Loaf of bread, the soft recipe

Simple to prepare, loaf of bread will fill your home with an irresistible aroma. Use it to prepare delicious toast!

Who doesn't like toast ? Young and old alike go crazy for it, even in the simplest version with ham and cheese. However, we are all used to preparing them with packaged bread, convinced that homemade sandwich bread is too difficult to prepare. Nothing could be more wrong.

Loaf bread, or pancarrè , can be prepared at home simply by using a plum cake mould . In reality, the original recipe involves the use of a particular "box" mold , equipped with a lid that gives the bread a square shape, typical of sandwich bread. Since not everyone has it at home while the plum cake one is much more common, we will use that one.

Here is a video with all the steps to make this very soft bread. We have reduced the doses in order to obtain a single loaf.

If you wish, you can replace the butter with margarine or with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to obtain a lighter bread suitable for everyone.

Preparing this delicious bread for toast, sandwiches or sandwiches is really simple and if the idea of ​​making it with your own hands excites you, know that we have also made wholemeal bread.

Conservation

The bread will keep for 2-3 days closed in a plastic bag. It is also possible to freeze it, preferably already cut into slices, for up to 2 months.

History and origin

It seems incredible and yet behind this bread which is so widespread today there is a very particular story (or legend) . We are in the 15th century and Amedeo VIII of Savoy established that bread should also be served to executioners . In fact, these figures, responsible for capital executions, were not well regarded by the people and they were often refused service.

Following the decree, as a sign of opposition the bread was given to them upside down (this is why today it is considered a bad omen to put bread upside down on the table). The executioners were annoyed so it was decided to prepare a bread that did not have a top or bottom, just like loaf bread.

In reality, loaf bread or French-style pancarrè was born in Turin at the hands of two Italian Americans who returned to their homeland and inaugurated Caffè Mulassano in Piazza Castello. They exploited a technique marketed in the United States which involved cutting bread in series and created the first and very famous sandwiches which still delight the palates of the city today.

Despite the name, carré is a term deriving from ancient Piedmontese and has nothing to do with French. This is why pancarrè, or square bread, is completely unknown in France with this name.

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