Soft as a cloud

After studying at the State Professional Institute for Food and Wine and Hotel Hospitality in Gardone Riviera, Cesare attended specialized courses and gained experience at the Novikov Restaurant in London, before joining his father and brother Francesco, sharing their expertise and fresh ideas. Rigour and precision are the essential qualities of a pastry chef, so we asked Cesare to test the new Bosch Series 6 stand mixer for us, making a truly challenging leavened dessert at home: Bossolà Bresciano. Here's how it went.

An auspicious donut

"What immediately struck me about the new Bosch Series 6 stand mixer is the integrated high-precision scale that allows you to weigh ingredients either directly in the bowl or by resting them on your arm, a feature that becomes even more important when preparing a complex dessert like bossolà," Cesare told us. Typical of the province of Brescia, bossolà is a type of doughnut traditionally eaten at Christmas, but today, increasingly, it's made year-round. As Iginio Massari, one of its most famous fans, says: "If a dessert is so good, why eat it only for such a short time?" The name apparently comes from its rounded shape, concave in the center, reminiscent of a coiled snake, or bés embesolàt in the local dialect, a historical symbol of good luck and rebirth. It's made with just a few simple ingredients, but the secret to its incredible softness lies in the many delicate leavening stages.

The recipe for bossolà

• 50 g farina 00 w390
• 50 g sourdough starter
• 25 g water
• 30 g farina 00 w390
• 15g water
• 1.5 g brewer's yeast
• Knead in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment at speed 1 until smooth, without over-kneading or overheating the dough. Shape the dough into a ball, score it with a cross, and let it rise at 28°C for 3 hours and 30 minutes.
• Knead in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment at speed 1 until the dough is smooth and even; let it rise at 28°C for an hour.
• 75 g sourdough starter
• 46.5 g second yeast
• 70 g farina 00 w390
• 40 g whole egg
• 45 g granulated sugar
• 35 g butter
• Combine the sourdough starter and the second yeast in a stand mixer with the flour. Mix in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, setting speed 1, until completely incorporated.
• Add the eggs, a little at a time, and work the dough until it forms a ball (a ball of dough will be smooth, even, and not sticky). Then add the sugar, working the mixture until completely absorbed.
• Finally, mix in the butter when the dough is well-kneaded and almost ready.
• Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it rise for 4 hours and 30 minutes to 5 hours, at a temperature of 28°C.
• 125 g farina 00 w390
• 65 g whole egg
• 60 g icing sugar
• 3,5 g sale
• 140 g butter
• 30 g icing sugar
• 60 g whole egg
• 15 g cocoa butter
• 3 vanilla pods
• Cream the butter and sugar together, then gradually add the egg, then the previously melted cocoa butter and, finally, the vanilla seeds; you should obtain a firm, whipped mixture (emulsification).
• In a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, set to speed 1, mix the first dough with the flour until absorbed. Gradually add half the eggs and mix until combined.
• Then add the icing sugar until completely absorbed.
• Add the remaining eggs and, lastly, the salt.
• Once the dough is well combined, add the emulsion several times.
• Once the dough is shiny and has a developed gluten network, transfer it to the mold and proceed with the final leavening, which will last 12 hours, at a temperature of 28°C.
• Bake the bossolà at 170°C for about 40 minutes.
• Remove the bossolà from the oven, let it cool, and then sprinkle it with icing sugar.

A friend in the kitchen

The new Bosch Series 6 stand mixer is equipped with the best technology to simplify life in the kitchen and encourage experimentation and creativity, even with particularly challenging recipes and products, like Cesare's Bossola. Among its many convenient features are the accurate, gram-accurate scale, reliable even for small quantities and helping to save space on your kitchen countertop, and the new sensor technology that allows the mixer to mix ingredients until the perfect consistency is achieved for every dough without having to worry about a thing. The new design features have also made the new Bosch Series 6 extremely convenient to use: all contact points are accessible from the front, the bowl, equipped with two handles, is accessible from both sides, and once finished, all accessories can be conveniently cleaned in the dishwasher.