Sardinia has two famous breads. Pane carasau is the thin, brittle shepherd's cracker that keeps for months in a saddlebag. Moddizzosu — from moddi, soft — is the other one: the thick, sour, pale-crumbed loaf that sat on the table in the Barbagia villages where the island's longevity cluster is concentrated.
It is made from durum semolina and a su fremmentu, a live starter kept going from bake to bake. There is no commercial yeast in it, no sugar, and no rush: the dough ferments overnight, which is what gives it the sourness and the keeping quality.
The Ingredients
- 100g active sourdough starter, fed 6–8 hours earlier and visibly bubbling
- 400g fine durum semolina (semola rimacinata)
- 100g strong white bread flour
- 330ml water at about 30°C
- 11g fine sea salt
- Extra semolina, for dusting the banneton and the peel
How to Make It
Combine the semolina, bread flour and 300ml of the water. No starter, no salt yet. Mix to a shaggy mass and leave covered 45 minutes. Semolina is thirsty and slow — this rest is what stops the final crumb being tight.
Work in the starter until fully incorporated, then the salt with the remaining 30ml of water. Mix hard for 3–4 minutes. The dough will be sticky and will feel wrong; it comes together during the folds.
Over the next two hours, give the dough a set of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes — lift one side, stretch up, fold over, rotate a quarter turn, repeat four times per set. After the last set it should be smooth, domed and noticeably stronger.
Leave at room temperature until risen by roughly half — three to four hours depending on your kitchen. Shape into a tight round, place seam-up in a well-floured banneton, cover, and refrigerate overnight (10–14 hours). The cold night is where the sourness develops.
Heat a Dutch oven to 250°C for 45 minutes. Turn the loaf out, score it once, deep. Bake covered 20 minutes, uncovered at 220°C for another 22–25 until deep brown. Cool completely on a rack — cutting it warm ruins the crumb.