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Bel | Sourdough, Bread Art & Italian Home Cooking

@artisanbreadmamma

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🌾Baking sourdough babies in my Sydney cucina
🇮🇹 Italian home cooking + bread art + stories
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Homegrown, homemade, and shared with love. Viva Calabria! 🌶️

#CalabreseFood #saporidicalabria #eatcalabrisi #italianfoodbloggers #calabriadavivere #italianfoodlover #calabriafood #mangiamo #cucinatipica #zeppole #zippuli #calabrese ##vibovalentia #dialettocalabrese by @artisanbreadmamma

Have you seen the sourdough #breadbunny trend?
Well here’s ‘Pietro’, aka Peter Rabbit 🐇

Feels like yesterday (and somehow a lifetime ago) when my baby boys would cuddle their Peter Rabbit cuddly toys as they drifted off to sleep…

🤎 I gave Pietro his textured coat by proving the dough in a banneton lined with a knitted blankie I made a little while back.
🤎 For the folded-over ear, I used a small piece of baking paper to support it while baking.
🤎 Scissors made it easy to add tiny snips all over his cottontail.

👩‍🍳 Baker Bel’s Specs
🌾 85% @mulinocaputo Manitoba Oro
🌾 15% @mulinocaputo Semolina Rimacinata
💧 32.5%
🥛 40%
🥣 20%
🧂 3%
🫒 1.4% EVOO

🤎 Caputo flours imported into Australia by @basile_imports
🤎 To shape this sourdough bunny, I used my @ooni.anz Pizza Dough Cutter

➡️ Would you try a bunny loaf for Easter, or is there another bread creature you’d love to see next? 🐰🍞

#easterbunny🐰#sourdoughbaking #sourdoughscoring #easterbread

Easter baking | Bread designs | Edible art | Bread bunny | Bread art | knitters | makers by @artisanbreadmamma

Throwback Thursday to this loaf I made just over a year ago.

🤎 She was named ‘Gemma’ by @baking_bread_babies

🤎 I quite like scoring the sourdough expansion cuts in a diamond shape - it allows the loaf to bloom nicely giving you a centre area for your design. Have you tried it?

📌Tips:

1️⃣ Freeze dough for 45 minutes before scoring to firm it up.
2️⃣ Dust with rice flour.
3️⃣ Mark out the diamond borders with kitchen string and cut along the diamond border last so surface tension is maintained while you score the smaller cuts.
4️⃣ Use a bread lame like the ‘Poco’ by @wiremonkeyshop. Get 10% off using the link in my Bio. They ship internationally!

🤎The design was inspired by the incredible bread art of @redapplebakes

🤎Dough has Baker’s Flour, Manitoba Oro and freshly milled Rye.

#artisanbreadmamma #lievitomadre #sourdoughtipsandtricks #makersgonnamake #makersofinstagram #sourdoughbread #sourdoughlife #sourdoughbaking #sourdoughforbeginners #sourdoughlove #edibleart #sourdoughart #sourdoughcommunity #panefattoincasa #sourdoughscoring #breadlover #sourdoughbreadart #breadporn #sourdoughdesigns #breadart #breadartist #breadofinstagram #breaddesign #sourdoughobsession #artisanbreadathome #sydneybakers #sydneyartisanbread #mybreadismycanvas by @artisanbreadmamma

When you visit Zio and Zia in Calabria and discover a ‘mulino’ or flour mill is pretty much next door.

Of course I couldn’t wait to go for a ‘passeggiata’ and have a look. As it was the afternoon, I didn’t get to see the machinery in operation but I was lucky enough to have the different flours explained to me. For the first time, I actually understood the differences because I could see them.

Something that was different about this trip to Italy was seeing things through ‘bread baking’ glasses. All my previous trips were before I became a baker, so I found myself appreciating things I probably wouldn’t have given a second thought to before.

#farina #mulino #calabriamia #calabriafood #flourmill by @artisanbreadmamma

🇮🇹 Nonna’s Oxtail Soup - Brodo di cuda di vacca

This really is a warm hug from Nonna! Made in my new Burnt Orange @bessemer_aus. Thrilled this iconic colour is back. Now MANGIATI, as she would say!

🧡INGREDIENTS
Soup
3 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
7-8 oxtail pieces
1 can tomato polpa
2 stock cubes (chicken)
3 L water
1 tbsp salt, or more to taste
2-3 parsley stalks
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Prupetti (mini meatballs)
500 g beef mince
2 eggs
⅓ cup breadcrumbs, rehydrated with a little water
5 tbsp grated pecorino cheese
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Garlic salt and white pepper to taste

Optional
1-2 cups small pasta, cooked separately

🧡DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in the 32 cm Bessemer Casserole Pot.
2. Brown oxtail pieces on all sides, then remove and set aside.
3. Add the carrots, celery and onion. Cook gently for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
4. Return oxtail pieces to the pot. Add the water, tomato polpa, stock cubes, salt and a couple of parsley stalks. (📌Nonna Tip: Fill the empty polpa can halfway with water, swirl to collect any remaining polpa, then pour it into the pot.)
5. Cover, bring to the boil, reduce heat then simmer for 1½ hours.
6. Meanwhile, combine all meatball ingredients and then roll into mini meatballs. Add them to the soup.
7. Simmer for a further hour.
8. Check the seasoning and stir through the chopped parsley just before serving. You can remove meat from the bones before serving if you like.
9. If using pasta, cook separately according to the packet instructions. Drain, then add ladles of the soup and mix through.

Leftover soup can be frozen! You can also use osso buco instead of oxtail.
Serves 6-8

Gifted

#oxtailsoup #italiansoup #italiancooking #bonebroth
@hardcorecalabrese by @artisanbreadmamma

🥖 Happy World Bread Day!

To celebrate, I’m sharing some of my favourite sourdough designs, including loaves that hold a special meaning for me.

“Poetry is an act of peace. Peace goes into the making of a poet as flour goes into the making of bread.” - Pablo Neruda

#artisanbreadmamma #WorldBreadDay #bakefromscratch #sourdoughscoring #breadart by @artisanbreadmamma

The thought gets me every time…

I catch myself with that smile mothers get when they’re loving on their kids.

Growing up we used to joke about it whenever we caught Mum wearing that look.

Well lately when I see my boys ‘in cucina’ cooking something for themselves I find myself wearing that same smile.

The funny thing is I never actually taught them to cook. And yet somehow they’re all very capable. Actually beyond capable. They’ve even been teaching me a thing or two. 🤎 by @artisanbreadmamma

🦋La primavera porta con sé nuovi inizi. - Spring brings new beginnings.

I dare you to decorate the bottom of your sourdough loaf! 😉

Not sure how to do it? Check out the linked reel or scroll back one post.

⬇️Here are my dough specs for ‘Primavera’:

🌾 The dough is 10% wholemeal spelt and 90% @mulinocaputo Manitoba Oro. The Caputo range of flours, along with a range of Italian food goodies, is imported into Australia by @basile_imports.
💦32% Water
🥛40% Milk
🥣20% Starter
🧂2.8% Salt
Cold proved for 12 hours

🐝Design specs:
🤎Detailed wheat scoring
🤎Stencils on the top and bottom of the loaf
🤎7-Minute Score for the expansion cuts

Bee stencil and bowl cover: @wildbluebellhomestead

#artisanbreadmamma #makersofinsta #sourdoughart #sourdoughscoring #panefattoincasa

sourdough bread | sourdough art | bread art | sourdough scoring | sourdough stencilling | decorative sourdough | artisan bread | sourdough baking | Italian Bread by @artisanbreadmamma

If you caught my recent story, you would have seen a beautiful gift sent all the way from Canada by Lou @wildbluebellhomestead 💙🤎

Connecting with creative souls all over the world has truly been one of the blessings of learning to make sourdough and sharing my creations along the way. Lou creates handmade pieces like bowl covers, shares her love of sourdough and even sends out a monthly mail subscription with sourdough recipes and little pieces of homestead life.

Thank you, Lou, for this treasured gift from your hands to mine. 💙🤎

🦋 I like to name my loaves and this one is called ‘Primavera’ (Spring in Italian). I chose the name because Spring represents new beginnings, growth and renewal.
It felt like the perfect name for this loaf.

It carries techniques I’ve learnt on my ‘sourdough journey’, like using stencils and applying a 7-minute score for the big slashes, which I adapted from @sourly original 5-minute score.

And I sometimes decorate the bottom of my loaves too, a lovely design idea I learnt from @breadonbluetiles and @diddewerf a little while back.

🐝 Did you spot Lou’s stencil bee buzzing on the bottom?

➡️ For those interested, I’ve linked a tutorial with step-by-step instructions for decorating the bottom and top of the loaf. I’ve also tried adding some instructions over this video. Let me know if it’s helpful.

🦋 You can find the dough specs for ‘Primavera’ in the comments.

🗡️Scored with my Poco bread lame from @wiremonkeyshop

#modernhomesteading #makersofinsta #sourdoughart #sourdoughscoring #panefattoincasa by @artisanbreadmamma

🖤Forget charcoal powder in your bread art. If you want really bold black details on your sourdough, try black cocoa. I prefer it to activated charcoal powder, it leaves no taste and using @aggie.chronicles’ technique means no post-bake mess. That said, expect a little mess while working with it but don’t worry it washes off easily. Also make sure it’s 100% pure black cocoa.

This variation of my ‘Zenith’ sourdough scoring design features a central wheat stalk framed by a band of black cocoa, leaving the sides ‘naked’ to showcase sourdough’s signature glossy crust and blisters.

⬇️ Here’s my step-by-step method
Using Black Cocoa
1️⃣ Prep makes all the difference. Freeze your dough for an hour before scoring. It firms it up, making cuts cleaner. Before turning out, brush off any excess flour for a smooth ‘canvas’.
2️⃣ Cut a sheet of paper lengthways. You’ll use the straight outside edges, so you don’t need to be careful with your cutting.
3️⃣ Lightly dampen each strip and place them straight-edge in, leaving space in the centre for the wheat stalk.📌Wetting the paper helps it seal to the dough and encourages blisters.
4️⃣ Position the paper, pressing down lightly to give you a nice seal. You can reposition the paper if needed.
5️⃣ Dampen the centre of the loaf using a wet kitchen towel, then remove. This helps the cocoa stick evenly. (A mist works too, but I find the towel method gives better coverage.)
6️⃣ Dust on black cocoa and rub it in lightly. It doesn’t need to be a thick layer.
7️⃣ Mist the cocoa layer to seal it in. It should form a paste-like texture. (Be careful as too much water can cause it to run.)
Scoring
8️⃣ Score the wheat stalk with deep, upright cuts.
9️⃣ Peel away the paper.
🔟 Add expansion cuts along the outer edges of the stalk.

➡️ Let me know if you try it!

#blackcocoa #sourdoughbreadart #sourdoughscoring #breadart #makersformakers

bread designs | bread art techniques | sourdough baking | black cocoa | lievito madre | pane fatto in casa | italian bread | artisan bread | bread scoring tutorial | sourdough scoring ideas techniques | bread baking | bread making | makers movement | zenith bread scoring pattern by @artisanbreadmamma

Your muffin tin just got a new job.
Use it to proof your bread rolls, panini or buns. It makes it so easy! I turned these into Kaiser rolls using a stamp to score them.

📌 Tip 1: Before scoring and baking, move the proved buns from the fridge to the freezer for an hour to firm up the dough.
📌 Tip 2: Dip your stamp in rice flour. This will help stop it sticking to the dough.
📌 Tip 3: If you do try and re-stamp, you gotta make sure you’re perfectly aligned. I learnt that the hard way!

⬇️ For the Bakers, here are the panini dough specs:
🌾 @mulinocaputo Manitoba Oro 75% + Semola Rimacinata 25%
The Caputo range of flours is imported into Australia by @basile_imports
💦 70%
🥣 25%
🧂 2.5%

#bakinghacks #kaiserrolls #breadbakingathome #breadbakingforbeginners #panefattoincasa

Bread rolls | Kaiser rolls | bread baking hacks | panini | panino | baking at home | home baking by @artisanbreadmamma

Happy Father’s Day. 🤎
A flashback to the scoring reel of the loaf I titled ‘DAD’.
Love you Dad, also known as Bobcat Mick. (Remind me to tell you how he got this nickname another time.)

You and your mother have been two of my biggest baking inspirations. When other boys were still asleep, you were carrying and stacking bags of flour in your parents’ cake shop.

As the son of Southern Italian immigrants, life wasn’t easy for you in Australia back then. You were teased and shamed and would throw away the beautiful panino Nonna made for you on the way to school, buying a loaf of white sandwich bread and devon instead, just to try to fit in.

You forged your own path, like so many others did.

I love hearing your stories of growing up in Australia, although sometimes they’re bittersweet.

If you watch to the end, you’ll see a few little snapshots of Dad with Nonna and Nonno, me as a newborn with Dad, and a couple of recipes written in Dad’s handwriting when he was around 15, which he kept in a little yellow notebook.

I just wish Nonna Anna could have seen and tasted my loaves of sourdough, and the little blankies I knitted to wrap them in… 🥖🤎

#immigrantstories #sourdoughbreadart #panefattoincasa #sourdoughlove #italoaustralian by @artisanbreadmamma