I will tell you the recipe for tigelle…Or crescentine
What is the correct name for this amazing “grilled bread”?
Different sources lead to the same dilemma…Tigelle or crescentine?
In the market, they are known as tigelle…Even the tool to cook them is called a tigelliera, so where do we find the real name?
Until the 1960s, they could only be savored accidentally in some ancient inn on the Frignano mountains.
Then the secret of crescentine, jealously guarded for a millennium among the warm hearths of the Apennines, rolled down to the valley and gave new life to an ancient dish, which quickly became one of the most beloved in Modenese cuisine.
But are they called crescentine or tigelle? Here is the real dilemma that accompanies the warm flatbread and its soft and enveloping filling of cúnza.
Crescentine, say the purists, because tigelle are the terracotta discs that, heated among the embers of the fireplace, allow the dough to rise and become crispy and fragrant just right. In short, to become a crescentina.
Tigelle, respond the linguists, because since the world began, words change, play, and swap places: hence the name of the cooking base becomes the name of the food cooked on it.
And if some controversy remains on this topic, there is no doubt about the excellence of this simply ingenious dish. In this volume, the stories and dishes of over sixty places in Modena and province that serve crescentine of assured quality, respecting the tradition and genuineness of the ingredients, are collected.
More than sixty dining places where every day a millennial cult, that of sitting at the table, is renewed, and where one is always willing to learn something new. Excerpt from I discepoli della tigella rovente
And if we talk about Romagna…
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 12/15
- Cooking methods: Griddle
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 185.00 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.33 (g) of which sugars 1.37 (g)
- Proteins 4.63 (g)
- Fat 5.60 (g) of which saturated 2.23 (g)of which unsaturated 3.15 (g)
- Fibers 5.37 (g)
- Sodium 1.41 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 65 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for tigelle…Choose how to enjoy them…My advice…Try them with everything…But try with prosciutto crudo, wild arugula, and Squaquerone di Romagna
- 4 cups g flour
- 1/4 cup g lard
- 1 cup ml milk
- 1 1/2 tsp g compressed yeast
Tools
- Non-stick griddle
Steps
-
Combine the flour and salt, the lard and warm milk with the dissolved yeast. Knead all the ingredients well until obtaining a compact dough. Let rise for two hours
Roll out the dough on the pastry board and cut the tigelle…I decided to change the shape…Both flower-shaped and round, let them rest for about 30 minutes.
Cook on a griddle for 5/6 minutes, turning them often
Color of the ready tigella
Fill them as you prefer…
Preserving tigelle or crescentine…
They are preserved like all types of bread…If desired, they can be frozen…For filling the tigelle, let your imagination run wild! Both savory and sweet!
