Michetta
Photo: NederlandsNederlands (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

The michetta took shape in late-18th-century Habsburg Lombardy as a Milanese adaptation of the Austrian Kaisersemmel rosette, codified by the 1800s into the hollow-bodied form distinct from the Viennese ancestor. The five-pointed rosette score on top, the steam-fed oven and the high-hydration starter dough produce the canonical paper-thin crust and the almost-empty interior. The bread is sold by weight at every Milan forno and is the city's default sandwich vehicle. Davide Longoni, Princi and the Mercato Comunale Wagner bakers all bake canonical michette; supermarket versions exist but lack the wood-oven shell.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 1 hrTotal 8 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • Starter: 100g 00 flour
  • 100ml water
  • 1g fresh yeast (or 0.5g dry)
  • mixed and left at room temperature for 4 hours until bubbly
  • Main dough: 500g 00 flour, 280ml cold water, 8g salt, 5g malt syrup (or honey), 2g fresh yeast
  • Polenta meal or rice flour, for dusting

Method

  1. Combine the starter with all main dough ingredients. Knead 12 minutes in a stand mixer until very smooth and elastic.
  2. Cover and bulk ferment at 22C for 2 hours.
  3. Divide into 8 pieces (about 110g each). Shape each into a tight ball.
  4. Rest the balls upside down on a flour-dusted cloth, covered, for 30 minutes.
  5. Turn each ball right-side up. Press a 5-point star into the top with a special michetta stamp or a sharp paring knife, cutting deep but not through.
  6. Final prove on the dusted cloth, covered, for 90 minutes.
  7. Bake at 240C with a tray of boiling water on the oven floor (steam) for 15 minutes, then drop to 220C and bake 10 more minutes until deeply gold and hollow when tapped.

Tip from the editors. The hollow interior comes from high hydration and aggressive steam. Without the steam tray, you get a dense bread roll, not a michetta.

Where to eat michetta

Michetta in Milan

Davide Longoni Pane ★ 4.7

€ BakeryLong-fermentation sourdough bread, panettone, michettaPorta RomanaWalk-in only

Davide Longoni Pane in Milan's Porta Romana is the city's most respected bread baker, running nine Milan locations from the Via Tiraboschi original.

Worth the queuePane di pasta madre with heritage grain

Directions

Princi ★ 4.5

€ BakeryPizza al taglio, focaccia, michetta, pastryCentro StoricoWalk-in only

Princi at Via Speronari near the Duomo has set the Milan bakery standard since 1986, the flagship of the Rocco Princi-designed forno group. Family-friendly.

Worth the queuePizza bianca al rosmarino

Directions

Marchesi 1824 ★ 4.6

€€ 8-18 eurosBrunchTraditional Milanese pasticceria brunchCentro Storico

Marchesi 1824 in Centro Storico is the Sunday-morning brunch option for purists who want the Milanese pasticceria experience at its most historical.

OrderPanettone toast with Langhe butter and chestnut honey

Directions

Pave ★ 4.5

€€ 12-20 eurosBrunchArtisan pastry-led brunchPorta Venezia

Pave in Porta Venezia is the natural brunch destination for the city's artisan-pastry crowd on weekends. Open sat-sun 09:00-17:00. At Via Felice Casati 27.

OrderBombolone alla crema and single-origin filter coffee

Directions

Mercato Comunale Wagner ★ 4.5

€ MarketNavigli

Mercato Comunale Wagner at Piazza Wagner is Milan's oldest market, founded in 1929 in a covered hall. Open mon-sat 07:00-14:00, 16:00-19:30, closed sun.

Directions

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