Strazzata Lucana-the Saturn shaped bread!

My daughter has long since dreamed of the astronomic world, whereas I have dedicated myself to the gastronomic world.

And now, it seems that these two worlds are colliding in an interesting way. Through this yummy bread, Strazzata Lucana. Some may say that its shape is of a large donut, but my daughter says it reminds her of the rings of Saturn.

And like outer space, this gastronomical wonder is a mixture of matter. While in space there is matter, antimatter and a smatter of black holes, this bread incorporates some unlikely ingredients too.

We've got our regular plain flour, semolina and the portion of garlic that I added for the extra bang of a supernova. I think the freshly ground pepper and the paprika I added also contribute to its rich, hot and starry inside when torn.

RECIPE

This bread can be torn with your hands and eaten with cheese , soup , baked vegetables or any dip that you fancy.

Ingredients-

15gms/1 tablespoon dry yeast

About 320ml/1and1/2 cups of lukewarm water 250gms/2 cups plain flour or bread flour

250gms/1 and 1/2 cups semolina flour

5gms about 1 Tsp salt

1tsp of grated garlic or more if you love garlic

A pinch of sugar

Black pepper as per your taste

1 Tsp of mixed dried Italian herbs

1 Tsp of dried parsley

Line a large flat baking tray with baking paper.

Dissolve yeast in the Luke warm water with the sugar.

Mix the flours , salt , dried herbs ,garlic and black pepper together.

Add the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough.

Knead for 5 to 7 minutes , cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface .

Work it and knead it for a couple of minutes.

Make a sausage shape of the dough and form a ring.

Place on the prepared baking tray.

You can keep a ball of foil or a foil covered bowl in the centre do that the bread remains a ring.

Cover with a cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 220 degC/ 475 degF .

Bake the strazzata in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven , leave to cool on a wire rack.