This Crescente Bolognese Recipe is a toss between a focaccia and a soft bread stick. It is a simple recipe made with fresh rosemary and rock salt. Drizzled with olive oil it makes the perfect side dish or appetizer!

Bread in Italy is important if not more important (for the Italian at least) than pasta. With over 300 types of bread available here, there is never a problem with finding one you like. Every town, every region has their own. Today I am sharing a delicious recipe from an Italian cookbook “Sorelle Simili” Pane e Roba Dolce, this is a popular bread from Bologna. I hope you like it.

Table of Contents

How to make it

In the mixing bowl add the water and sprinkle the yeast on top, let it sit, then stir to combine. Add the flour, lard, oil and chopped rosemary, start to knead then add the salt. Continue to knead to form a soft compact dough.

mixing the ingredients in the mixing bowl and forming a dough.

Move the dough to a lightly floured flat surface and shape into a ball.

forming the dough into a ball and in the bowl before rising.

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, rolling the dough in the bowl, cover and let rise in a warm draft free area until doubled in bulk.

Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it (do not knead) into a rectangle shape.

With a pastry wheel, pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the dough into 2-3 inch long strips. Place on a prepared cookie sheet. Cover and let rise.

cutting the dough into strips and the strips on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Before baking brush the dough with a little olive oil, sprinkle with rock salt and more chopped rosemary if desired. Bake until golden. Move immediately to a wire rack to cool.

the crescente on a cookie sheet before and after baking.

What is Crescente Bolognese

Crescente in English means grow, in this case an excess or growth of excess bread dough. In Bologna when a baker would make his daily dough, he would keep part of it for the next day’s production and anything over that was used for the baker’s breakfast. To make it even more appetizing for himself he would add pieces of ham butt (gambuccio del prosciutto). At the turn of the century the baker was also the grocery store owner, and since the ham butt was not a desired piece of meat to be sold or bought he would use that rather than waste it. This delicious bread became The Baker’s Breakfast.

This bread can also be filled with cubes of prosciutto and baked as a focaccia rather than as soft bread sticks. Both are delicious. Instead of kneading the dough with rosemary add 1/2 a cup of chopped prosciutto or pancetta or even a combination.

What is lard?

It is a semi-soft white fat derived from the fatty parts of the pig, it has no trans fat and it has a high value of fatty acid in it. Lard has the most monounsaturated fats at 48% compared to olive oil which has 77%. These fats help to lower blood cholesterol levels and maintain healthy cells.

Can I substitute the lard?

If possible I wouldn’t substitute the lard, but if you must, then use unsalted butter, shortening or coconut, vegetable or olive oils. Lard gives the dough a more tender and tasty crust.

crescente in a basket and 2 on the board.

Make sure the yeast is active

The yeast you are using could be old or dead, to tell if the yeast is still active, in a small bowl add a 1/2 cup of water, sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast and a pinch of sugar over the top, stir it up, then let it stand for about 10 minutes.

What is the best temperature for liquid in yeast bread?

I always make sure my water or milk is lukewarm between 98-105F (36-40C). The liquid shouldn’t be hot or it will kill the yeast. It can even be room temperature, although it may take a little longer for your dough to rise, but longer rising time results in a more flavourful dough.

More Italian Bread Recipes

So if you are looking for a traditional bread from Bologna I hope you give this Crescente Bolognese a try and let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!