health
How to turn old bread into a brilliant Italian cake – recipe
This Lombardian ‘village cake’ is simple, delicious and endlessly adaptable
TL;DR
- Old sourdough should be stored in a bread bin with airflow to dry out slowly and prevent molding.
- Leftover bread can be used in dishes like pangrattato or strata.
- Torta Paesana is a recipe from Lombardy that uses stale bread to create a firm baked custard-like cake.
- The base recipe includes old bread, milk, eggs, cacao powder, and brown sugar.
- Optional additions like raisins, nuts, spirits, and chocolate chips enhance the cake.
- The bread and milk mixture is soaked, pureed, and combined with other ingredients.
- The batter, resembling custard, is baked in a solid cake tin at 190C for 40 minutes.
- The cake should cool completely before serving and can be refrigerated for three to five days.