Besides having fun with disguises and masks, Carnival is an opportunity to enjoy excellent desserts. If in Italy, fritters are consumed by different regional names, in France they will delight with the sucrés beignets. Here is the recipe of Thierry Loy, maître boulanger of Égalité in Milan
Besides having fun with disguises and masks, the Carnival it is an opportunity to enjoy excellent special desserts. If in Italy fritters are consumed called frappe or frìtole or chiacchiere depending on the region, in France they delight with the merveilles, le bugnes or i beignets sucrés. Served simple or with apples and berries, sugary donuts were chosen by Thierry Loy, maître boulanger of egalite of Milan, to bring a French touch to Italian Carnival. And he gave us the recipe!
Before discovering the ingredients and the preparation of donuts for the French Carnival, we are better acquainted with the master baker of the particular local bakery-café-bistro located in the heart of Porta Venezia.
Why did you choose Italy, especially Milan, to bring your art?
«I moved to Milan with my daughter after spending 14 years working in my bakeries in France in the Queyras valley, on the French side of Monviso. I arrived in Milan after meeting Tiziano Vudafieri (n.d.r. known architect and food entrepreneur) and his wife, Catherine Vautrin, who is French. They came regularly to take their holidays in the small town of Molines where I had opened my first bakery. At first they were passionate about my bread and then, in 2015, we started designing a French bakery in Milan. I sold those I had in France to my employees who continue with my bread-making method and I arrived in Milan to open Égalité .
What differences and similarities do you feel between Italy and France on the world of sweets and boulangerie in general?
"In common is the fact that both Italians and French have a great taste in terms of desserts. Surely the great quality of the fruit that is found in Italy gives my desserts an added value, while the strengths that come from France are the flour and the quality of the butter, two very important elements. Let's say that Italians love our French desserts, while the French love tiramisu and ice cream ".
If you had to choose a type of bread or a dessert to describe yourself, what would it be?
«A Kouign Amann in the version of my daughter Manon: a simple and generous dessert, which however constitutes a real pleasure for the palate and represents and reminds me of my Breton origins.
Can you tell us about your childhood memories of cooking and carnival?
"During the Carnival in the village where I grew up it was tradition to kill a pig on the farms, to eat a part on Monday and Shrove Tuesday. Even the neighbors were called to participate in these dinners, in an atmosphere of celebration and conviviality. For this occasion the kouign-amann was also prepared, sweet bread with butter .
Beignets sucrés: why did you choose these Carnival sweets?
"Because they are easy to make and can also be prepared with the children for a moment of sharing and love".
Jovial and always available to have a chat, you can find Thierry Loy in his large visual laboratory of egalite, the Milanese concept that is more than one thing: a bakery, a store of fresh and packaged products, a destination for a fleeting coffee, for a lunch, a French snack or an unprecedented aperitif. Here you can enjoy his savoir-faire of tradition boulangère French between baguette, Tropezienne or croque-monsieur with a good Italian cappuccino or a verre de Beaujolais at all hours. Meanwhile, here the recipe signed by Thierry Loy for a Carnival à la façon française:
Beignet Sucré par Thierry Loy
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 1h 30
Cooking time: about 15 minutes
Ingredients for 6 people
500 grams of flour
3 eggs
20 cl of warm milk
50 grams of soft butter
10 grams of fresh levy
1 bag of vanilla sugar (15 grams)
1 liter of frying oil
Method
Mix the sifted flour and baking powder in a bowl.
Dig a well in the middle and add the sugar, eggs, soft butter and salt.
Stir a little at a time adding a little warm milk.
Stir until a soft dough is obtained and leave to rest under a towel for about 1 hour.
Spread the dough on a floured work surface, about 1 cm thick.
Cut out the circles with a knife and allow them to rest for 30 minutes.
Put the cooking oil to heat and fry the donuts turning them as soon as they are golden.
Drain the donuts and sprinkle with powdered sugar … bon appétit!
Variant
You can make a filling for your donuts by putting some chocolate dough or jam. For this, cut the donut in half and stuff it.
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