THE POET’S CRESCIA………IS NOW LARA’S
“I haven’t seen Urbino for over thirty years, yet I continuously see it! I didn’t forget anything, not even ‘ la Baciocca’, where we used to eat the ‘crescie’!” (Letter to Marchigiani, 28th January 1903)
It is 1903 and Giovanni Pascoli (1855 – 1912), one of the greatest Italian poets, writes this letter to a friend from Urbino and wistfully recalls the years he spent in this town to study Classics in the Scolopi boarding school. As well as the town’s neighbourhoods and the nice walks nearby, the poet calls to mind the breaks he used to make by ‘la Baciocca’, an innkeeper or a countrywoman that used to make the ‘crescie’ for travellers and students who passed by.
The “Crescia Sfogliata di Urbino” that we offer today is called La Baciocca right after the name of the ancient, anonymous cook recalled by Giovanni Pascoli.
It is a plain bread of ancient local tradition, which was shared in all families and often offered in inns together with cold cuts, sheep’s milk cheese, cooked vegetables and, obviously, wine. The “Crescia” was hand made and cooked on a cotto tile or metal hot plate, in order to be served hot. It was easy to preserve and could be reheated to appreciate its peculiar flavour.
Its main ingredients are wheat flour and water, no yeast. It differs from other similar products, such as the “Piadina Romagnola” or other Mediterranean breads, because it contains eggs and a bigger quantity of pepper and lard, which make the product puff and extraordinarily fragrant as it cooks.
The “Crescia” that Giovanni Pascoli still recalls after thirty years since he left Urbino was certainly made according to an ancient traditional recipe, which was handed down orally up to this day.
The recipe that we follow to make our “Baciocca” is probably the same recipe that Giovanni Pascoli recalls, since it was handed down to Lara Amadori by her granny Irene, who had learned it in turn by her parents, that used to run an inn in Urbino since 1890.
Thanks to this background and to her more than ten year experience, Lara is now able to offer you this ancient and extremely tasteful product, typical of her town’s culinary traditions, which she came to know through her family habits.
That’s why her ‘crescia’ is rigorously handmade, using selected Italian natural ingredients, in order to offer you the same tasty experience that Giovanni Pascoli wistfully recalled even after thirty years.
CROSTOLO DI POLENTA
Crostolo is a humble variation of crescia
Crostolo too is well-known throughout Montefeltro area, in Urbania and in the other small towns around Urbino up to the Nerone Mount. Different variations of it are available according to the different kinds of cooking but all of them are characterized by the common feature of being made of a basic cornmeal batter. Commonly the remaining cornmeal mush, stuck to the sides of the cauldron, cooled down and dried, was gathered and mixed with water and type “0” soft wheat flour only. No eggs , milk or pepper were used and for this reason it was considered a ‘humble’ food.
Crostolo was also rolled out in thicker doughs which could be cooked on charcoal grills besides tilled or metal plates. Crostolo too may be served with herbs, salami and cold cuts and cheeses.
However, around Urbino the batter of Crostolo was prepared using pork lard to make it more flaked and fragrant.
. Baciocca Crostolo is made according to the traditional Urbino recipe. Guaranteed by the use of only Italian and natural ingredients, it is similar in the way it looks and is cooked to Crescia, but being made of polenta (cornmeal mush), without eggs, it is lighter than Crescia and may be preferred to it.
CROSTOLO DI POLENTA
handmade and cooked one by one
the revived crostolo, light but savoury, has soon won everybody’s love
INGRIDIENTS: superfine flour, cornmeal mush (polenta) 40% (water, yellow cornmeal, acidity regulator: tartaric acid), pure pork lard, sweet natural integral sea salt of Cervia salt pan.
Packaged in a protective atmosphere.
To be kept in the fridge (from +4°to +8°C) Once opened, consume within 2-3 days
USAGE TIPS: heat up on a hot griddle or pan for 2-3 minutes turning several times during heating. Do not microwave.
We use Italian ingredients
cornmeal mush flour, lard and salt
available in packages of:
3 crostoli (500 gr.)
10 crostoli ( 1670 gr.)
La Baciocca s.r.l. | P.iva | By DAM-Project | All Rights Reserved.
Via Urbinate, 92/A – 61029, Italy – Marche.
Tel.: 0722 4031 – labacioccasrl@gmail.com