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Marocca di Casola: the recipe

Marocca di Casola

The fruit of a centuries-old tradition handed down by the women of the Lunigiana, Marocca di Casola is a bread from another time that has kept its identity intact. Even today, its recipe stays faithful to the past, using the historic ingredients and the classic wood-oven baking.

This bread stands out for its intense aromatic notes and delicately sweet taste, qualities that make it very versatile in the kitchen. It is at its best with a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, paired with goat cheese or ricotta enriched with a touch of honey, but it also pairs beautifully with the finest Tuscan cured meats, such as lardo, spalla cotta and mortadella.

At a glance

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Ingredients

Quantities for 2 pieces of 463 g, kitchen at 20 °C

Preferment

  • Wheat flour (W320)75 g
  • Water41 g
  • Sourdough starter18 g

Dough

  • Farina di castagne291 g
  • Wheat flour (W260)194 g
  • Water194 g
  • Milk39 g
  • Potatoes49 g
  • Salt7.8 g (a teaspoon)
  • Mixed seed oil15 g
  • Yeast0.7 g

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Method

  1. Lievito madre: make it and let it ferment (at room temperature) (12 hours)
    • Weigh the ingredients
    • Use water at 32 °C
    • Mix the flour, water and starter until you get a smooth batter
    • Transfer to a container, covered but not airtight
  2. Weigh the ingredients and knead (30 min)
    • Use water at 36 °C
    • Boil the potatoes, let them cool completely and mash them finely.
    • Sift the chestnut flour together with the wheat flour.
    • Knead by hand until smooth: no need to look for the gluten development of a modern loaf.
  3. End of mixing, start of bulk rise (at room temperature) (2 hours)
  4. Divide/shape: weigh and form the pieces (5 min)
    Shape round, fairly low loaves, about 15-20 cm across.
  5. Start of proofing (at room temperature) (1 hour)
  6. Ready to cook
    • Score the surface before baking.
    • The ideal bake would be in a wood oven, at a lower temperature than usual for bread, for at least an hour: a long, gentle bake that is part of the tradition. In a home oven, static at 190-200°C for 50-60 minutes.

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Baking

    • conventional oven, without steam
    • Overall temperature: 195 °C
    • Time: 55 minutes
    • Static oven

The calculator adapts baking times to the weight of your pieces. Open the calculator

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