The whole of Italy, has now been in total lock down for the past 8 days - we are at least looking at 7 more - but more likely all the way until the 3rd of April...Hopefully by then, we will have cracked the code and see the numbers going down.
Being in lock down basically means, you are to stay in your home at all times. You are only allowed to leave your house for medical reasons, to go to the pharmacy or to buy food. When leaving your home, you need a document, that clearly specifies who you are and where you are going. You are not to leave the town you are living in.
We are fine here in Todi - so far only one case has been reported - luckily Umbria is a very big region with very few people living here.
So after day 8 you kind of get into a routine. We wake up in the morning, still quite early, have a cup of tea in bed, then we still make an effort to have a shower and get dressed. Then we go downstairs and have our breakfast and watch the news.
Then we start with all our little projects in the house or in the garden....right now we're washing down all the outside tiles on the terrace, pruning all the olive trees, planting pea and fava beans in the orto and today we started on our new little herb garden....so plenty to do so far...these days with plenty of time on our hands we try to test new recipes for lunch or just try out new dishes....have a look at Instagram @ilghiottoneumbro - for a daily fix of delicious food from bella Italia.
In the evening we answer emails, talk to family and friends, catch up on our italian lessons and watch a good movie or an episode of our favorite serie - The Sopranos....
You can add any type of topping, just make sure, it's not too weet...the classic is of couse tomatoes and olives, you could just do rosemary and sea salt, walnuts and goat's cheese would be nice or some sauteed sweet onions and sage....whatever you fancy and have in you pantry.
This recipe makes 2 round focacce:
100 g potatoe, no skin
350 g water
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp sugar
5 g active dry yeast
50 g olive oil + extra for the tins
350 g flour Tipo 0
200 g semolina rimacinata
your choosen topping
Start by boiling the potatoe. Once cooked, drain and use a fork or a ricer to mash. Place in the bowl of your stand mixer and pour in water. Add salt, sugar and yeast, give it a stir and leave to activate for a few minutes.
Pour in olive oil and add the 2 types of flour. With the dough hook mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Scrabe down the sides and mix for a further 5 minutes on medium speed. Your dough should be smooth and a little sticky.
Dust your bench with a little flour and pour out the dough. Cut the dough in 2. Working with one piece of dough at the time. Pull the sides into the middle all around, to build up a little elasticity in the dough. Place the dough in the oiled baking tins and push the dough out a little
If you want to proof overnight in the fridge - leave the tins out on the bench for an hour, then transfer covered to the fridge. Otherwise leave them to proof on the bench covered until double in size and you can see bubbles in the dough starting to form.
If you have proof the dough overnight in the fridge - take the breads out of the fridge 1 hour before baking.
Preheat your oven to 240c degrees and bake the breads for 20-25 minutes until golden.