Post by Calaf on Feb 14, 2012 9:41:43 GMT
Pane Carasau – Crushed Bread
In Italy there is a flatbread commonly known as Carta di Musica – Music Paper. It is round, flat, dry and very thin. True Carta di Musica is known in Sardinia as Pane Carasau – Crushed Bread, where it has been a staple of the Sardinian diet for at least 3,000 years, pre-dating the Phoenicians and possibly of Etruscan origin.
Making traditional Pane Carasau is a long and involved process and requires a very hot wood fired oven running at >500’C. Following is a recipe given to me by a friend, which as is typical, assumes some knowledge of dough.
To enjoy, serve with Pecorino Sardo, Salami, Prosciutto or roasted lamb.
Many Sardinian dishes are made with this bread. It can be softened with milk or lamb stock, filled with lamb and veg and rolled to make a picnic or lunch snack.
Pane Frattau involves soaking the bread in lamb stock and topping with tomato sauce and grated pecorino and creating three or four such layers, topped with an egg. A variation of this uses is a lamb and veg soup called zuppa dei pastori galluresi, loaded with layers of Pane Carasau, topped with pecorino and baked or grilled.
It’s something I intend to have a go at, but meanwhile, here are the experts…
In Italy there is a flatbread commonly known as Carta di Musica – Music Paper. It is round, flat, dry and very thin. True Carta di Musica is known in Sardinia as Pane Carasau – Crushed Bread, where it has been a staple of the Sardinian diet for at least 3,000 years, pre-dating the Phoenicians and possibly of Etruscan origin.
Making traditional Pane Carasau is a long and involved process and requires a very hot wood fired oven running at >500’C. Following is a recipe given to me by a friend, which as is typical, assumes some knowledge of dough.
1 part regular flour
1 part semolina flour
water
salt
Mix the dough and leave to rest for an hour. Knead the dough, roll out to a baton, cut into fist sized balls. Roll out the balls into very thin rounds of 1-2mm.
One at a time, place the sheet of dough into the oven where it will bubble and puff up into a ball, turn and flip to heat evenly. This will take only a few seconds and the bread must not burn but be golden-brown.
While the bread is still warm and pliable separate the two layers at the seam. Once all your bread has been baked return, one at a time, to the oven for a few seconds to drive out moisture. Stack the breads, cover with cloth and weight down to prevent the bread curling.
To enjoy, serve with Pecorino Sardo, Salami, Prosciutto or roasted lamb.
Many Sardinian dishes are made with this bread. It can be softened with milk or lamb stock, filled with lamb and veg and rolled to make a picnic or lunch snack.
Pane Frattau involves soaking the bread in lamb stock and topping with tomato sauce and grated pecorino and creating three or four such layers, topped with an egg. A variation of this uses is a lamb and veg soup called zuppa dei pastori galluresi, loaded with layers of Pane Carasau, topped with pecorino and baked or grilled.
It’s something I intend to have a go at, but meanwhile, here are the experts…
