Civraxiu, civràxu, civàrxu

Civraxiu, civràxu, civàrxu

Traditional Food Sardinia - Italy


- SYNONYMS
It is also called "civràxu" (from the Latin cibarius, namely food par excellence) and civàrxu.

- SHORT DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCT
Large pieces of bread, more than 2000 grams (though you can find a size lower, but not below 1 kg), well risen, golden, gray, and reflects the color of ripe ears of corn.
Ingredients: durum wheat flour, salt, water and yeast (about fermentu "or" mother knows ") that must be renewed daily. Currently in the bakeries are also used baking powder in order to reduce production time.

- DESCRIPTION OF METHODS OF PRODUCTION, STORAGE AND RIPENING
The processing is done through the following phases:
- Amalgam of ingredients: In this stage, the dough is moistened constantly to maintain the necessary flexibility;
- Leaven the whole dough into a large trough for about 60/90 minutes;
- Size of the dough by hand which is placed in baskets, covered with sheets of linen or cotton, whose function is to absorb moisture from the dough and give, therefore, the typical golden color to the crust civraxiu. Here is the second and final fermentation lasting about two hours;
- Cooking (it takes about 60 minutes at 300 ° C) concludes with the production cycle.

- MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT USED FOR THE SPECIFIC PREPARATION AND CONDITIONING
Kneading, leavening cupboard, laundry baskets with cotton or linen and oven. Originally, the cooking was done in the Sardinian oven, built with refractory bricks are not able to dissipate heat, fueled by twigs aromatic typical Mediterranean (rock rose, mastic, myrtle). For avoiding the lowering of the temperature inside the oven, with a rapid operation, the embers were removed from the inside, using a broom bushes fresh as mallow, nettle, elder, mastic, and deposited at the mouth of the oven . Currently using electric ovens, steam or thermal cycle.
Evidence that the methods were performed consistently and according to rules.

- TRADITIONAL FOR A PERIOD NOT UNDER 25 YEARS
This type of bread was eaten by those who worked in the country, was regarded as the bread of the poor and for its dark color was also called black bread (loaves nieddu) the color of dark flour. Archaeologist John Lilliu in the preface of the book "In the name of bread" - Charles Dolphins publisher says that this process even before the 700 was strongly ingrained in everyday life.