Thanks for everyone's responses! Panelle is delicious- really distinct. I grew up eating it at a focacceria in Brooklyn- You could get it as an appetizer which was just panelle on a plate, maybe sprinkled with some fresh grated cheese, or you could get it on a sandwich in which case it was panelle on a delicious crusty roll, topped with ricotta and grated cheese. This was slightly dry but still good enough that I am thinking about it and haven't had it for at least 10 years probably. :) I will make it soon and post about it.

iuzzini, have fun; i had never heard of panelle either.

Ms Nickel, count me among the admirers of your blog and your writing. That bread story was wonderful.

From what I found online, panelle look a lot like panisses - fried chickpea flour sticks. On the panisse front, I recommend David Lebovitz's method, found here:http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/07/panisses-1/

Super yummy.

Wow..thanks so much to Cookinginvictoria & Mrslarkin for the positive feedback about my bread post...it means a lot to me.

I've never tried panelle, but it sounds delicious.

Ms. Nickel, I am so glad that mrslarkin posted about your blog because I took a look at it, too. I also found your post about your family's ritual of bread baking evocative and very moving. So grateful to have read your remembrance of your dad and mom. They sound like very special people.

I've never heard of panelle! Sounds great! iuzzini let us know what you end up making.

Ms Nickel, I clicked on your name, to see who you are, because I'm nosy, and discovered your blog, and started reading, and wanted to tell you that's the first bread recipe ever that made me cry. You are a really talented writer.

Ah, panelle!! This isn't hard but labor intensive and takes two people to do the stirring--one really has to hold the pot. The epicurious recipe is the basic one, and works, but I spread that much panelle batter over a much arger surafce and make it much thinner. I use the back of two pans or a dozen or so dinner plates. When you remove the panelle from the plates, you can actually stack it, and slice it into slenders wedges for frying. Serves as an appetizer wiht deifferent dips--better than crackers or chips.
I also use a deep fryer for the frying part of it--in Sicily you find these deep fryers on every corner selling fresh panelle.
The panelle need to be salted lightly right after frying, and even a sprinkle of fresh parsley is good.

I haven't tried this, but I've had good luck with numerous Epicurious recipes with decent ratings. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fried-Chickpea-Polenta-em-Panelle-em-241707