 Discover the Secrets of Traditional Venetian Cookies
with
Organic Food Baking Recipes
Author: Heather Bettendorf
From an enchanting 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 pastry chefs and housewives alike.
Explorers and sailors carried foodstuffs on board the merchant
and war galleons that would survive the long voyages on the open
seas. Among these were sweet treats, simple to make, that in
taste and name, reflected their Venetian origins. Not to mention
that in those days, the only existing agriculture created
organic food; no additives or pesticides 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 oval,
thin, long shape is very similar to the 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 tiny 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 like a backwards "s" or an
outline of a circle, 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 10 minutes at 300°,
and then increase the temperature to 430° until completely
cooked (approx 1 hour). Remove from the oven and let it
completely cool. Then slice the 6 oval shapes thinly into
organic cookies, and put them back in the oven to "toast" for 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 butter /flour mixture, and quickly mix /knead 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.
About the author:
By Heather Bettendorf - President, PRIMA Organic Cookies (
http://www.primaorganic.com ) - Offering traditional organic
cookies from Italy. Our unique cookie formulations and
combinations include Natural Lemon, Italian Almond, Sunny
Vanilla, and Venetian Classic.
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