Nanna’s Always Bread (Sempre Pane)

Every meal would start with a basket of Nanna’s bread, always. In preparation for any meal, Nanna would direct us to open the bottom drawer and pull out a chunk of her homemade bread. This bread was a staple for every meal and snack we had. Used to scarpetta (soak up) the leftover sauce in your bowl after a big plate of pasta, buttered, topped with antipastos, or just enjoyed with a chuck of good parmesan and sasizza. This four ingredient bread will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

On bread making days, Nanna would spend hours in her basement kneading and baking using her second kitchen in the undeveloped basement (every Italian grandparent has one of these basements right?). Nanna put her heart and soul into everything she made, we hope you can taste a little bit of her love in this very special recipe. 

Wise words from Nanna

Measuring- Nanna did not use measurements, making this recipe difficult for us to perfect. Every oven is slightly different, watch your bread because cooking times could vary. 

Texture- This bread has a dry, crusty texture with a slight pull. If you are expecting a soft, fluffy white bread, this is not it. 

Storage- This bread will last about a week in the fridge, but can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an air sealed container or bag. Nanna liked to leave hers out because she liked it extra hard. 

Kneading over 24 hours- This might seem like an annoying chore, but really you are just giving the dough some movement but gently pushing into it a few times and flipping it over in the bowl. 

Bread crumbs- Week old hard bread makes the best bread crumbs for chicken cutlets. Use your food processor to grind into fine crumbs. 

Serves 2 loaves 

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: 24 hours 

Ingredients:

4 cups of all purpose flour plus some for kneading

2 cups of warm water 

1 tsp salt

½ tsp of traditional dry yeast

Instructions:

  1. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
  2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour water into it
  3. Gently mix using a wooden spoon until ingredients begin to combine
  4. Start kneading the dough in the bowl until it forms a ball. Place the dough ball on a floured surface. Continue to knead until the dough forms a smooth round ball
  5. In a clean large bowl, drizzle a small amount of olive oil and spread all over the bottom of the bowl to prevent the dough from sticking
  6. Place the dough ball in the bowl and cover with a clean dry towel. Place in a warm dry area (in the cooled oven, pantry etc.) for 24 hours
  7. Knead in the bowl approximately 2 times during the 24 hours
  8. After 24 hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
  9. Take the risen dough out of the bowl and split into two even pieces. On a floured surface roll the dough balls into long loaves
  10. Place the loaves onto a lightly floured baking sheet
  11. Bake until golden brown for approximately 65 minutes

Buon appetito!

With love,

M & A xo