Rustic Abruzzo Bread is the cake that best represents this region and is mainly produced during the Christmas period.
It was created in 1920 in Pescara thanks to pastry chef Luigi D’Amico who had the idea of reproducing an ancient rustic bread in a sweet version.
The cake initially did not have a name, and Gabriele D’Annunzio, with a sonnet dedicated to it, gave it one.
In my house, rustic bread is a tradition that every Christmas cannot be ignored. It requires a lot of care and patience to carefully mix all the ingredients so that the mixture doesn’t deflate.
If you want to try making it at home as well, take some time because it requires calm; it’s not one of those cakes you make in 5 minutes.
I cannot write the cake’s name as it’s known today for copyright reasons.
If you make any of my recipes, send me the photos and I will publish them on my page with your name.
Prepare it by following the photos and let me know what you think.
About 400 Kcal per slice
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Expensive
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 1 medium parrozzo of about 10 slices
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Abruzzo
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients to Make Rustic Abruzzo Bread
- 6 eggs (medium)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup almonds (+ 6 bitter almonds, ground)
- 3 1/2 tbsps butter
- 1 cup semolina flour (or semolina)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 packet vanillin
- grated peel of 1 lemon (+ juice of ½ lemon)
- 1 1/4 cups 75% dark chocolate
- 2 tbsps butter
Tools
- 1 Mold parrozzo mold
- 6 Molds mini parrozzo molds
Preparation of Abruzzo Parrozzo
I whipped the eggs separately with electric whisks, but if you have a stand mixer, you can use the whisk attachment to whip the eggs. Once the whites are whipped, add one yolk at a time at low speed, then gradually mix in the ingredients, still in the stand mixer. This way, you won’t have the problem of everything deflating.
Whip the egg whites until stiff and set aside; then whip the yolks with the sugar and set aside. Soften the butter at room temperature and set aside.
Finely grind the almonds, and for a better result, I recommend freezing them first before grinding so they won’t heat up and the result will be better.
To the yolks whipped with sugar, add the softened butter, then gently combine using a spoon (not the whisks), the vanilla, baking powder, all-purpose flour and mix well and with great care.
Add one thing at a time, blending well with each addition.
Work the cake with great accuracy and all by hand, except for whipping the eggs, as this way it will turn out really perfect… except for the stand mixer, as I mentioned before.
Grate the peel of 1 lemon and incorporate it into the mixture, then add the juice of ½ lemon, the ground almonds (both sweet and bitter) and continue to mix gently.
If the almonds do not grind well and tend not to become powder, add a teaspoon of flour and grind.
Finally, add the semolina or semolina flour and when the mixture is well blended, gently fold in the egg whites until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Prepare the parrozzo container well-buttered and floured (twice), letting it cool for a few minutes in the freezer, then pour the mixture into the parrozzo mold and bake in a preheated oven at 338°F for about 1 hour but check the baking.
Once done, let it cool on a wire rack….
…..then melt the dark chocolate with the butter in the microwave or in a bain-marie and let it pour over the parrozzo.
I made a purposely thicker chocolate pour, but if you want it shiny and smooth, you can do it by adding seed oil (one tablespoon at a time) and mix the chocolate well to the desired consistency.
Let it solidify in the air before cutting it.
It keeps well in a plastic bag for over a week.
