Nonna Mary's Ciambella

Nonna Mary's Ciambella
Nonna Mary's Ciambella
When I was growing up in New York, from third grade through high school, I was blessed with the opportunity to spend my summers in Italy. I would stay with my grandmother in Cesenatico, hang out at the beach with my friends, and eat the wonderful food my grandmother cooked. I have never become accustomed to the traditional American breakfast of eggs and fried pork products, or even cereal. Some fresh bread with butter and jam and caffèlatte is my preferred breakfast, with the proportion of coffee to milk increasing as I have gotten older, from just a drop in a large cup of milk when I was little, to mostly coffee with a splash of milk as an adult. But even better than bread and butter is a breakfast sweet such as my grandmother's ciambella. She always seemed to have some on hand. It's very easy to make and keeps wonderfully on the kitchen counter for as long as a week. It may well keep even longer, but I've never been able to resist eating it for long enough to find out. The classic shape of a ciambella is a ring; in fact, there is a saying for when something doesn't work out: non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco, which means, "not all ciambelle come out with a hole." My grandmother always made hers in the shape of a loaf—it was no less delicious for it, and that is how I still prefer to make it.
  • Preparing Time: -
  • Total Time: -
  • Served Person: Serves 8
Italian Bread Bake
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • Carbohydrate 56 g(19%)
  • Cholesterol 104 mg(35%)
  • Fat 19 g(30%)
  • Fiber 1 g(6%)
  • Protein 7 g(14%)
  • Saturated Fat 12 g(58%)
  • Sodium 230 mg(10%)
  • Calories 422

Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F on the regular bake setting 2. Put the flour, sugar, milk, and 2 eggs in the bowl of a food processor. Add the baking powder and salt, taking care not to put one on top of the other or the salt may inhibit the action of the baking powder. Cut the butter into at least a dozen pieces. Add the butter and lemon zest to the other ingredients and pulse until a dough forms. 3. Transfer the dough to a counter and knead it gently until you obtain a smooth ball. Shape the dough into a loaf about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide. Place it on a baking sheet that has been buttered and floured or lined with a nonstick baking mat. Place the egg yolk in a small bowl. Add 2 teaspoons water, and whisk. Make 4 or 5 shallow diagonal cuts on top of the dough and brush the surface with the yolk mixture. 4. Bake for 35 minutes. The ciambella is ready when it is golden brown and feels fairly firm when prodded. From Hazan Family Favorites: Beloved Italian Recipes by Guiliano Hazan. Copyright © 2012 Giuliano Hazan; photographs copyright © 2012 Joseph De Leo. Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of ABRAMS.

Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F on the regular bake setting 2. Put the flour, sugar, milk, and 2 eggs in the bowl of a food processor. Add the baking powder and salt, taking care not to put one on top of the other or the salt may inhibit the action of the baking powder. Cut the butter into at least a dozen pieces. Add the butter and lemon zest to the other ingredients and pulse until a dough forms. 3. Transfer the dough to a counter and knead it gently until you obtain a smooth ball. Shape the dough into a loaf about 12 inches long and 3 inches wide. Place it on a baking sheet that has been buttered and floured or lined with a nonstick baking mat. Place the egg yolk in a small bowl. Add 2 teaspoons water, and whisk. Make 4 or 5 shallow diagonal cuts on top of the dough and brush the surface with the yolk mixture. 4. Bake for 35 minutes. The ciambella is ready when it is golden brown and feels fairly firm when prodded. From Hazan Family Favorites: Beloved Italian Recipes by Guiliano Hazan. Copyright © 2012 Giuliano Hazan; photographs copyright © 2012 Joseph De Leo. Published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of ABRAMS.

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