I make bread every few days at home - usually a loaf of mixed flours and oats and seeds that I have for breakfast and Linda has with jam and a cappuccino freddo around 3-4pm. Yesterday, in addition to this, I decided to make some focaccia with herbs from our garden as I’d made some earlier in the day at the Beehive that turned out rather well and wanted some more for home. Giulia, who had made pizza once on a school trip to Umbria, asked, after watching me a while, “Daddy, when can I make my own bread?”

We decided for her first attempt she should make some small panini al latte like they sell at the Gentilini bakery nearby that are rich and kind of sweet and nice for little sandwiches. Without a recipe I told her approximately how much white flour, yeast, salt and milk to mix together and without touching it all I guided her through it. Since she’s seen me make bread many times, she didn’t seem to have much trouble following the process. She mixed in enough liquid until it pulled away from the bowl, kneaded it smooth and covered it with a dish towel and let it rise. A few hours later we all rolled them into little balls and put them in the oven.

All in all they turned out pretty close to what we were looking for. They’re soft and rich inside but perhaps too dry of a crust. I figure some oil should prevent a thick crust from forming. For a first try it was pretty impressive though. I hope when she’s older she’ll remember making bread with her dad and will do it confidently for herself on a regular basis.