The Raisin Breads of D’Amato Bakers (E Pagnochee co l’Ua de D’Amato)

Contributed by Umberto Sartory

 

Introduction

This Venetian recipe Pane di Sapa was collected from Michele D’Amato, lMichele D'Amato, the last of a long generation of bakers, who witnessed the preparation of this recipe in the shop where his grandfather and father worked, in the area between San Barnaba and La Salute. Michele now runs a pizzeria near campo San Vio.

The Venessiane was also prepared using similar dough, enriched with butter, sugar and egg. It is bread with stings on top, made pinching the paste out, and a thin crust of caster sugar.

Ingredients of Pane di Sapa


1 kg 00 wheat flour
400 g water
10 g salt
20 g sugar
30 g brewer’s yeast
600 g raisins
saffron
egg yolk

Preparation of Pane di Sapa

First stage of preparation, Pane di Sapa:

Mix ½ kg Wheat flour 00 with 200 ml water, salt and yeast. Cover and leave to rise for 6-8 hours depending on the room temperature. Meanwhile, soak the sultanas in a pot for a couple of hours.

Second kneading:

Add the remaining ingredients to the dough except for the egg yolk, which will only be used to brush the shapes before baking. If the dough does not seem to rise well, add another 10 g of yeast.

Form balls with the dough and leave them to rise for another 30-40 minutes. Now brush the surface of the loaves with egg yolk and bake at 200° for 15-20 minutes.