland? Hopefully, they’re not being forgotten.
The Irish climate and soil is not well suited to growing wheat, which is probably the reason we don't have a bigger tradition of bread here. Apparently soda bread became popular in the nineteenth century as it worked better with the coarse flour available than yeast. Historically I believe there were breads made from things like oats and barley but I've never seen them. Potato bread I have seen, but only in restaurants run by chefs keen on connecting with Ireland's culinary heritage. There are some regional specialties such as the "blaa", a type of soft bread roll produced in Waterford in the south, based on techniques apparently introduced by French Huguenots.
At home growing up in the 80s my mother always baked brown soda bread. There was no tradition of a village bakery which sold direct to consumers, instead small bakeries sold into supermarkets; the breads were typically based on the Chorleywood Bread Process (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process) so very soft in texture and with a lot of added ingredients. You will still find bread like this in practically every Irish home (known by everyone as a "sliced pan").
The arrival of high quality artisanal bakeries has been a big change which has really only happened over the last decade, and still mainly confined to the cities. Bread 41 in Dublin (https://bread41.ie/) and Magie Bakery where we live in Galway would be two excellent examples (https://www.magpiebakery.ie/). They do tend to be sourdough focused with an Insta-ready aesthetic, but they're really popular. It's still really a new concept here, so maybe in time they can develop some kind of concept of what "Irish" bread might mean in the 21st century.
What a wonderful post. I love everything about it! The fantastic research, the writing, the recipe, and the storytelling, all make this a delightful read.
It's a lovely article made all the more enticing because my partner has an experimental loaf of bread in the oven! We're both new SS writers, and he wanted to experiment using an AI-requested recipe to see how it would perform. I'm a pastry chef, so I compared the weights in the recipe to baker's percentages of two recipes I already have. It's fun testing. So pleased that your lovely neighborhood bakery lives on!
Hi Linda, thank you for reading and subscribing! How did it go with the AI loaf?? Recipe testing is so much fun, isn't it. And a warm welcome to sunstack to you both, I hope you'll like it here 😊 the food community is fantastic!
What fun this AI bake was. We love test-baking and evaluating stuff, whether it’s one of our flagship products like Essential Douglas Fir Shortbread or a loaf of bread.
We have a pain de mie - 90% hydration - that’s a go-to when Paul wants a good white loaf for weekly use. We also use dry milk powder to deepen flavor in it.
This was only 66% so the crumb was expectedly more dense, made more noticeable when toasted. There was a bit more sugar in the recipe which helped with overall flavor.
Is it in English or Italian? Either ways, good on you! I used their montasù recipe as a starting point for mine. They use a biga (preferment) as well as a lot of fresh yeast in the second dough. For me the resulting buns were too yeasty. Curious to hear your thoughts on this!
Such a fascinating, beautifully told story, Sinù! I’m glad this wonderful bakery will continue and excited to try this recipe. Thanks for your precise instructions.
Thank you for reading Ruth! Your challah post inspired me to go for the dry yeast, instead of fresh yeast + overnight preferment. As you wrote there, people are kind of scared of regular quick yeasted bread but, if done right, it's a saviour for me!
Wow, I’m totally honored, Sinù! And now your post is inspiring me to get back into bread baking, which I have been lazy about doing lately. Making bread is really a primal pleasure that I have missed. Thanks again for a wonderful post.🤗💕
Ohhh Sinu , I felt I just walked into this wee bakery ….Im so happy it was passed on to a new baker with passion , so this little gem continues …I could gorge myself happily on everything in the place - mind you I’d never leave !😂
Such places are ALWAYS the expression of someone’s soul …their mission …I’ll dream of this tonight !
Phenomenal!!! Dope food! Have you tried making gnudi? https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9kXmEqO3Kd/?igsh=c2NkaHR4cXBrZHI2
Thank you for sharing. Time to get baking!
Yay!
I love finding authentic recipes and I love you way you describe how to make these. I remember buying buns like these in Montagnana and thinking how delicious they were. I’m going to have a go at making these this weekend.
I made these last weekend and they turned out beautifully, thank you Sinù. The crunchy crust contrasted beautifully with the fluffy interior. It's great to see artisan bakeries gaining a foothold here in Ireland - something we really have no tradition of - but sourdough really dominates their offerings. Don't get me wrong, I love sourdough, but this recipe shows that bread can offer a multitude of other textures and flavours.
Thank you so much for trying the recipe! You have no idea how happy that makes me :) Sourdough is amazing, but I've also noticed a flattening of the offerings, especially abroad and with new bakeries founded by really young people even in Italy. It's become so fashionable on social media, hasn’t it? Besides soda bread, what other traditional breads do you have in Ireland? Hopefully, they’re not being forgotten.
The Irish climate and soil is not well suited to growing wheat, which is probably the reason we don't have a bigger tradition of bread here. Apparently soda bread became popular in the nineteenth century as it worked better with the coarse flour available than yeast. Historically I believe there were breads made from things like oats and barley but I've never seen them. Potato bread I have seen, but only in restaurants run by chefs keen on connecting with Ireland's culinary heritage. There are some regional specialties such as the "blaa", a type of soft bread roll produced in Waterford in the south, based on techniques apparently introduced by French Huguenots.
At home growing up in the 80s my mother always baked brown soda bread. There was no tradition of a village bakery which sold direct to consumers, instead small bakeries sold into supermarkets; the breads were typically based on the Chorleywood Bread Process (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process) so very soft in texture and with a lot of added ingredients. You will still find bread like this in practically every Irish home (known by everyone as a "sliced pan").
The arrival of high quality artisanal bakeries has been a big change which has really only happened over the last decade, and still mainly confined to the cities. Bread 41 in Dublin (https://bread41.ie/) and Magie Bakery where we live in Galway would be two excellent examples (https://www.magpiebakery.ie/). They do tend to be sourdough focused with an Insta-ready aesthetic, but they're really popular. It's still really a new concept here, so maybe in time they can develop some kind of concept of what "Irish" bread might mean in the 21st century.
Really enjoyed reading this and being transported to your little corner of Venice by the power of delicious baked goods!
Thank you Angie, bread is a magical thing!
What a lovely post. But I should never have read on an empty stomach!!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it 😀
What a wonderful post. I love everything about it! The fantastic research, the writing, the recipe, and the storytelling, all make this a delightful read.
Thank you so much, Marg ❤️ I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!
I sure will, thank you!
It's a lovely article made all the more enticing because my partner has an experimental loaf of bread in the oven! We're both new SS writers, and he wanted to experiment using an AI-requested recipe to see how it would perform. I'm a pastry chef, so I compared the weights in the recipe to baker's percentages of two recipes I already have. It's fun testing. So pleased that your lovely neighborhood bakery lives on!
Hi Linda, thank you for reading and subscribing! How did it go with the AI loaf?? Recipe testing is so much fun, isn't it. And a warm welcome to sunstack to you both, I hope you'll like it here 😊 the food community is fantastic!
What fun this AI bake was. We love test-baking and evaluating stuff, whether it’s one of our flagship products like Essential Douglas Fir Shortbread or a loaf of bread.
We have a pain de mie - 90% hydration - that’s a go-to when Paul wants a good white loaf for weekly use. We also use dry milk powder to deepen flavor in it.
This was only 66% so the crumb was expectedly more dense, made more noticeable when toasted. There was a bit more sugar in the recipe which helped with overall flavor.
Glory to the mom-and-pop owners of their businesses. These buns look wonderful and will give it a try. Thx!
https://writerswrites.com/
Hi Sally, thank you for reading! Let me know how it goes with the recipe, any doubts or questions just pop me a DM 😘
I just bought that Hazan book!
Yay 🙌 curious about what recipe you'll try first 👩🍳
Grazie!!!
I just found a copy of the Simili sisters cookbook. Marcella’s have been staples on my shelf for a long time!
Is it in English or Italian? Either ways, good on you! I used their montasù recipe as a starting point for mine. They use a biga (preferment) as well as a lot of fresh yeast in the second dough. For me the resulting buns were too yeasty. Curious to hear your thoughts on this!
The pictures are really superb too!
Such a fascinating, beautifully told story, Sinù! I’m glad this wonderful bakery will continue and excited to try this recipe. Thanks for your precise instructions.
Thank you for reading Ruth! Your challah post inspired me to go for the dry yeast, instead of fresh yeast + overnight preferment. As you wrote there, people are kind of scared of regular quick yeasted bread but, if done right, it's a saviour for me!
Wow, I’m totally honored, Sinù! And now your post is inspiring me to get back into bread baking, which I have been lazy about doing lately. Making bread is really a primal pleasure that I have missed. Thanks again for a wonderful post.🤗💕
🥰😘
❤️ am coming to Venice in December. Hope we can meet xx
That's what I was hoping to hear. Looking forward to it!