🎄 Valtellinese Bisciola – The traditional Christmas fig bread
The Bisciola, also known as pan di fich, is the Christmas dessert of Valtellina: a rustic and fragrant bread, rich in dried figs, raisins, walnuts, and hazelnuts 🍇🌰. Made with rye and white flour, enriched with honey, butter, and a touch of grappa, Bisciola embodies the warmth of the Valtellinese peasant tradition. Served cold or warm, it is perfect for breakfast, as a dessert, or accompanied by a small glass of grappa and, why not, a dollop of whipped cream. Each slice tells a story made of simplicity, territory, and authentic flavors 🏔️
📝 Ingredients (for 1 bisciola)
For the dough:
- 250 g of 00 white flour
- 50 g of rye flour
- 60 g of whole cane sugar
- 50 g of butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1 glass of whole lukewarm milk (about 100 ml)
- 1 glass of grappa (or ½ grappa + ½ water)
- 1 cube of fresh brewer's yeast
- 1 pinch of salt
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
For the filling:
- 100 g of sultana raisins
- 200 g of dried figs cut into pieces
- 150 g of mixed walnuts and hazelnuts coarsely chopped
👩🍳 Step-by-step preparation
- Prepare the fruit:
- Soak the raisins and dried figs in grappa (preferably overnight).
- Coarsely chop the walnuts and hazelnuts.
- Grate the lemon zest.
- Drain the raisins and figs well, cutting the latter into pieces.
- Prepare the dough:
- In a bowl, sift the flours, add the sugar and a pinch of salt.
- Add the butter in pieces.
- Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk and pour it into the dough mixture.
- Add 1 egg and start kneading until a soft dough is formed.
- Incorporate the chopped dried fruit and the lemon zest, then the raisins and figs.
- Finally, add the honey and knead again until a creamy and sticky dough is obtained.
- Rising:
- Cover the bowl with a cloth and let it rise in a warm place for at least 1 and a half hours, until the dough increases by about a third.
- Shaping and baking:
- Pour the dough onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, giving it the classic dome shape.
- Make a cross incision on the top.
- Brush with the beaten second egg.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15 minutes, then lower to 180°C and bake for another about 30 minutes, checking the doneness with a toothpick.
- Serving:
- Let it cool completely.
- Serve in slices, possibly with whipped cream or accompanied by a small glass of grappa valtellinese 🍶
📸 The image of the dishes is purely indicative and does not necessarily correspond exactly to the recipe
