Reflections from the diary of a hungry traveler

05.07.2015 ROME:

This morning we woke late and went to hunt for some breakfast. Mattia really wanted me to try ‘bombolini’, the Italian equivalent of a custard doughnut. No opposition from me… I surrendered willingly to the steady step of a man who’s mind was stead-fast on pastry. Darting from alleyway to alleyway, we stopped at three bakeries before arriving at our place. A tiny, inconspicuous establishment that found itself nestled, as if by accident, between the garage doors of two apartments. There was barely room for us at the bar, I was bumper to bumper with weathered Italian men, finding respite in caffeine and gluten. We ordered two bombolini and two espresso’s. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long… there was an emptiness in me that was about blossom into the madness of hungry desire. Mattias and I were not polite in our devouring. Mama mia, that was something new. Sweet, fluffy pastry like air had been dunked in a sugary snow. At its core, a melting river of near-savoury custard lubricated the lining of our throats. We ordered two more for good measure and headed out hand in hand, ready to tackle Rome.

05.07.2021 PERTH:

This morning I awoke with the same lethargy that has been haunting me for months. For those who live for the freedom to roam, COVID has been a heavy burden. I hesitantly roll out of bed, dragging my feet to the AeroPress. Kettle hissing, its so cold and I don’t feel like eating. Staring out the window at the deeply uninspiring brick wall of our miserable neighbor’s, my mind in a hazy blank trance. I open the fridge, stand still for a second and close it again. I repeat this sad dance three times before the sudden thought hits me… ‘Where did my love for food go?’. I am affronted with a rush of memories of time spent wandering, far from home, heart on fire, hunting for the next meal. Another thought: ‘Those moments are what I live for’. A deep discontentment with my complacency is awakened. I’m on a mission to remember. I race to my room, sifting through old diary entries, each one naturally in pursuit of life’s most important question: What’s for lunch? I flick to today’s date, six years ago and stretched out before me, a memory. Rome 2015, you and I, the day of the bombolini. My heart is filled with desire to have this time once more. But I cannot be in Rome, and I cannot be with you, so there is only one option: I am thrust on a bombolini making mission.

Recipe adapted from Inside the Rustic Kitchen

Ingredients

Bomboloni dough

• 2 cups strong bread flour (280g) see notes

• 2 cups 00 flour or all purpose flour (280g) see notes

• 3 large eggs at room temperature

• 6.5 tbsp butter softened (90g)

• ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)

• ½ cup lukewarm milk (120ml)

• ½ tsp vanilla paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 ¼ tsp fast action yeast (7g)

• 1 small pinch of salt

• 2-3 tbsp caster sugar or confectioners sugar for rolling doughnuts in (I also added some cinnamon!)

• Sunflower or vegetable oil for frying (I used butter and the result was a saltier and utterly delicious adaptation)

Pastry cream

• 5 egg yolks

• 2.5 cups milk (½ litre)

• ¼ cup cornstarch (30g)

• ⅓ cup sugar (70g)

• ½ tsp vanilla pasta or 1 vanilla bean

• Zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Bomboloni dough

1. Put the flour, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and stir to combine.

2. Scatter cubes of butter over the flour so it's evenly distributed then pour in the eggs and lukewarm milk, vanilla and salt.

3. Mix to combine then knead by hand for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth, elastic and slightly tacky

4. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface. Shape the dough into a smooth ball by kneading it 2-3 times.

5. Place the dough in a clean bowl lightly greased with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to prove for 2-3 hours

6. Once the dough has risen, tip it out onto a clean work surface, knock out the air then knead it a few times back into a smooth ball.

7. Flatten the dough with your hands then roll out on into a rectangle ½ inch (1.5cm) thick.

8. Use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out round doughnuts about 3.5 cm in diameter. Re-knead the scraps and roll out again to cut out more doughnuts.

9. Place the cut-out doughnuts on a surface lined with baking parchment and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave to prove for 1-1.5 hours.

10. While the doughnuts are proving, make the pastry cream and leave to cool (directions below).

Italian pastry cream (crema pasticciera)

11. Put the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.

12. Add the corn-starch and whisk again until well combined.

13. Heat the milk in a saucepan until hot then turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 minute.

14. Slowly pour in the milk into the egg mixture while constantly whisking so the eggs don’t scramble and there are no lumps.

15. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and heat on a low heat whilst constantly stirring until thick and creamy (about 10-15 minutes) the mixture needs to be very thick. Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat or the eggs will scramble.

16. Once thick, turn of the heat and pour into a clean bowl. Place plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream so a skin doesn't form and leave to cool.

Frying

1. When ready to fry heat a large deep pan or pot of oil until it reaches 170°C/337°F.

2. Carefully drop the doughnuts into the oil and immediately remove the parchment paper with tongs. It's best to fry the doughnuts in batches and not overcrowd the pan.

3. Fry the doughnuts for 2 minutes then turn over and fry for another 2 minutes on the other side.

4. Remove and drain on kitchen paper for a around 2 minutes then roll the doughnuts in sugar. Leave to cool before filling.

Filling the doughnuts

1. To fill the bomboloni insert a small knife into the side of a doughnut and move it around to make a small incision.

2. Fill a piping bag with the pastry cream or desired filling and pipe it into the doughnuts.

3. Serve immediately for best results or store in plastic containers for 1-2 days.

Optional but highly recommended step: Deliver fresh bombolini to all of your friends houses. Instant promotion to Mate of the Year or your money back!

Food helps me understand myself and my place in the world. It guides me to who I am at my best, and gently reminds me to wake up when my soul has left home. It is an anchor, a check point, a clue that encourages me to tune in. I have formed intimate connections through food, it has taken me on multisensory journeys that are woven to the fabric of my heart. May this piece be received as a letter of gratitude for, and a reminder to turn toward the culinary journeys that ground us and make us who we are.