How to prepare a bread board. Yes, you read that right; I present my recipe to prepare a beautiful, useful and tasty board to serve your appetizers. Made with semolina, water and lard; it will become an excellent base for your cold cuts. You can also use this technique to decorate your tables — simple, economical and fun and above all delicious to eat.
These were the kinds of preparations I wanted to propose in my place: the simplicity and richness of rural preparations. Food that rewards the palate and tradition.
Being able to create simple and personalized decorations for your table also enhances conviviality. This bread board will amaze you and your guests. On this occasion I present it with cold cuts and cheeses; on other occasions I have served it with Russian salad, vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce), vegetable flan, cold summer rolls, or mixed vegetables and small omelettes.
Creating this board for your appetizers will give your guests one more reason to feel good.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 5
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: St. Nicholas
Ingredients — Bread board
Re-milled semolina, olive oil and lard are the main ingredients…
- 3 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 7 tbsps olive oil
- 3 1/2 tbsps lard (strutto)
- 1 2/3 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup warm water (Warm. The quantity is indicative. Before adding the lard you should have a fairly firm dough ball, so it is easier to decorate.)
- 1.5 packets compressed brewer's yeast (If you prefer a softer board you can add yeast. I make 2 kg (about 4.4 lb) of flour; with the leftovers I prepare some loaves. Excellent dough both for carved decorations and for pinching.)
Tools for the bread board
All the tools I use for cooking can be found at: consigli per gli acquisti.
In this case you’ll need: a bowl for the dough, tweezers for decorating, rolling pin…
Steps — Bread board
Mix, wait, decorate and bake…
In a bowl combine the semolina, the oil and the salt; mix and knead adding the water little by little until you obtain a fairly firm dough ball. If you add the yeast, dissolve it at the beginning in a little warm water and add it then.
Once the dough ball is ready add the lard and incorporate it well. Let it rest for at least thirty minutes covered with a cloth.
Divide into equal dough balls — you will get five with a diameter of about 10 inches. Roll each into a thin disk and create your decoration. You can also use ice tongs, a fluted pastry wheel and cookie cutters for salt dough. Brush with egg yolk and bake at 374°F for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven as soon as it takes on a nice golden color.
The bread board ready to be brought to the table.
The carved and glazed bread
In two different versions.
A few extra tips.
A very simple dough to prepare; an important tip is to try to maintain a good consistency. You can also decorate with stencils using natural powders after moistening the surface with yolk or water. To color you can use beetroot powder, unsweetened cocoa, turmeric, paprika and spirulina powder.
