The Bread that Almost Made Me a Vegetarian

Casatiello

I was excited about trying something new, I really was.  After all, if the BBA Challenge has taught me anything (okay, it’s taught me a lot, but that’s just a saying, you know), it’s taught me that bread with “stuff” in it can be really, really good.  And in writing about Casatiello, the bread we made this past week for the challenge, Peter Reinhart referenced the recipe that inspired his version.  That recipe is in the book, The Italian Baker, by Carol Field, and that book has been on my shelf for over 20 years.  I have a great deal of fondness for that book, because after my first attempt at rustic Italian bread from a Sunset Magazine article, I bought The Italian Baker, and made bread from it.  That book has been my faithful companion longer than any of my relationships, houses, or pets.  That book taught me how to bake bread.  And while I have made many loaves of bread from its pages, I had never made the Casatiello.

So off to the Italian deli I went, in search of the most authentic ingredients.  My family, however, said, “You’re making bread with what it in?”  “Salami and provolone?  I don’t know about that . . .”  I was determined to change their minds.  No surprise here, but I tend to be a rather stubborn determined sort, to put it mildly.

Carol explains in her book that Casatiello was originally made for Easter celebrations in the countryside around Naples.  Her version also includes coarsely ground pepper, and gruyere, pecorino romano, and parmesan cheeses.  (Which sounds like a lovely blend, actually.)

Ingredients at the Ready

Sticky Dough

Now it Clears the Sides of the Bowl

Incorporating the Cheese and the Crisped Salami

Ready to Rise

1st Rise is Over

The paper bags were so cute in the little cake pans awaiting the dough.  (Um, they were supposed to be sitting in cans, but I don’t buy too many things in cans, so I had to improvise.)  I felt like I was a guest on Martha Stewart or something.  I’d never baked in brown bags before.  (Does anyone know why this bread is sometimes baked in bags?)

Making Sure the Dough Has 2 Inches of Room

All Greased Up, Puffed Up, and Ready to Bake

I followed all of Peter’s instructions, laughing that a cardiologist would have a heart attack just reading the ingredients:  salami, cheese, eggs, and butter.  (In the bread, not between the bread.)  I chose buttermilk as my option for the liquid.  The bread rose on time, baked up golden brown on top, looking for all the world like two lopsided mushrooms.  The house smelled wonderful, and I thought I would be a convert to the idea of meat in a bread.

Done!

I was wrong.  I was so wrong.  While many, many of my fellow challengers loved this bread, I didn’t.  The bread turned out just fine.  Silky bread, pockets of melted cheese, and crispy, salty salami.  It’s just that we didn’t/couldn’t/wouldn’t eat it.  On the third day, when I forced myself to eat a slice to see if I liked it any better than I had the first two days, my stomach lurched.  That was it.  Into the trash went one-and-a-half loaves of beautifully golden bread.

Looking back, maybe I would have liked a vegetarian version, with dried tomatoes and perhaps a different cheese.  Maybe the provolone with the flavor of the buttermilk was just too sour for me.  I probably hadn’t had a bite of salami in over 10 years.  It’s not my thing.  We eat turkey bacon and turkey pepperoni, when we eat it.  (I know, eeeeuuuwwww!  But in California it’s not that strange.)  I was a vegetarian for a long time, and, even now, I don’t eat much meat.  Especially chunks of salami.  So it just wasn’t meant to be.   I tried.  Although I love the name Casatiello, and playing with the greasy paper bags was fun, I simply won’t be making bread with pieces of meat in it anytime again soon.

To soothe my family’s disappointment, I made Poor Man’s Brioche.  The one with only one stick of butter in it.  I even used low -fat milk in it.  Every bite disappeared.  I think I liked it better than Middle-Class Brioche, to tell you the truth.  Then, just for old time’s sake, I made Spaccatini (tiny cleft rolls) from The Italian Baker.  My family didn’t really suffer now, did they?

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Tagged as: baking in bags, BBA Challenge, Carol Field, Casatiello, Provolone, Salami, The Italian Baker