Crescentine modenesi
Small Modenese yeast breads cooked between hot plates and served warm.
Coppia ferrarese (VisitFerrara home recipe)
Coppia ferrarese · Coppia Ferrarese · Ferrara twisted bread
Ferrara’s paired bread twists have four pointed horns joined at a soft centre. This VisitFerrara home recipe uses type 0 flour, water, oil, lard, malt and a choice of sourdough or yeast.
A Ferrara home recipe
The VisitFerrara municipal tourism guide prints a complete home recipe for Coppia Ferrarese. It supplies the quantities, two alternative leaveners, kneading and rising times, hand shaping, oven setting and baking time. The municipal recipe is useful as a home method; the guide does not say that it qualifies as Coppia Ferrarese IGP.
The distinction matters because the IGP specification sets its own formula and production rules. In the 2007 published proposal, water is set at 35% of flour, lard at 5–7%, and extra-virgin olive oil at 2–4%. The VisitFerrara home recipe uses 45% water, 7.5% lard and 5% olive oil by flour weight. Those differences mean this home batch must not be labelled or represented as certified IGP bread.
History
The VisitFerrara guide says the twisted bread, as known today, appeared at a 1536 Carnival banquet; the Regione Emilia-Romagna IGP page separately reports a 1547 reference to pane intorto. Neither source establishes the first date of this measured home formula.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
400 g
180 g
20 g
LardSoftened enough to knead into the dough.
30 g
Fresh sourdough starter (optional)Use this OR the yeast below, not both.
100 g
VisitFerrara lists this as an alternative to 10 g brewer’s yeast.Brewer’s yeast (optional)Use this OR the starter above, not both.
10 g
VisitFerrara's English text says brewer’s yeast; it does not specify fresh or dry.Fine salt
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
The source does not give a gram weight.Malt
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
The source does not specify syrup, powder or extract.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw wheat flour and dough
Raw flour can carry germs; do not taste the uncooked dough.
Hazard sourceHot oven and tray
The oven and tray can cause burns.
Hazard sourceDo not taste the raw dough; bake the breads before eating.
Control sourceUse oven protection when loading and removing the tray.
Control sourceThis home recipe is not an IGP production specification. Do not present bread made from it as Coppia Ferrarese IGP.
- Dissolve either 100 g fresh sourdough starter or 10 g brewer’s yeast in 180 g lukewarm water. Use one leavener, not both.
- Add the malt, type 0 flour, olive oil and salt. Knead for 15 minutes.
- Add the lard and continue kneading until it is absorbed into the dough.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and leave it to rise for 3 hours.
- Divide the dough into four equal portions and roll each into a strip about 50 cm long.
- Twist each of the four strips by holding one end steady and rolling or unrolling the other with your hand. Unite the twisted pieces to form the coppia, pressing them together at the centre.
- Set the shaped coppia on a baking tray. Cover and leave it in a warm place for 90–120 minutes for the second rise.
- Heat the oven to 200°C. Bake the coppia for 18–20 minutes, until baked through and browned. Take care when handling the hot tray.
Conditions
Active time15 min
Temperature200°C
Places
Ferrara
Documented preparation · Locality evidenceThe municipal tourism guide titles and prints this Coppia Ferrarese home recipe. The recipe documents preparation associated with Ferrara; it does not establish protected IGP production.
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Sources
VisitFerrara—Comune di Ferrara and Consorzio VisitFerraraFerrara association · Home recipe ingredients and method · Shape and timing
Ferrara by Bicycle: A journey through art, history and natureThe brochure prints a Coppia Ferrarese home recipe with 400 g type 0 flour, 180 g lukewarm water, 20 g olive oil, 30 g lard, either 100 g fresh sourdough starter or 10 g brewer’s yeast, and 1 teaspoon each of fine salt and malt.
It directs dissolving the starter or yeast in water; adding malt, flour, oil and salt; kneading 15 minutes; incorporating lard; rising covered for 3 hours; dividing into four; rolling 50 cm strips and twisting them into paired horns pressed at the centre; rising on a tray for 90–120 minutes; baking at 200°C for 18–20 minutes.
The source is a Ferrara municipal tourism recipe. It is not identified as the IGP production specification.
Cited in: A Ferrara home recipe
Regione Emilia-RomagnaIGP product and geographic description · Historical context
Coppia ferrarese IGPThe IGP page names type 0 soft wheat flour, water, pure pork lard, extra-virgin olive oil, mother sourdough, salt and malt; it gives the protected production area as the province of Ferrara and describes the paired twisted shape.
The page reports a 1547 reference to “pane intorto”; this is contextual history, not proof of this home formula or its first attestation.
Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica ItalianaIGP specification comparison
Proposta di modifica del disciplinare di produzione della Indicazione Geografica Protetta «Coppia Ferrarese»The published 2007 proposed specification sets the water/flour ratio at 35%, lard/flour at 5–7% and extra-virgin olive-oil/flour at 2–4%, and specifies mother sourdough and brewer’s yeast among process ingredients. These IGP-specific conditions differ from the municipal home recipe proportions.
Cited in: A Ferrara home recipe
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionRaw flour safety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour can carry germs; do not eat raw dough.
National Fire Protection AssociationHot oven safety
Educational Messages Desk ReferenceHandle hot cooking equipment carefully.