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Italian Easter Bread
Casatiello is a traditional savoury Easter bread from the region of Campania, Italy. It’s loaded with lots of cheese and pieces of meat, usually salami, and traditionally made with lard. Although traditionally it is made in a ring with hard boiled eggs on top, I decided to bake in a loaf pan and forgo the boiled eggs.
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Adam again

Here is the starter once again bubbling away... I will not be posting any photos of Adam getting his groove on from now on out. For those of you you who are following these blogs, know he is alive and well in all the recipes.

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Mixing all together
Added eggs, flour, butter(yes, this one also has LOTS of butter), wild yeast, and milk

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resting dough
Formed a dough and let it  rest

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added cheese and meat
So, the traditional version includes salami, and so this has hot genoa salami added. For the cheese, there is a mixture of Asiago, gouda, and raw milk cheddar cheese.

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dough being formed into loaf
After the dough was allowed to rise-- it was formed into loaves, and then baked in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes

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soft crumb and crust
Deliciously cheesy and savory. Understand that this is a really heavy dough and not to be eaten often.

3/12/2010 12:40:12 am

Good job adapting the past two recipes to starter. They look delicious.

I'm so afraid of casatiello. It looks so rich and I know I wouldn't be able to stop at a slice. I would gobble it up in a day!!

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Chardo
3/12/2010 07:58:34 am

Savory...? I dont quite know if that word does this bread justice. I think of all the breads that have touched my palate, this has been the grace of them all. Asiago, exotic cheddar, and gouda! I love this bread and the only thing better that this would be getting another loaf (hint, hint). The rich buttery taste is awesome, could one describe a bread as being smooth? When you warm this bread up, the steam comes off the bread in the shape of little hearts, almost as if the warm bread was saying "your tastebuds are gonna love me." Brush on the egg for a nice sheen, and a taste that will never "lose its shine." Thanks Noo Na!

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3/13/2010 02:14:45 am

absolutely melting gorgeous! where do we get the recipe from???

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Sandra
3/13/2010 05:01:52 am

Mimi,
thank you for the compliments. I have been having so much fun converting the original recipes to starter. Don't be afraid of Casiatiello, it's absolutely delicious and make great gifts to people you know love meat cheese and bread!

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Sandra
3/13/2010 05:06:30 am

Rose,
This is a recipe from "The Breadbaker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart, but you could find the recipe here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=yHGBOXSNogsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=bread+bakers&ei=8_2bS5vmHpmIzQStu7WFCw&cd=1#v=onepage&q=bread%20bakers&f=false

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3/14/2010 12:06:58 am

I've been trying to figure out what the name of this bread is for such a long time! It is one of my favorite Italian stuffed breads. Yours looks fantastic.

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Sandra
8/9/2010 02:12:01 am

Joanne,
Thanks, I hope you have tried this recipe since you stopped by. It is really a delicious and rich bread.

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