Campania — Naples and Campanian countryside
Naples' rough country bread — 'cafone' means peasant or rough — a sourdough bread with a thick, chewy crust and a moist, irregular open crumb, made from a blend of type '0' flour and semola rimacinata with natural leaven (pasta madre). The bread is shaped into large rounds (1.5–2kg), scored deeply across the top with a single slash, and baked in a wood-fired deck oven at high temperature. The crust is the defining element — thick, almost leathery, with a deep caramel colour and a slight bitterness from the high-temperature bake. Pane cafone holds for 3–4 days and is the daily bread of Neapolitan tables.
A sharp-soft contrast: the thick, leathery crust with its roasted-grain bitterness gives way to the moist, tangy sourdough interior; the bread is the vehicle for everything else on a Neapolitan table — a functional, honest, daily bread
{"Use a blend of 70% type '0' flour and 30% semola rimacinata — the semolina adds structure and flavour without making the bread too heavy","Long cold fermentation (12–16 hours at 4°C) after shaping — develops the sourdough's complexity and makes the bread last longer","Bake at maximum temperature (270–280°C) with steam in the first 10 minutes — the steam delays crust formation for maximum oven spring","The deep single slash across the top allows controlled expansion — without it the bread bursts irregularly","Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours minimum — the interior is still setting; cutting hot pane cafone produces a gummy, doughy crumb"}
{"The pasta madre for pane cafone is maintained at a stiffer consistency than liquid sourdough — 50% hydration stiff leaven gives a less sour result that suits this bread","A dusting of semola on the scoring slash creates a decorative contrast against the dark crust","For the home baker: a cast iron Dutch oven preheated at 250°C replicates the deck oven steam-and-heat environment reasonably well","The bread's crust becomes magnificently chewy when the bread is 2 days old — not stale, just better"}
{"Under-scoring — the bread expands uncontrolled and the crust is thick but uniform rather than split and dramatic","Insufficient fermentation — pane cafone's flavour complexity requires time; rushed fermentation produces bland bread","Low oven temperature — the thick crust requires high heat; low-temperature baking produces a pale, undeveloped crust","Cutting before cooling — the crumb collapses and becomes gummy; patience for 2 hours is mandatory"}
Il Pane di Napoli (Vincenzo Buonassisi)