Pane di Solina

Name: Pane di Solina
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Abruzzese
Ingredients: 500 g farina di solina; 350 ml Water; 100 g lievito madre; 10 g Fine sea salt; 20 g semola rimacinata

A rustic sourdough mountain loaf made from ancient Solina soft wheat. It has a fragrant, creamy crumb with a dark, crackling crust and sweet herbal notes.

🇮🇹Italy· Abruzzo

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 85 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 240 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 5 gathered

Servings

500 g farina di solina — type 1 or wholemeal stoneground Solina soft wheat flour
350 ml Water — lukewarm, roughly 26 degrees C
100 g lievito madre — active sourdough starter, refreshed and bubbly
10 g Fine sea salt — unrefined
20 g semola rimacinata — for dusting the banneton

Equipment

•Large mixing bowl
•Proofing basket or banneton
•Dutch oven or heavy lidded cast-iron pot
•Lame or sharp razor blade
•Kitchen scale

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 240 kcal
fat: 1 g
carbs: 48 g
fibre: 4 g
protein: 8 g
calories: 240 kcal

Instructions

1
Dissolve the active sourdough starter into 320 ml of the lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl.
2
Add the Solina flour and mix roughly by hand until no dry patches remain.
3
Cover the bowl and rest the dough for 30 minutes for the autolyse phase.
4
Dissolve the fine salt in the remaining 30 ml of water and pour over the rested dough.
5
Pinch and fold the dough gently for three minutes until the salted liquid is fully absorbed.
6
Perform three sets of stretch-and-folds inside the bowl every thirty minutes over ninety minutes.
7
Let the dough ferment at room temperature until it increases in volume by roughly half and feels light.
8
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and shape it gently into a round boule.
9
Place seam-side up in a banneton dusted with semola and chill in the fridge for ten hours.
10
Preheat a heavy Dutch oven inside the oven to 240 degrees C for forty-five minutes.
11
Turn the chilled dough onto baking paper, slash the top with a razor, and lower into the pot.
12
Bake covered with the lid on for twenty-five minutes, then uncover at 210 degrees C for twenty minutes.

Chef's tips

Solina flour has delicate, extensible gluten that breaks if kneaded aggressively. Handle the wet dough with gentle stretch-and-fold motions rather than heavy mechanical kneading. Allow the baked loaf to cool completely on a wire rack for at least two hours before slicing to prevent the interior crumb from turning gummy.

Ingredient substitutions

farina di Solina → an ancient soft wheat flour such as stoneground red Fife or heritage wholemeal wheat
lievito madre → 4 g of active dried yeast dissolved in 30 ml warm water with a pinch of flour, fermented for 20 minutes

Storage

Store the cooled loaf wrapped in a clean linen tea towel inside a bread bin for up to four days.

Reheating

Reheat sliced pieces in a hot dry skillet or toaster for three minutes until crisp and fragrant.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Over-kneading the dough, which tears the delicate mountain wheat gluten and causes a flat loaf.
•Hydrating beyond 70 percent, which makes stoneground Solina flour too sticky and difficult to shape.
•Cutting into the loaf while hot, which ruins the steam balance and makes the crumb wet.

Serving suggestions

Slice thickly and toast over embers, then rub with garlic and dress with fresh extra-virgin olive oil.Serve alongside mature Pecorino d'Abruzzo and mountain cured meats.Enjoy with hearty mountain legume soups such as Santo Stefano di Sessanio lentil stew.