As the concept of a circular economy continues to spread, Leonardo Cai along with pastry chef Massimo Peruzzi present a recipe inspired by the art of recycling, an art that has made Prato (Tuscany, Italy) famous throughout the world. The production of regenerated fabrics has become part of the economic and cultural identity of Prato. Leonardo Cai, a student of the Industrial Design course of DIDA – the Design School of the University of Florence, reminds us that this Tuscan city is the capital of textiles. It is he who “designed” the new dessert for his thesis, in collaboration with Maestro of the Flour Arts, Massimo Peruzzi, a pastry chef from Prato and finalist of the Panettone World Cup 2019. Textile - and pastry - arts The “Pan di Stracci”, translated literally as “bread made of rags”, is a baked dessert dedicated to the textile district and to the city of Prato, not only with its dough but also with its packaging. For his design, Leonardo Cai was inspired by Furoshiki, an ancient Japanese tradition that consists in transporting objects with fabrics instead of bags. These fabrics are masterfully folded to obtain a bag. The “Pan di Stracci”, which refers to the work of ragpickers, reuses the leftovers of brioche dough from Italian croissants. The rectangles and triangles of dough, intertwined into a fan-shape, are assembled to create a circle. The trimmings are then rolled up and arranged into a cake tin. Left to rise overnight at a controlled temperature, the balls of dough are then baked in the oven. The cake has an irregular form reminiscent of the “mountains” of rags, or the high piles of fabrics sorted by colour that are then chosen by expert ragpickers. Just like with fabrics, the “Pan di Stracci” can play with colours. For the “Cammellitto” version, filled with an almond cream, the brown colour is obtained with cocoa powder. For the “Verzino” version, filled with pistachio and white chocolate cream, matcha tea powder is used to replicate the green colour. Similarly, for the “Mezzochiaro” version, filled with Chantilly cream, the yellow colour is obtained from turmeric and coconut paste. For the “Rossino” version, filled with fig jam, the red colour is obtained from strawberry paste. 19
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