Montanara

Enzo Coccia

For the dough
1 litre of water
50 g of sea salt
1 g of brewer's yeast
1800-1900 g of flour
13-14 hours of rising at room temperature

For the tomato sauce
1 kg of “Piennolo” tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
5 spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil
20 basil leaves
Salt

For the frying and filling
5 litres of extra virgin olive oil
1 kg of buffalo provola
200 g of Pecorino Romano
Kitchen paper

 

For the dough
Pour the water into the mixer and dissolve the sea salt, then soak the brewer's yeast, add 30% of the flour, switch on the mixer and gradually add the rest of the flour until you obtain the required density, known as the "dough point". The operation must last 10 minutes, to obtain the best consistency of the dough it is very important to regulate the amount of water to suit the flour's capacity for absorption.
Process the dough in the mixer for 20 minutes on a low speed until it is compact, soft and supple and no longer sticky.
Take the dough out of the mixer and place it on the work bench, covered with a damp cloth to prevent the surface from hardening. Make into buns, cutting the dough with a spatula: this operation must be carried out exclusively by hand. According to the Neapolitan technique, the dough must be shaped (staglio) into balls with a procedure reminiscent of the preparation of mozzarellas (mozzatura). For the Montara the buns must weigh between 30 and 50 g. Leave to rise for 13/14 hours at room temperature.

For the tomato sauce
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into four wedges. Peel the garlic and cut it into pieces that aren't too small. Pour the oil into a large pan and add the garlic, frying gently on a low heat until it starts to turn golden. Add the sliced tomatoes, a pinch of salt and half the torn basil leaves. Sauté for 10-12 minutes on a low heat. As soon as the tomatoes have softened, press them with a wooden spoon, without breaking them up. Continue cooking for another minute.

For the frying and filling
Stretch the bread buns to form small discs, bring the oil to the boil in a pan and fry the discs. Flip them half way through cooking and drain them on kitchen paper after a minute. Garnish them with the tomato sauce made earlier. Add some pieces of buffalo provola, torn basil leaves and complete with a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano.