None of us would have ever thought of dealing with a pandemic, coming from a civilized and hospitalized country, fortunately. Yet in this period we have learned many things, such as not taking health, food and presence for granted: we found ourselves facing the disease as in the movies, taking refuge in our homes for as long as possible, learning new working methods or inventing a new ones. We tried on our skin how much we took for granted the availability of food: we found ourselves choosing between what remained on the shelves, we did not always find what we were looking for or what we were used to and we will all remember the frantic search for yeast.
And bread has become the new rite of comfort and confrontation, an ancestral way of releasing the tension of lockdown by kneading: people who had never prepared a loaf at home have started to produce sourdough, desperate from the lack of brewer's yeast, looking for the perfect holes, balanced flavor, the right degree of acidity. It made me smile a lot and it made me very happy: it gives me hope in people, it makes me think that there will always be a way or an event that sooner or later will bring everyone back on the same level, eliminating the differences and keeping that simplicity alive and that fear that leads us to enjoy the things of the past.
I have kneaded a little, honestly, because I have always worked and more than before: it was a period of great tiredness and it is certainly not finished yet: however, I studied the regional breads a bit, I learned better. We've never cooked bread in my family, it was bought in the bakery when I was a child, and in past years it was often replaced by polenta. In Veneto, baking does not have a very strong tradition because polenta, the peasant food par excellence, has always taken its place in accompanying daily preparations and filling the stomachs at little expense.
Schissotto bread is a bread from the Euganean hills: in ancient times it was prepared without the use of yeast and a low, crunchy, resistant bread was obtained for days. To meet more modern tastes, a little yeast is added: there are those who put in it some brewer's yeast, but it seemed to me to upset the sense of this bread too much so I chose the instant yeast, which is nothing but non-vanilla-flavored yeast for desserts (you can find it as a Pizzaiolo at the supermarket) The presence of lard guarantees its softness and durability: there are also many variations here, of course, for example the use of chicken fat melted over low heat with rosemary as my friend Marianna does, then solidified in the refrigerator and used as a butter. Layering: I have found testimonials that foresee it, others do not, but I find that it gives it an edge. The method is not that of the puff pastry, it is clear, it is much more spartan, but it ensures good layering and an interesting internal softness.
I give you my recipe, as I promised. Accompany it with the Venetian sopressa, if possible, and maybe a piece of Asiago cheese.
Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Mix well then gradually add the oil, grappa and water.
Work inside the bowl until you can compact the dough a bit then tip over onto a board and knead energetically to form a smooth ball.
Divide it into three parts and roll out each into an oval sheet, about 1 cm thick each: sprinkle the first with pieces of lard, spreading a little, then overlap the second, sprinkle the second too with other lard and overlap the third.
Make three folds for three times, as you can see in the video, spreading each gently with rolling pin.
Finally, give it a round shape, cut with diamond-shaped cuts and bake at 180 degrees for 30/40 minutes, until a beautiful uniform and golden crust forms.
