Ciamella, Ciambella (Italian Bagels?)

Ciamella is a bread from, Frosinone, Italy the town where my uncle grew up. I have always wanted to learn how to make it so I invited my cousin Stephen over to teach me. This bread is not well know outside of this region in Italy but it has been a fixture of dinners with my Aunt & Uncle as long as I can remember. This video is a documentation of a family recipe. I hope you try it & love it.
Film, Editing & Production:Karen & Frank Proto
Special thanks to Stephen for spending the time to share this family recipe.
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10#/4.5 kilos all purpose flour
1 cup/237 g kosher salt
10 cups/2.37 liters warm water
3/4 cup/96 g anise seed
6 envelopes rapid rise yeast

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Tell me about a family recipe you make to keep tradition alive.

[@charliesguitarandgaming896]

One my family makes every Easter is Italian Meat Pie. A pie crust filled with ricotta, mozzarella, and many Italian meats, like Italian sweet sausage, salami, prosciutto, ham, and pepperoni. My grandpas favorite! Everybody has their own version.

[@HeraldHealer]

My best friend's mom (RIP) taught me how to can so I can understand my great grandma's caning recipes.

[@dhyanal]

Ricotta pie traditionally made at Easter, sometimes with orange and another version with meats. Rice pie is something I'd like to duplicatebut haven't yet. Pepper cookies, crunchy and dippable. I came here to make this for my brothers Antonio and Benito.

[@ljenkins4627]

Jenkins/Veidt make real egg nog by hand (because we don't own a mixer) Renner/Steins make potato pancakes

[@faxfax-of9bw]

My mother in law came from Frosinone Italy. Great watching you.

[@fatyma_zahra]

This was so heart-warming to watch! Cousins are our first friends (especially if you're an only child). This recipe is truly a labor of love. It is a great bonding activity for loved ones to share.

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Amen. When my son was small, we would make Mickey Mouse and Frosty the Snowman pancakes and cookies, like all moms do. Then he got older... 4th grade. I pulled out the kitchen stool for him to stand on, with the largest russet potatoes I could find. Sliced them approximately 1/4" thick, lengthwise. He is a boy, and I knew that one day he would discover knives, right? Taught him to put a wet paper towel under the cutting board, so it didn't slide. Safety first. We cut out thin Mickey Mouse and Frosty the Snowman, triangles, squares, circles and ovals of potato slices, and fried them with our ham/bacon and eggs for breakfast. Repeated it many times, so he would learn to handle a knife safely. Always with the handle extended, fingers tucked in so as not to come in contact with the cutting edge. I continued to help him have a collection of pocket knives over the years. Almost 50 before he was 16. No one in our State can buy a pocket knife until they are over 18. "Mom, would you come over here?" was his text at Swap Meets and convenience stores. I am on aisle 12. Funnier than kraut. Little did they know... he had several sets of Samurai swords, all mounted, a few dozen pocket knives, and a 15-pound Excaliber replica mounted on his wall. Set me back $125. Today, he is an athlete supreme, and a Soldier, a Weapons Specialist (guns mostly). Don't know where that came from, lol. Know what he taught me, while a single mom? Hold the knife handle in one hand. Take your thumb nail and run it from the handle to the tip... carefully! Close your eyes or look off on the distance. Block all else out. Your thumbnail will tell you where the indents are, and it needs to be sharpened. Whoodathunkit, right?, lol.

[@tomjones2202]

I'm a grandpa and I learned so much from my grandmother. Now,, my grandkids are by MY side learning simple and fun things to make! Thanks and I'll keep following!

[@mulliexploder1]

Ive been waiting for this video ever since you announced it! My nonna use to make them all the time and the recipe was lost when she passed, Im so happy I can use this recipe. Thank you so so much!!

[@brynnawill7475]

chef frank: here's how to make something you've never even heard of before me: oh thank god finally

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Right? 👏 🙃 👏

[@civilizeddiva]

Welcome, Cousin Steven. Thank you for sharing your recipe! 00:57: Fantastic idea, carb bracelets!Better than those electronic watches that snitch on you and remind you how lazy you were all day😅

[@wieskegeluk6546]

"now you kneed until your arms fall off!" The true secret to bread making

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Or just run a few batches through your KitchenAid Mixer, right? 🤔 You can quadruple recipes in a very large plastic or stainless steel bowl. Take the stainless steel bowl that came with the mixer off. Set aside. Slant the large plastic bowl or large stainless steel bowl at an angle under the dough hook or whisk, and whip up some cookie dough in 10 minutes flat. WARNING!! DO NOT USE CERAMIC OR GLASS BOWLS FOR THIS APPLICATION! ONE WRONG MOVE, AND THEY CAN SHATTER IN YOUR HANDS, and it's a 911 call or a trip to the Emergency Department. Seriously! Works for cookies or bread, pizza dough. Whipping cream to soft or firm peaks? You betcha! Paid over $300 for mine long ago. Worth every penny. Small bowl? Just switch it out. If you are considering buying a stand mixer, watch for the horse power. It makes a serious difference if you use it often. It is an investment and will last you for decades to come. Many great, awesome brands out there, but KitchenAid is the best, in my opinion. Note my name, lol. Do your research, take notes, consider how long you will need it, what your specific needs/applications are, etc. THINK: 10 or 20 years from now... then look back to today. Have had my KitchenAid stand mixer for over 30 years, and still love it. Ordered the sausage/meat grinder and the pasta maker attachments long ago. Well worth it! Hope this helps, sweetheart.

[@OceanMcIntyre]

My granmother used to make these, too! She and I were the only ones who liked anise, so she stopped making them. I never had a recipe for them, so thank you for making this so I can try to make them again.

[@grant1133]

Your family are great , just how I imagine Italian Americans to be. Even if none of your viewers make it , you'll have this video record for future generations

[@jack_batterson]

Chef Frank doesn't use his muscles to knead. He doesn't want to break the table.

[@davidmyers-wakeman5515]

Awesome video - thank you Frank

[@wescraven2606]

This is probably my favorite video that you've made so far. Great job guys!

[@Imformvenice]

Hi Frank, just wanted to let you know, this bread is called Ciammella o Ciambella Ciociara, it's a delicious ancient bread from South Lazio, Rome's region!

[@ellenmauti8294]

I absolutely love this. My dad was born in Veroli . They came to the US in 1928. This was always a staple in our home. Daddy use to tell me about going down to town and baking in huge ovens, I think he said stone ovens. I have tried for years to make them taste like gramma's but didn't quite get it right. I could never get that twist in it. I am so excited to use your recipe. I was just telling my husband about my gramma making the sign of the cross over her bread before baking. It was a great, memorable cry I had since my dad and gramma are both gone. Thank you so much for this video. It really made my day..

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Thank you for sharing. Food memory is so important in our lives. It brings us closer to the people we have lost. Glad this video brought you back.

[@danieljordan4137]

Great techniques! I've always wanted to be a stand mixer

[@lorunnn]

Chef Frank, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and recipes, love your videos please keep them coming! Also, love seeing traditional Italian recipes!

[@noanevo3101]

I think that this is one of the best, if not the best video so far. I love the personal story, and I really identified with it since I'm too really into exploring my family heritage and keep it a live so the next generations will know it and keep it too. The process of making the Ciamella looking really long, but it looks like it worth it. It looks yummy! I hope that you'll do more videos like that with Stephen, sharing more of your family recipes!

[@emmayoung3355]

Really enjoyed this video, great family! Thanks Frank and Stephen!

[@DeathcapPoppy]

that looked super cool great video production btw

[@inthemisosoap]

My nonna made these!!! We usually ate them around new years. Loved them. My mom knows the recipe but doesn't make them every year like my nonna did. I always called them Italian bagels, too! And eat them with pastina. Yum!!!

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

They are basically a bagel.

[@mariabaldesarra1897]

My Parents and siblings are from Frosinone Broccostella I was born in Canada and YES I continue to make ciamella along with my middle Son who loves learning the Italian culture and wonderful foods glad I found this site Buon Natale! I hope I can continue finding recipes of my childhood memories ❤ ciao ciao

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Glad that someone recognizes it. I didn’t think so many people knew about it.

[@zensicles]

My mother is from Fontechiari, Frosinone she came to the US when she was 9 and my grandmother made ciamelle all the time!

[@steeleronfire7030]

My family comes from Pofi which is just about 20 minutes outside of Frosinone and my nonna and aunts would make this same bread when I was a kid. Thanks for the recipe!

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

You are the first person that has said they have seen this bread before.

[@fillyprinsloo582]

I come from Artena and my Nonna used to make them all the time together with all the other Nonnas in the community. When she passed away the recipe was lost. Thanks to you I can make my own

[@sandispringfelch1317]

Did he actually ask if Frank has any olive oil? 🤣

[@Cadwaladr]

That's what I was thinking. I would have been like, "Ok, Frank, bust out that olive oil."

[@awg6397]

Chef Frank be like "I can have some in 10 minutes, let me run out to my olive tree real quick"

[@joeees7790]

That's important that you noted you're using Diamond Kosher salt as when measured volumetrically it isn't quite the same as other brands (eg: Mortons).

[@sle7936]

Once a teacher, always a teacher. Learning something new ( the wrapping technique) everyday!

[@GiuseppePipia]

I did a research and in Frosinone dialect it's called "ciammella", which stands for ciambella. Unfortunately the names often drop the doubles in American-Italian, since in English double consonants aren't that often. Here's the link: frosinone.italiani.it/la-ciambella-ciociara/

[@shvat26]

These remind me of ka'ak bagels (light texture, with sesame seeds) sold as street food in Middle East. Makes me wonder about recipe sharing or shared influences around the Mediterranean.

[@meta_ai]

I like this format. Please invite other people and let them share their recipes.

[@moeveggies2292]

Just found out now, that you have your own channel. This is so amazing Chef Frank! You are so informative and don’t rush the information. Thank you so much, I subbed right away.

[@SurajThapar]

Amazing, looking forward to more such recipes.

[@graceheller618]

I just saw that you started making your own videos! I'm super excited to binge watch them all :)

[@photoflo78]

My family is from Frosinone 🥰 my dad just made a batch which is why I was checking this out.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Does it look similar?

[@photoflo78]

@@ProtoCookswithChefFrank we makes them a little smaller, some we leave straight but only about 3in long

[@tomoe251]

I haven’t watched video yet but I’m excited just because of the words “Italian “ and “bagels” :)

[@Aaron-kj8dv]

I loved Ciamella in the Sopranos, Edie Falco really nailed that character. I'll show myself out.

[@FrankTedesco]

Carmella was her name

[@jonathandevries2828]

Your aunt sounds exactly like how i imagined your aunt would sound! lol

[@RedRoseSeptember22]

Same, I love that Italian/New York accent haha.

[@OurKitchenClassroom]

What a beautiful way to share and preserve this delightful family tradition!!! 💜💜💜 Do you ever add sugar and/or baking soda to the boiling water to increase browning during baking?

[@Cadwaladr]

Well, I just got 12 lbs of flour from Costco, so I guess I have to try this. Might just do a quarter batch though. Now I gotta get anise seed. I've never cooked or baked with anise, but I like fennel, and I like absinthe, so it should be good.

[@DovidM]

I would use a bigger pot to boil them in so that you can do three to four at a time.

[@boomshankaneil]

"Until the seeds pop out ❤" priceless

[@faxfax-of9bw]

Thanks for sharing. My neighbor makes this for Easter.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Hope you enjoy

[@angelatimpone5691]

Very well done. You guys need a show! Interesting!

[@LollipopVirus20]

I've recently started watching your videos! They are amazing 😊!!!

[@mybaelam]

FRANK WHAT??? YOU HAVE A CHANNEL? This is great!!

[@geomondiale1768]

Great job guys

[@charlesrose7212]

Awesome video. Thanks! 😀

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Glad you liked it!

[@ItalianGemCafe]

I Was looking for a recipe to make these. My family and husband comes from frosinone as well. Such a small world. 😊 I love these and really need to make them here.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

I love this bread and it is worth the effort.

[@donatospoony]

Anyone’s mom made hard , frustrating to eat ciambella’s . ( not chewy ) I remember as a kid being pissed off because it wasn’t a cookie , but I’d knaw on it regardless ! It’s weird , I really miss them , later on with a glass of red wine . Great video

[@minapapillo52]

Love it, thank you

[@mousiebrown1747]

I may have seen these on a St Joseph’s Day altar. I know the anise bread/cookie smell from the delicious cookie treats at the Italian bakery. Wonderful memories! Huge Italian community in & around New Orleans.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

I didn't know that. How is the Italian food down there?

[@mousiebrown1747]

ProtoCooks with Chef Frank It’s great! On the outskirts of New Orleans is Kenner, LA. Way back when (meaning a hundred years ago or so), Italian/Sicilian immigrants built a farming community to be the green grocers to New Orleans. Also they moved to a very rural (then) area north of Lake Pontchartrain called Independence, LA. That latter is near Des Allemands (French for the Germans), where Germans immigrated - supposedly adding much sausage and beer brewing to the already established French/Spanish/Creole-African/Native American ((especially for seasonings & probably for local seafood)) cuisine of the already ritzy folk of New Orleans. This is as I recall from public tv WYES shows about local cooking history. Ireland also sent a population of Nuns and others to New Orleans so in normal years, since it’s New Orleans, there are a few street walking krewes and a few float parades for either St Patrick’s (cabbage, potatoes & carrots are tossed to the crowds-Yes!-buy your own corned beef!) or St Joseph’s day or both combined into one parade at locales in & around New Orleans. Laissez les bon temps roulez! // Let the good times roll! No parades last year or this year due to the virus arriving earlier during Mardi Gras. No Mardi Gras parades or balls this year. But wait till next year!!! 🤩🤩🤩. Thanks so much for the good memories and great recipes and how-to helps. Im older and have some mobility issues plus quarantined in the Northshore area of piney woods/rural&urban residences north of Lake Pontchartrain and it is lovely. High ground. Oh, the Italians also contributed many jazz musicians and big bands like local Louis Prima.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

I will have to come down that way some day. thanks for the history lesson. I didn't know Louis Prima was from LA.

[@mousiebrown1747]

ProtoCooks with Chef Frank You will be most welcome here. Maybe if you’re interested, give the public tv station a call (WYES-tv) to see if they’re filming any local cooking shows & come watch their routine. I haven’t been watching tv for years - just internet/cellphone - so I don’t know what they’re into nowadays. I’m really appreciative of all the hard tech work as well as groovy content you’re producing. 👍🏻

[@xxPenjoxx]

Looks tasty!

[@statters]

I want that mixing bowl :)

[@paulinedunne3481]

I think a video about getting the process from an Italian grandma would be really cool -mostly because I cook like an Italian grandma and whenever my friends ask for recipes its like 'next time I make it. I'll try to remember to write it down, i guess.'

[@shvat26]

Two sources for you. Pastagrannies site. And Jamie Oliver tv series from Italy roughly in the past 5 years, where he got most of the recipes from nonnas.

[@paulinedunne3481]

Thank you so much! I think it’s going to be an interesting process to watch: I don’t have an Italian grandma, but my Irish one is not particularly forthcoming with the scone recipes.

[@Fenix199X]

One at a time, I saw chef Frank’s face 😄 That’s quite time consuming This technic is the similar when you cooked Pretzels

[@spinderellas6272]

My ex husband’s family was from a small town in Italy and made something like this but I think they called it ciamalone. I have been looking for this, so hopefully this is similar. They made theirs with 25 pounds of flour!

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Hope you enjoy our version

[@chriswhinery925]

I can't stand anise but I bet this would be great with something like caraway seeds instead for those like me who can't stand anything licorice flavored. Or you could put in some dried herbs or something.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

If you make it it’s your bread. Flavor it how you please.

[@marielenarecine4389]

The best!

[@lynnstlaurent6789]

Anise is also excellent for digestion.

[@apace003]

No R. The should also be cooked to a dark brown almost like a loaf of pumpernickel bread.

[@paweciura9575]

It kinda resemble polish obwarzanek (kind of bagel too). :D

[@tonytullio5676]

Great instructions! First batch was way to salty even with kosher salt. Had to toss it out. Other than that they were just like my moms. I will use a quarter the salt for the next batch.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Thanks for watching!

[@domenickrondello9548]

Chef Franco and Stefano, multi grazie, my wife and I are going to attempt making this multi-generalizationàl, (my own word), recipe. I'm 83 years young, and I really need a workout. I will let you know how this turns out. I promise Dominico e: Phyllicia😊😮

[@Theliberaldiva]

My aunt made this when she was alive.

[@anthonypalumbo4692]

Other freezing them can they be kept in a tin or plastics bag

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Other THAN freezing them? Re-watch the vid? I think they addressed this issue. You can also Google almost anything, right? 🙃👍🙃

[@elisacoclite6140]

Might be ciambella maybe? I'm italian and I've never heard of ciarnella 😮

[@jaxscales6158]

It’s spelled correctly in the title. I’m sure that “misspelling” was just an accent thing

[@giovanni1169]

In Frosinone this food is called ciamella. Not Ciambella. Must be the dialect, i have only heard ciamella my family is from there.

[@user-wg4ie9pb3x]

Fantastic content.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Thank you

[@user-wg4ie9pb3x]

@@ProtoCookswithChefFrank : Would love to see more of your fam featured in your vids. Y'all are so amiable and photogenic.

[@madpetrolhead1]

I have seen in videos for bagels that the shine that comes is from adding baking soda to the water in which you boil them.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

We tried it and it was good. They turned out yellow.

[@chriswhinery925]

@@ProtoCookswithChefFrank Might depend on the flour, most of the bagel recipes I've seen that use a baking soda dip use regular bleached flour, maybe the unbleached flour is why it turned out different? Not sure of the chemistry involved there but it's the only real difference I can think of between this and the usual bagel recipes I see.

[@johnwelter7081]

Rad video!

[@xpyr]

I'm wondering, could you use a stand mixer to make these?

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Maybe an industrial one. A kitchen aid would not be able to handle this dough. It's too firm.

[@xpyr]

@@ProtoCookswithChefFrank thanks for answering :)

[@shadowkiller7510]

Hi the food looks good

[@anniecrino6482]

Hi chef frank!

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Hi Annie

[@Hripija]

I really want to make this right now

[@michaelbratten2403]

Italian Carl Pilkington?

[@TheBobbyBlaby]

Comment for the algorithm

[@imeromi]

For those of us who don't live in USA, how much yeast is in 6 packets?

[@OurKitchenClassroom]

A packet of yeast from the U.S. is approximately 7 grams, or 2.25 teaspoons.

[@potassium4064]

Do you have any fish taco recipes?

[@shellycarter155]

❤️❤️❤️

[@carolynweir6367]

We don’t get kosher salt in South Africa

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

Use flaky sea salt if you have it

[@31650]

🥰

[@Sora3Valli]

Ciammella sorana

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Or just run a few batches through your KitchenAid Mixer, right? 🤔 You can quadruple recipes in a very large plastic or stainless steel bowl. Take the stainless steel bowl that came with the mixer off. Set aside. Slant the large plastic or large stainless steel bowl at an angle under the dough hook or whisk, and whip up some cookie dough in 10 minutes flat. WARNING!! DO NOT USE CERAMIC OR GLASS BOWLS FOR THIS APPLICATION! ONE WRONG MOVE, THEY CAN SHATTER IN YOUR HANDS, and it's a 911 call or a trip to the Emergency Department. Seriously! Works for cookies or bread, pizza dough. Whipping cream en masse to soft or firm peaks? You betcha! Paid over $300 for mine long ago. Worth every penny. Small bowl? Just switch it out. If you are considering buying a stand mixer, watch for the horse power numbers. It makes a serious difference if you use it often. It is an investment and will last you for decades to come. Many great, awesome brands out there, but KitchenAid is the best, in my humble opinion. Note my name, lol. Do your research, take notes, consider how long you will need it, what your specific needs/applications are, etc. THINK: 10 or 20 years from now... then look back to today. Have had my KitchenAid stand mixer for over 30 years, and still love it. Ordered the sausage/meat grinder and the pasta maker attachments long ago. Well worth it! Hope this helps. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you Frank, but you worked way too hard on this one. Saved taking the time to get to the Gym, though, right? Got a decent cardio, biceps, tricepts workout out of it? Yup, and we were just watching you two, lol.

[@zerishkamal279]

What do you mean salty its your hand writing !

[@Paksusuoli95]

Wouldn't the plural be ciarmelli?

[@rcmaniac25]

I know these... I didn't like the licorice/anise... also, most that I encountered were rock hard and wouldn't fit on your arm...

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

There is an Italian snack call taralli that are small and pretzel like.

[@rcmaniac25]

@@ProtoCookswithChefFrank my family actually mentioned these. I wonder if I mixed things up

[@apace003]

It's not Charmella.

[@ProtoCookswithChefFrank]

In my uncle’s region it is. What is it in yours?

[@anniecrino6482]

First!

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

No one cares. We love Frank, and it's not all about eeew, and those that say FIRST, SECOND, 20TH, etc. It's ALL ABOUT THEM, their efforts, their time, their techniques, their cameras, their lighting... and the setting up for a vlog, getting the right guest or recipe, telling the wife, kids and pets to be quiet to make a successful vlog - to help us all become better home cooks/chefs... Google: YT comments, social etiquette, Class level 101. Love you, but reality is still reality, right? 👏

[@barbraponi]

There's no "r" in the pronunciation. It should be CHA-ME-LA.

[@barbraponi]

This is great! Thank you! I'm also Ciociara and I make these occasionally with my mother who is from Fontana Liri, Frosinone.

[@neonana3000]

god frank

[@geekylesbian7440]

Subscribed a few days ago, and this is most likely my first Chef Frank Video and I'm already hooked. Love ya Frank!

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Have a few hours to spare this next week or so? Binge-watch his YT channel for a few hours. At the end of the time, you'll be an inspired semi-master home chef. The struggle is to stop watching him. No lol, 😅. Yes, he's THAT good! There are so many reasons that he has so many followers and adoring fans around the World.

[@MrAssChapman]

Oh shit, that's almost the no-no name that gets you disappeared from social media. Eric Ciar...

[@kendallcuddles]

I don't get it.

[@fatbastard7539]

Putting oil in the water does absolutely nothing for pasta or anything else