Crescenta, the Bolognese baked product

The crescenta bolognese is a typical focaccia of Emilia whose dough is enriched with lard and pieces of ham or cracklings.

The crescenta bolognese, also known as crescenta, is a focaccia whose dough is enriched with cured meats and, in the more modern versions, cracklings . In fact, originally it was nothing more than the “waste” of bread-making: the bakers used to re-mix it by adding lard and ham scraps (known as gambuccio) and then bake everything in the oven and eat it for breakfast.

Today, the growing in the oven is much more than a simple Bolognese focaccia with ham. The bakers of the city in fact got together and codified the recipe , taking it to a higher level. No more waste, therefore, but first quality products that have made growing with cracklings a real typical product. Wanting to move to home baking and therefore adapt the doses, we decided to experiment with the crescenta Bolognese sisters Similar, a real institution when it comes to leavened products.

How to prepare crescenta with the Emilian recipe

1. Combine the flour and the crumbled yeast with your hands in a bowl. Pour in the water then add the lard and start kneading with your fingertips .
2. When the dough begins to blend, transfer it to a pastry board, add the salt and the chopped ham (or greaves) with a knife and finish kneading.
3. Transfer it to the bowl, cover with cling film or a cloth, and let it rise until doubled in the oven with the light on. It will take approximately 3 hours.
4. Place the dough in the oven pan lined with the special paper and spread it with your fingers until it reaches a uniform thickness of a couple of centimeters.
5. Let rise again until doubled. Score the surface with diamonds and cook at 200 ° C for 40 minutes , making sure it does not overcook.
6. Serve hot, lukewarm or room temperature.

Among the other typical Bolognese recipes we recommend you also try the fried dumplings , a real institution in the whole region.

storage

You can keep the focaccia in a paper bag for a couple of days .