Discover
the Secrets of Traditional Venetian Cookies with Organic
Food Baking Recipes
(By Heather
Bettendorf - President, PRIMA Organic Foods)
Highlighting
the home-made baking traditions of Venice, Italy's jewel
in the Adriatic Sea. Learn about one of Italy's most
famous cities, with easy to follow organic cookie recipes
to serve at your next party.
From
the enchanting Venetian lagoon on the Adriatic sea in Italy,
when Venice was the center of commerce with Asia from the
13th to the 19th centuries, organic baking traditions were
born that are still practiced today by housewives and pastry
chefs. Explorers and sailors carried foodstuffs on
board the merchant and war galleons that would survive the
long voyages in the perilous seas. Among these were
sweet treats, simple to make, that in name and taste, reflected
their Venetian origins. Not to mention that in those
days, the only existing agriculture created organic food;
no pesticides or additives were used in foods, except those
from mother nature herself.
The
Queen of these, and the most famous, is the organic cookie
named "Biscotti Baicoli". Created in the
1700's, the word "baicoli" is Venetian dialect
for sea bass. In fact, their long, oval, thin shape
is very similar to the small sea bass which inhabit the
lagoon. At that time, bakers supplied them to coffee
shops, or they were served to house guests along with zabaglione
cream, hot chocolate or tea. Still others served them
with a sweet Doge's desert wine, the Venetian Moscato dei
Doge.
Today
they are considered a delicate, light, yet flavorful organic
cookie to be enjoyed by everyone. In fact, almost
every child in Venice today knows the poem in Venetian dialect
which brags of the goodness of the Baicoli and its Venetian
origins.
In the
lagoon sits Burano, the fisherman's island, famous for it's
rows of brightly colored houses. From this very small
island comes the organic cookie "Bussola Buranello",
which translated, means the compass of Burano. Here
too, the marine traditions date back centuries. Baked
in a shape outlining a circle, or a backwards "s",
this cookie was a typical Easter treat, kneaded at home
by the women of Burano, and then brought to the baker's
for baking. On feast days, it was dipped in holy wine
"vin santo", or in local whites. Packaged,
they were placed in the middle of clothes drawers in order
to scent them with the delicious aroma characteristic of
this cookie.
Still
today, considered a genuine and nutritional organic cookie,
it is enjoyed in the same manner, or served to children.
Both
organic cookies are easy to prepare, with simple organic
food ingredients. The recipes follow:
Biscotti
Baicoli
Organic
Food Ingredients: 1 ¾ cups flour, ¼ cup
melted butter (unsalted), ¼ cup sugar, 1 small
glass of milk, one half ounce of yeast
Dissolve
the yeast in a small amount of tepid milk in a glass,
and then mix it together with ¼ cup of flour.
Form a ball and leave it to rest, covered by a cloth,
in a warm place until it doubles in volume (approx 30
min).
Mix
together the remaining ingredients, starting with the
flour and sugar, then the melted butter, and finally the
tepid milk. (You may also add a bit of freshy squeezed
orange juice for more flavor) Add the leavened dough and
knead all together.
Leave
the dough in the mixing bowl and place the bowl in a larger
bowl of boiling hot water in the oven (turned off), for
at least one hour.
Divide
the dough in roughly 6 long, oval shapes, each roughly
3 inches in width. Cook in the oven for approx 10
minutes at 300°, and then increase the temperature
to 430° until completely cooked (approx 1 hour).
Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Then
thinly slice the 6 oval shapes into organic cookies, and
put them back in the oven to "toast" for approx
20 min at 120° - 175°.
Dip
in hot tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Or serve with
zabaglione cream or a sweet desert wine.
Bussola
Buranello
Organic
Food Ingredients: 6 egg yolks, 1 cup butter softened at
room temperature, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, a dash of
extract (choosed between, vanilla, lemon or anise, the
island tradition), a dash of salt.
On
a kitchen workspace, form a volcano shape with the flour,
and in the middle create a crater where you add the softened
butter (not melted).
In
a bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the sugar. Then
add this to the flour /butter mixture, and quickly knead
/mix with your hands.
Take
the dough and create the desired cookie shapes (outline
of a circle or backwards "s") and cook in the
oven at 350° until done.
Modern
versions add dark chocolate chips, raisins, or substitute
a bit of the white flour with coconut flour.
Serve
these organic treats at home along with your usual array
of organic foods or try them on your friends at your next
gathering. Bring to your table a culinary, organic,
pastry delight which is centuries old, yet enjoyed every
day by Venetians and tourists alike.
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