Lindsay Marie Morris

Sundays of my youth were spent with my Sicilian grandparents. We'd gather in the kitchen to enjoy Nonna's afternoon supper. And at the center of the table, we could always look forward to her fresh-baked bread. Typical of Sicily, this bread was made with semolina, coarsely ground durum flour. She'd roll her loaves in sesame seeds, which added depth to the already nutty flavor. 

 

As a bread-baker myself, I have attempted to recreate Nonna's recipe, but apparently, I hadn't found the right recipe. My bread was too flat. 

 

That was before I stumbled on a semolina bread recipe on Marcellina in Cucina. This pane Siciliano was gorgeous, golden, and looked just like Nonna's. I just had to reach out to blogger Marcella Cantatore to learn more. 

 

 

Tell us about your background.

I'm the owner of Marcellina in Cucina and the second child of Italian immigrants Anna and Enzo. My mother, Anna, was from Reggio Calabria, Calabria, and my dad was from Piacenza, Emilia Romagna. I grew up in a traditional Italian immigrant family. We grew a lot of our food and cooked everything from scratch. I learned to cook by just watching my mother and father in the kitchen. There were no recipes, but I wanted to record our family recipes and those of others, so I started my blog.

 

How often do you travel to Italy, and have you been to Sicily?

I have traveled to Italy three times, and I plan another trip in the next year or two. I've been to Sicily, but not extensively. It's a beautiful place, and I will spend more time there next time.

 

What is your connection to this recipe?

This recipe is a traditional Sicilian bread but also very similar to the bread in my mother's hometown, Reggio Calabria. Reggio Calabria has many similarities to Sicily due to its proximity. At home, I wanted to recreate the bread I ate there, so I searched for recipes and tested them until I adapted this bread from Carol Field's book The Italian Baker.

 

Why semolina and why sesame seeds?

This is a traditional Sicilian bread that you'll find in all Sicilian bakeries and many southern Italian bakeries. Semolina is hardier and resistant to spoilage, so it was the flour used for bread for the common people who were poor and couldn't afford bread made with soft white flour. Semolina flour lends a beautiful yellow color and delicious flavor to the bread. Sesame seeds are much loved in Sicily and add extra flavor to bread. Plus, I adore sesame seeds!

 

Can you tell me about the shape of this bread and others?

The shape I have used in this recipe is called occhi, which means eyes and looks a little like eyeglasses. Another shape that you'll find this bread in is mafalda, which is like a snake zig-zagged back and forth, with the remaining length of dough laid over the top of the zig-zag. Sometimes, the dough is just zig-zagged without the extra dough laid over the top. In this case, it's known as scaletta or little ladder. 

 

What is the connection to Santa Lucia?

Santa Lucia is the patron saint of eyes. The swirled S shape, which is a little like eyeglasses, is a traditional bread shape made to commemorate Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy). However, this is not the bread eaten on the Feast of Santa Lucia in Italy; it's a whole other story!

 

When is this bread served, and what are some popular Sicilian recipe pairings?

This bread can be served with any meal. Its flavor goes particularly well with cheese, sausage, and salami.

 

Tell me what you hope readers will take away from this recipe.

I hope readers learn a little about Italian and Sicilian culture and enjoy this deliciously different bread. 

 

>>Get Marcella Cantatore's pane Siciliana recipe here!<<

 

 

 

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Olive oil may be a staple in Italian cooking, but baking with olive oil has become popular in recent years. 

 

Sicilian grandmothers are likely shaking their heads. After all, Mediterranean people have long used olive oil as a fat for sweet and savory recipes. It's been used to prepare food since at least the 4th century B.C.

 

Baking with olive oil adds moisture and can heighten the flavor of baked goods. It's also better for your heart, says the American Heart Association, which recommends choosing healthier fats like olive oil over saturated fats like butter to lower your cardiovascular risk.   

 

Blogger Stephanie Mormina is a baking-with-olive-oil believer. I recently stumbled on her lovely Sicilian citrus olive oil cake recipe, and I just had to learn more. 

Stephanie's father hails from the town of Cattolica Eraclea in the Province of Agrigento. Being half Sicilian has influenced her love for citrus fruits, which she says pair nicely with olive oil when baking. 

We chatted about her lovely cake recipe, its inspiration, and how baking with olive oil affects texture and taste.

 

 

What inspired your Sicilian citrus olive oil cake?

It's actually a combination of different recipes I found online. I was attracted to it because you can add whatever citrus you want. I like to add a combination of orange and lemon. And then, in my zest, I'll sometimes put in a little bit of lime because lime has a different flavor. It takes you in a different direction. And it looks pretty in the glaze when you have a little fleck of green along with the orange and the yellow. The great thing about any olive oil cake is that not only does olive oil go extremely well with citrus, but it's also a cake that remains moist for a very long time. 

 

Why is olive oil used in some Sicilian baking?

They had many olive groves there and just used what they had. They weren't using much animal fat, at least in my dad's family, because they ate vegetables most of the time. They were eating more peasant food. So it was lots of vegetables, olive oil, whatever was available.  

 

How does olive oil affect texture and moisture?

It is a little more dense, but in a pleasant way. It is more moist and less crumbly than a butter cake or a cake. And it holds the moisture for days. It'll be fresh for much longer than a traditional cake.

 

How does olive oil affect the taste compared to vegetable or canola oil?

Canola keeps things neutral. But in a cake with citrus, you don't mind a little bit of flavor, but you still need to be careful what olive oil you choose. 

I like to choose one with a milder flavor. I don't choose the ones that are very full-bodied, thick, and peppery. I stay away from those, even for texture, because if your olive oil is too thick and heavy, it will bring down the cake. Olive oil cakes are already a little flatter, in my experience. 

 

I use Tunisian olive oil. It's not Italian olive oil, but it is the best because it has the olive oil flavor without being overpowering or too heavy. 

 

What do you hope at-home bakers will take away from your recipe?

I want them to appreciate the flavor of the olive oil in conjunction with the other ingredients, especially citrus. I have to say that the flavor combination is just perfect. Again, one of the benefits of having that moisture is that it has a prolonged shelf life. 

I know that it's not really used in traditional baking. It's more of a European thing, and I hope people start using it more in baking.

 

 

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