Music Paper Bread Lasagne Recipes

ZUCCHINI AND COUNTRY BREAD LASAGNA

Steps:

• Rinse and dry the zucchini, slice off the stems, and trim the blossom ends. With a sharp long-bladed knife (or a mandoline if you have one) cut very thin lengthwise slices, about 1/8 inch thick. Put them in a large bowl, sprinkle over them the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the 2 tablespoons of oil, and toss to coat the slices with the seasonings.
• Assembling the Lasagna
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°. Cut the crusts off the bread slices. If they are soft and fresh, you can dry the slices briefly in the oven, but don't let them get crisp or brown.
• Butter the bottom and sides of the baking pan generously. Spread a cup of the tomato sauce in a thin layer in the bottom of the pan. Cover the bottom with a single layer of bread slices. Trim the slices and cut them in pieces so they fit close together and lie flat (but you don't have to fill every small crack or hole). Spoon about 2 cups of sauce onto the bread and spread it evenly.
• Make a layer of zucchini (or sautéed eggplant), using half the slices. You can lay them crosswise or lengthwise in the pan, whichever way fits best. Overlap the slices as necessary to make an even layer that completely covers the sauce. Press down gently to condense the lasagna and make more room in the pan, then sprinkle 1 cup of grated cheese evenly over the top.
• Now repeat the layering: Arrange another layer of bread slices and trimmed pieces. Cover the bread with 2 more cups of sauce, spread evenly. Lay out the rest of the zucchini (or eggplant) slices in an overlapping layer. Spread the remaining tomato sauce, about a cup, in a thin layer. Sprinkle another cup of cheese (or more!) in a generous layer over the top of the lasagna.
• Baking the Lasagna
• Cut a sheet of aluminum foil about 2 feet long-preferably from a wide roll of heavy-duty foil. Press the foil so it hugs the sides of the pan and bend it to make a "tent" over the lasagna that doesn't touch the surface anywhere.
• Bake the lasagna covered for about 45 minutes, giving the zucchini plenty of time to cook. Remove the pan from the oven; carefully unfold the foil from the sides of the pan and lift it off completely. Don't get burned by the pan or the steam that is released-keep your face and hands out of the way. And don't let the foil mess up the cheesy topping! (In a glass casserole, you should be able to see the sauce bubbling up around the sides of the pan.)
• Return the lasagna to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is deep golden-brown. Let the casserole settle for a few minutes before serving (it will stay hot for some time). Cut in squares or rectangles of whatever size you like, and lift out individual pieces with an angled spatula.
• The Best Bread For Country Bread Lasagna
• A hearty European-style chewy wheat bread, made with all white or white and whole-grain flour, is best for these savory lasagne. Cut the slices yourself and let them dry a bit. Day-old (or briefly oven-dried) 1/2-inch slices will soak up lots of vegetable juices and give the lasagna a marvelous texture. Don't get a skinny or low loaf with lots of crust, though-like a baguette or ciabatta-since the crust is trimmed away. Instead get a lofty bread-a large round or oval loaf-for big slices with lots of "insides."
• Eggplant and Country Bread Lasagna
• Trim the stem and bottom ends of the eggplants. Peel off all the skin if it is tough, or, with tender eggplant, remove ribbons of peel in a striped pattern (see box, page 254).
• With a sharp chef's knife, cut all the eggplant lengthwise into slices, about 1/3 inch thick. Toss a few slices at a time in the flour (in a large bowl or on a tray) to coat completely on both sides; shake off the excess and pile in another bowl or tray.
• Pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of the canola oil into the skillet and tilt it so the entire bottom is coated with a thin film of oil. Set the pan over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes.
• Lay a batch of eggplant slices in the pan with plenty of space between them. You want to brown the pieces quickly, with minimal oil, so keep the heat up but don't let the oil smoke or the vegetables burn. Fry the slices for about 2 minutes, until lightly colored on the underside, then flip them over and fry 2 minutes on the second side. Drain the slices on sheets of paper towel and sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt while hot.
• Brown the remaining floured eggplant in batches, adding oil to the pan as needed. Remove to paper towels and salt them right away, using about 1/2 teaspoon for all the slices.
• Assemble and bake the lasagna as in the main recipe.
• To Salt or Not to Salt the Water
• I always used to boil vegetables in salted water. But recently I started salting certain vegetables after they were cooked, tossing them immediately after draining with medium-coarse salt, while they were still steaming hot, and I found I liked it. Does it make that much difference? Indeed it does. Instead of making a saline solution out of the boiling water that permeates the vegetable throughout, salting later allows the vegetable to retain its pure vegetable flavor, and then the sprinkled salt adds another dimension of flavor by seeping in gently while it is still hot. The vegetables that best respond to this method are string beans, broccoli, and zucchini. But I find it also true of cabbage, beets, chard, and other greens.

CARTA DA MUSICA

Steps:

• Prepare the Sponge:
• Mix the cup of flour with the semolina flour and place in a small bowl. Make a well in the flour. Add the salt to the water, then add the yeast. When the yeast is dissolved, pour it into the well. Incorporate the 1 1/4 cup flour by mixing with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of flour over the sponge. Let the sponge rest, covered, overnight in a warm place away from drafts.
• Next morning, if you do not have a brick oven, line the lower shelf of the oven with unglazed terra-cotta tiles or, as second choice, use a pizza stone. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Be sure to preheat the oven at least 1 hour before using it because the tiles themselves must reach that temperature.
• Prepare the Dough:
• Mix the 2 cups of flour with the 1/2 cup of semolina flour and make a large well in the flour. Place the sponge in the well along with the water. Carefully mix the sponge with the water, using a wooden spoon, then start incorporating the flour from the edges of the well. Gather the dough with your hands, form a ball and place the ball on a board or other work surface. Start kneading, incorporating more flour. Knead with a folding motion. At this point you will need some of the 1/2 cup of reserved flour. When the dough becomes very elastic, after about 5 minutes of kneading, lightly flour it, place it in a bowl and let it rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• The classic size of the carta da musica is a disc of about 18 inches in diameter. Bearing in mind the size of your oven and even your own experience in handling large sheets of thin dough, divide the risen dough into pieces of comfortable size, remembering that the dough is to be stretched to the thickness of about 1/8 inch. Once the dough is divided into pieces, knead each piece with a little flour. Roll each piece very evenly to a uniform thickness, with no holes at all and no creases; otherwise the dough will not puff up completely in the oven.
• As 2 or 3 pieces of dough are rolled out, start baking them one at a time. Place a disc on a baker's peel, transfer it onto the tile, close oven and bake for 1 minute. Open the oven, gently turn the puffed-up dough over and bake for 30 seconds more.
• Remove bread from oven, transfer onto a board and immediately insert a sharp knife between the two puffed-up, separated layers of half-cooked carta da musica. Placing one hand over the puffed-up dough, use the other hand to cut all around to detach the edges of the layers from each other.
• It is best if a second person can do this cutting because the first will be completely occupied in rolling out dough and baking the remaining dough.
• Stack the separated halves on a towel, being absolutely sure that all are placed with the inner side down, so that no 2 inside parts will touch. Place a light weight over the stack of prebaked carta da musica halves to prevent them from curling up.
• When all the pieces of dough have been baked, placed under the weight and cooled, take the pieces and return them, one at a time, to the oven to bake for about 10 seconds on each side or until very crisp. Carta da musica should be very dry and extremely crisp. Continue until all the pieces of the bread are rebaked and crisp. Once all the layers are cold, you may wrap them in brown paper and use them for as long as several months if the humidity is not high.