Casatiello

14:27 pm, my house, Barcelona.

Nothing makes your house feel like a home like freshly baked bread.  The only thing is.....I don't have a bread maker and rarely think about making bread.  But the thought of my house smelling like a Boulangerie is extremely tempting, and it is one of the last frontiers that as a chef I have not yet gone to.  So, on my last trip to Miami (which was exactly 3 days ago) I was looking through the cookbook aisle in Borders and voila!  "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" caught my eye!  The book was covered in plastic wrap so there was no way I could leaf through it like I do most of the time.  But it has several awards on the front, so I figured, this is gonna be good.

This is actually like a frickin space rocket manual.  The first three chapters are all about times, weights, poolish vs. regular breads (??? right?) and so on and so forth.  If I can't make amazing bread at home with this book, then my friends, I am truly doomed.  But if it works, then I am really excited!  There are recipes on how to make bagels, english muffins, rye, sourdough, panettone even!  All of these breads that you cannot, and probably never will be able to, purchase here in Spain.  I chalk it down to the fact that they just aren't a bread culture.

Today I have decided to make Casatiello bread.  This choice comes after browsing through the book briefly, for two specific reasons.  1. It is one of the only breads that doesn't take 2-3 days to make, and 2. The description : This is a rich, dreamy Italian elaboration of brioche, loaded with flavor bursts in the form of cheese and bits of meat, preferably salami.

OK.........Yum.  I mean, who doesn't like brioche with cheese and salami?  (VEGANS...I know, but I am not one of them and will NEVER be one.  Or friends with one.  Sorry, I am sure  you are all incredible people, but if I can't cook for you.....you know the answer.)

So, up to this point is has been surprisingly easy.  That is because I have a stand up mixer, and have kneaded all the dough with it.  I am not going to do all this by hand, I did that in culinary school and I have had enough of that, thank you.  It has taken me most of the morning, but I have been really focused and happy.  At one point I did get really scared because my mixer was traveling all over my counter top....which means it isn't a "professional" mixer even though it says it is......mental note: need a new mixer if I continue to bake bread.  But, the instructions are so clear and so detailed, that I have never had a recipe work so flawlessly.  Now, my bread is in the oven, and that will be a true test to the validity of the book.  Will let ya know in about 40 minutes.

14:39-  Oh my God....I wish I could post smells cause this is ridiculous.  I can't wait.

14:55-  Bread has come out of the oven.  So far so good, except that I can't cut it for another hour.  Maybe I'll just wait thirty minutes for the sake of posterity.

15:22-  I CANNOT BELIEVE I BAKED THIS BREAD.  It is that amazing.  So, that means if you follow the recipe below, you too, on a lazy Sunday afternoon or whenever tickles your fancy, can make this unbelievably buttery, flaky, crusty, lip smacking bread.  Do it, seriously.

Recipe:

Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small ones

Sponge

1/2 cup unbleached bread flour

1 tbsp instant yeast

1 cup whole milk or buttermilk, lukewarm (90 - 100 F)

Dough

4 ounces dry-cured salami or other meat (bacon if you wish)

3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp granulated sugar

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp. (6 oz)

3/4 cup coarsely shredded or grated provolone (or Gouda, Swiss, cheddar)

1. To make the sponge, stir together the flour and the yeast in a bowl.  Whisk in the milk to make a pancake like batter.  Cover with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 1 hour.  The sponge will foam and bubble and should collapse when you tap the bowl.

2. While the sponge is fermenting, dice the salami into small cubes and saute it lightly in a frying pan to crisp it slightly. (Or cook and crumble the bacon or saute fresh sausage or salami substitutes until crisp, saving the rendered fat.)

3. To make the dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the flour, salt and sugar with a spoon.  Add the eggs and the sponge and mix with a paddle attachment on low speed until all the ingredients form a course ball.  If there is any loose flour, dribble in a small amount of water or milk to gather it into the dough.  Mix for about 1 minute, then let the dough rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to develop.  Divide the butter into 4 pieces.  Begin working the butter into the dough, one piece at a time, mixing on medium speed.  The dough will be soft but not a batter.  Continue mixing for 4 minutes, then switch to a paddle attachment and mix 8 minutes more.  The dough will change from sticky to tacky and eventually come off the sides of the bowl.  If not, sprinkle in more flour until the dough forms a ball and clears the side of a bowl.

4. When dough is smooth, add the meat pieces and mix until they are evenly distributed.  Then gently mix in the cheese until it too is evenly distributed.  The dough will be soft and stretchy, very tacky but not sticky.  If it is sticky, sprinkle in more flour until it firms up.  Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

5. Ferment at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until the dough increases in size by at least 1 1/2 times.

6. Remove the dough from the bowl and leave as 1 piece for 1 large loaf or divide into 2 pieces for smaller loaves.  Mist the inside

of your pan or pans with spray oil.  Lightly dust your hands with the flour and shape into 1 or 2 loaves and place in pans.  Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover the pans with plastic wrap.

7. Proof for 60-90 minutes, or until the dough just crests to the top of the pans.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F, setting the oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

9. Place the pans with the dough in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then rotate 180 degrees.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes.

10. When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  Take it out of

 the pan and let it cool for another hour before serving or slicing.