My husband Dan grew up in Springfield, and his family celebrated holidays and special occasions with star bread. They would cut small rounds from the horns and make little sandwiches of thinly sliced Italian cheeses and cold meats for appetizers. But why shouldn\u2019t we have it year-round for sopping olive oil, mopping up pasta sauce, and for everything a good Italian bread is designed to do?<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Cut](\"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_2819a600.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nStar bread is getting harder to find. Around here, nobody has ever heard of it. So what choice do I have but to bake it myself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s one serious catch. No recipe. Not in any cookbooks. Nowhere. Even Google comes up short. In 2008, The Boston Globe<\/em> ran a feature on “horn bread” and included a recipe that apparently nobody tested. An owner of one of the bakeries in the story wrote back, “The recipe given in your paper is missing an ingredient and an important processing step\u2014but my lips are sealed!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n So yes, there\u2019s a secret. And nobody\u2019s talking. Omerta.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, I\u2019ve cornered commercial bakers for advice. One told me it’s just Vienna bread dough (false), but I simply couldn\u2019t make it at home because I needed \u201cspecial equipment\u201d (misleading).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The owner of a family-run bakery in Agawam recently responded with a look so steely cold I was afraid the loaves around her would flash freeze. \u201cSure you can have our recipe,\u201d she said as if I held her at gunpoint, \u201cbut only if you pay big money for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I thank her, though, because had she spilled her family secret I would not be sharing it with you now. I would be in on the code of silence. No Recipephany. But in the face of this stonewalling, Dan and I set out to find the secret recipe on our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dan tracked down star bread\u2019s illustrious ancestor, Coppia Ferrarese. It comes from the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy and dates back to the 13th<\/sup> Century. The name means \u201cFerrara couple\u201d because bakers form the bread by joining two rolls of dough at their centers\u2014\u201ccoupling\u201d them. This regional treasure, like Parmigiano-Reggiano, has earned PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status and must meet strict regulations set by the EU to carry the name Coppia Ferrarese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the bread brought to Springfield by the Italian bakers. What started out as an elegantly slim, sculpted bread, evolved into a plump \u201cH\u201d-shaped loaf in Springfield. (Oddly, it has never had a star shape.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Dan found the Coppia Ferrarese PGI official document. This is the master recipe that reveals all. After a bit of deciphering, I can now tell you what I see as the two key secrets to star bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the dough is hard and somewhat dry, the opposite of what I had expected to make such a soft crumb. Imagine stiff playdough with a silky finish. Once you\u2019ve mixed the dough, put away the flour. There will be none on your hands, counters, floor\u2026you get the picture. The small amount of oil and shortening (Italians use lard) makes the dough downright fun to handle and the process incredibly tidy. The thirsty flour does crave sprinkles of water as you work the dough, though. So while it must not get sticky, it shouldn’t get too dry either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second\u2014and here\u2019s the revelation\u2014you need to roll this non-sticky, pliable dough many times through a \u201cspecial metal cylinder\u201d to compress it and make the surface smooth. How does a home baker manage that? We dragged out our trusty pasta machine. It did the trick\u2014a fine substitute for the massive rolling machines at bakeries. This was the Big Breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I cobbled together this Coppia Ferrarese-star bread hybrid using primarily the PGI guidelines. I tried to simplify the recipe for home bakers like me (although it’s no Raegan’s No-Knead Focaccia<\/a>). For instance, Coppia Ferrarese is a sourdough bread, but since I don’t have a 45 percent hydrated sourdough starter lying around (do you?), I fudged it. While this bread is shaped like Coppia Ferrarese, it produces a loftier loaf more like Springfield\u2019s star bread. Thanks to the pasta machine, it captures the signature textures of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope you try it and come away a Star Baker. If you don’t have a pasta machine, well, sorry. Hand rolling may work, but I haven’t tried. I’m still experimenting, so please let me know how it goes and if you\u2019ve got any suggestions. Let\u2019s see if together we can preserve this distinctive special-occasion bread. It\u2019s so fun and rewarding to make, you might find that baking it creates its own joyful occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Modified Coppia Ferrarese) Stir ingredients in a medium bowl, then knead briefly to combine. If it is so dry it won’t come together into a ball, add a few drops of water. It should look and feel like pliable bread dough. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let sit overnight. It will rise, but will stay fairly compact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NOTE: This makes about 50 percent more than you need for this recipe. If you want to make enough starter for next time you make the bread, double this and freeze what’s leftover and use within a few weeks. For decades I\u2019ve sought this holy grail of bread recipes. Star bread, the American cousin of what I consider the finest bread in Italy, is the stuff of legends. Italian bakers introduced it to Springfield, Massachusetts, and a few other places in the state about a hundred years ago. Specialty Italian bakeries hooked customers on the twisty-shaped loaves, also called \u201chorn bread\u201d or \u201cbolognese bread.\u201d Those bakeries have dwindled to a handful, and star bread always sells out\u2014often before it reaches the shelves. What makes it so special? The hard, golden brown, impossibly smooth crust has the crunch of a dry breadstick. In contrast, the soft crumb inside is fine, compact, and as bright as a Hollywood smile. Once you bite in, you can\u2019t stop. The flavor and textures are pure delight. And who can resist the shape that offers not two, but four crunchy ends? My husband Dan grew up in Springfield, and his family celebrated holidays and special occasions with star bread. They would cut small rounds from the horns and make little sandwiches of thinly sliced Italian cheeses and cold meats for appetizers. But why shouldn\u2019t we have it year-round for sopping olive oil, mopping up pasta sauce, and for everything a good Italian bread is designed to do? Star bread is getting harder to find. Around here, nobody has ever heard of it. So what choice do I have but to bake it myself? There\u2019s one serious catch. No recipe. Not in any cookbooks. Nowhere. Even Google comes up short. In 2008, The Boston Globe ran a feature on “horn bread” and included a recipe that apparently nobody tested. An owner of one of the bakeries in the story wrote back, “The recipe given in your paper is missing an ingredient and an important processing step\u2014but my lips are sealed!” So yes, there\u2019s a secret. And nobody\u2019s talking. Omerta. Over the years, I\u2019ve cornered commercial bakers for advice. One told me it’s just Vienna bread dough (false), but I simply couldn\u2019t make it at home because I needed \u201cspecial equipment\u201d (misleading). The owner of a family-run bakery in Agawam recently responded with a look so steely cold I was afraid the loaves around her would flash freeze. \u201cSure you can have our recipe,\u201d she said as if I held her at gunpoint, \u201cbut only if you pay big money for it.\u201d I thank her, though, because had she spilled her family secret I would not be sharing it with you now. I would be in on the code of silence. No Recipephany. But in the face of this stonewalling, Dan and I set out to find the secret recipe on our own. Dan tracked down star bread\u2019s illustrious ancestor, Coppia Ferrarese. It comes from the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy and dates back to the 13th Century. The name means \u201cFerrara couple\u201d because bakers form the bread by joining two rolls of dough at their centers\u2014\u201ccoupling\u201d them. This regional treasure, like Parmigiano-Reggiano, has earned PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status and must meet strict regulations set by the EU to carry the name Coppia Ferrarese. This is the bread brought to Springfield by the Italian bakers. What started out as an elegantly slim, sculpted bread, evolved into a plump \u201cH\u201d-shaped loaf in Springfield. (Oddly, it has never had a star shape.) Then Dan found the Coppia Ferrarese PGI official document. This is the master recipe that reveals all. After a bit of deciphering, I can now tell you what I see as the two key secrets to star bread. First, the dough is hard and somewhat dry, the opposite of what I had expected to make such a soft crumb. Imagine stiff playdough with a silky finish. Once you\u2019ve mixed the dough, put away the flour. There will be none on your hands, counters, floor\u2026you get the picture. The small amount of oil and shortening (Italians use lard) makes the dough downright fun to handle and the process incredibly tidy. The thirsty flour does crave sprinkles of water as you work the dough, though. So while it must not get sticky, it shouldn’t get too dry either. Second\u2014and here\u2019s the revelation\u2014you need to roll this non-sticky, pliable dough many times through a \u201cspecial metal cylinder\u201d to compress it and make the surface smooth. How does a home baker manage that? We dragged out our trusty pasta machine. It did the trick\u2014a fine substitute for the massive rolling machines at bakeries. This was the Big Breakthrough. I cobbled together this Coppia Ferrarese-star bread hybrid using primarily the PGI guidelines. I tried to simplify the recipe for home bakers like me (although it’s no Raegan’s No-Knead Focaccia). For instance, Coppia Ferrarese is a sourdough bread, but since I don’t have a 45 percent hydrated sourdough starter lying around (do you?), I fudged it. While this bread is shaped like Coppia Ferrarese, it produces a loftier loaf more like Springfield\u2019s star bread. Thanks to the pasta machine, it captures the signature textures of both. I hope you try it and come away a Star Baker. If you don’t have a pasta machine, well, sorry. Hand rolling may work, but I haven’t tried. I’m still experimenting, so please let me know how it goes and if you\u2019ve got any suggestions. Let\u2019s see if together we can preserve this distinctive special-occasion bread. It\u2019s so fun and rewarding to make, you might find that baking it creates its own joyful occasion. Star Bread (Modified Coppia Ferrarese)1. StarterMix the night before baking: Stir ingredients in a medium bowl, then knead briefly to combine. If it is so dry it won’t come together into a ball, add a few drops of water. It should look and feel like pliable bread dough. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let sit overnight. It will rise, but will stay fairly compact. NOTE: This makes about 50 percent more than you need for this recipe. If you want to make enough starter for next time you make the bread, double this and freeze what’s leftover and use within a few weeks.2. Star Bread Recipe and ProcessSpecial equipment: Pasta machine.Suggested: Heavy-duty stand mixer; kitchen scale.I derived this recipe from a formula that specified weight, not volume. For accurate dough hydration, I recommend using a scale.Makes 2 loaves, each about 15 ounces before baking, and about 13 1\/2 ounces after baking. Recipe easily halves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[215,332,1,96],"tags":[525,515,513,662,520,526,514,528,527,570,519,569,517,522],"class_list":["post-3966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breads","category-italian","category-other","category-technique","tag-bologna","tag-bolognese-bread","tag-coppia-ferrarese","tag-coppia-ferrarese-recipe","tag-cornetto-ferrarese","tag-ferrara","tag-horn-bread","tag-italian-horn-bread","tag-italian-star-bread-recipe","tag-massachusetts-star-bread","tag-plymouth-horn-bread","tag-springfield-ma-star-bread","tag-star-bread-springfield","tag-tullio-crociati"],"yoast_head":"\nStar Bread<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Starter
<\/span>Mix the night before baking:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
2. Star Bread Recipe and Process
<\/span>Special equipment: Pasta machine.
<\/span>Suggested: Heavy-duty stand mixer; kitchen scale.
<\/span>I derived this recipe from a formula that specified weight, not volume. For accurate dough hydration, I recommend using a scale.
<\/span>Makes 2 loaves, each about 15 ounces before baking, and about 13 1\/2 ounces after baking. Recipe<\/em> easily halves.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
*Use cold water in the stand mixer so the dough won\u2019t heat up. If kneading by hand, use tepid water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a>The dough strips should get very smooth and each will measure around 2 1\/2 inches wide by 24 inches long when done.<\/li>\n\n\n\n