Recipe: La Coppia Ferrarese

LA COPPIA FERRARESE

"The history of this typical bread roots back to the 12th century when it was baked in the shape of loaves, without ornaments or braiding. Later on, there were strict standards for making this type of bread; the bread should not collapse during baking, it defined a specific weight of the bread and it had to carry the seal of the baker for identification. The shape of the Ferrara couples 1/2 today, however, is believed to date from the carnival time in 1536. According to the legend, the host of a dinner to honour the Duke of Ferrara, had these interwoven breads with typical horns1/2 served to allude to some of the duke's personal adventures."

LEAVEN:
200 g flour
1 teaspoon oil
teaspoon honey
lukewarm water
DOUGH:
1 kg type 01/2 flour
350 ml water
60 g pork fat
30 - 40 ml extra-virgin olive oil
100 g leaven
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon barley malt

The leaven should be prepared at least 48 hours in advance. Take 200 g of flour, add some lukewarm water, a teaspoon of oil, and a teaspoon of honey. Mix until smooth without lumps, then shape into a ball, place into a bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and leave it to rest for 48 hours. Then, add a few teaspoons of lukewarm water, knead again, and cover with a damp kitchen towel once more. The leaven should be refreshed every week.

Place all the ingredients for the dough into a heavy duty mixer. Turn it on and knead for 15 to 20 minutes.

When done, transfer the dough to a worktop and divide it into balls with a diameter of approximately 5 cm. In Ferrara, special rolling pins and other accessories are used to roll and shape the couples1/2. If the dough is to be shaped manually, roll out each ball on floured surface into strips approximately 30 cm in length. Use your palm to press the dough like the one for strudel, while rolling it into cone-shaped horns. Then, braid couples of such rolls together to obtain the characteristic shape of the couples: four cone-shaped horns interwoven in the middle.

When shaped, transfer the couples1/2 on a wooden board, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for an hour or hour and a half.

Bake in a preheated oven with the heat generated in the bottom.

Each piece should weigh from 80 to 250 grams when done.

The Ferrara couples will also freeze well.

Source: Gorenje Appliances