A recipe for gentle beginnings
Somewhere along the way, bread lost a bit of its glory. Pushed aside, judged, misunderstood. But bread has always been more than a carb.
Nothing compares to the smell of freshly baked bread. Whether it’s in your kitchen or drifting from the bakery down the street, that scent slows time. It makes the world feel softer, kinder, easier to bear.
So breathe it in. Let it remind you that some things are worth slowing down for. I got this recipe from a friend and is the perfect companion for a table surrounded by the people you love.
What you need
✦ 300 g monococco flour
✦ 200 g whole wheat flour
✦ 10 g salt
✦ 10 g dry yeast
✦ 380 ml cold water
✦ 1 teaspoon honey
✦ Drop of olive oil (EVOO)
This, and 21,5 hours of patience, is all you need for one bread (900 g).
Monococco flour is naturally lower in gluten and the long fermentation gives the dough better taste and easier digestibility.
How you make it
✦ Start by mixing dry yeast with water and a touch of honey, letting it sit for a few minutes.
✦ In a large bowl, combine monococco flour and whole wheat flour, add salt, and gently stir.
✦ Pour the yeast mixture into the flour, avoiding direct contact with the salt, and mix with a wooden spoon until a rough, sticky dough forms. You can also add a drizzle of olive oil if you like. There’s no need to knead it intensely.
✦ Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place it in the fridge overnight (12 - 18 hours), allowing the dough to develop flavor and structure.
✦ The next day, take it out and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
✦ Gently transfer the dough onto a floured surface and shape it into a ball. Make sure not to push out too much air. Place it on a sheet of baking paper, loosely cover, and let it rise again for an hour and a half to two hours.
✦ Preheat the oven to 230°C and place a heatproof dish with water inside to create steam. Bake the bread, reducing the temperature to 210°C after the first ten minutes.
✦ Depending on your oven, it should take around 35–40 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it sounds hollow as you tap it.
✦ Resist the urge to cut it too soon; allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour.
Slice the bread just before serving and place it in a large bowl. Pour olive oil into a small plate and dip each piece, savoring the flavor of fresh, warm bread and quality oil.
Why bread deserves a spot in your kitchen
Bringing bread into your kitchen means bringing back the fields into your life. Because bread has always been more than a carb.
Health-wise: when made from whole grains, bread brings fiber that keeps your digestion happy. It works as a prebiotic, helping beneficial gut bacteria thrive. Inside every slice live quit a lot of vitamin B and minerals that help your skin, eyes, and nails stay healthy. And for new life growing inside you, bread offers folate, a small but powerful gift for pregnancy.
Taste-wise: bread is air turned into comfort. That first bite: light, soft, a whisper of salt, a trace of earth from the grain. It’s a flavor that connects us to the fields and the farmers, to mornings in the countryside, to stories baked and shared for generations.
Life-wise: there’s something grounding about bread. The shape, the texture, the quiet way it ask you to pause for a moment. It doesn’t ask for much, but it gives a lot.
The art of nourishment
Feel free to do it your way
We all learn cooking in our own way. From our mothers, our grandfathers, a holiday abroad or an accident at home. These moments shape your taste, and your taste shapes your style. But neither is fixed; they move with the rhythm of your life.
So a meal is never just a meal. It’s a memory.
A here-and-now moment. Your moment.
Don’t treat recipes (mine or anyone else’s) as strict rules. Think of them as gentle directions, little suggestions along the way. And it’s entirely yours. So play with food. Dance in your kitchen. Trust your senses. Because nobody tastes what you taste.
And if it doesn’t turn out perfect? Congratulations, you’ve just cooked like a human being.
Buon appetito!
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