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Bread
Italians eat with a piece of bread in one hand, a fork in the other, and punctuate their conversation by gesturing with both hands. In an Italian household, the bread — its age and condition — helps dictate the menu.
Bread made the old-fashioned way with only yeast, sea salt, spring water, and organic flour and a long — overnight at least — rising period, is alive. Its thick, crunchy crust protects the loaf. Though its life may be short, still it passes through all the stages of its life cycle.
For the first few days, the bread is eaten fresh. On about the fourth day when the bread begins to get a little tired, it is cut into thick slices and grilled lightly. These thick slices are called bruschetta. Sometimes the grilled bread would be rubbed with a cut garlic clove. As the bread ages further, it is cut a little thinner into crostini and toasted. These are eaten with soup or salad or topped perhaps with a little chopped chicken liver.
Finally, the chunks of dried bread are broken up and used to thicken soups such as ribollita or "reboiled" soup. Yesterday's soup would be poured over the bread and it would be brought to a boil, then drizzled with fresh olive oil. Any remaining bread would be crushed into bread crumbs to be used for gratins and ravioli fillings.
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