I know what you are going to say- another bread recipe. Better get used it though, because I already made 3 different breads this week and I think we have even more to come very soon. It’s that cast iron pot I bought last weekend, just to cheer myself up! But there were also other things on the way. Last Tuesday people from work organised something called ” The Laser Game”. Have you done it by any chance?? So here is the thing-imagine myself, my whole team including my boss and a few colleagues from the office chasing each other with guns in a steamy, dark sort of labyrinth room đ People were screaming, running away, chasing and killing mostly their own team members!! The rule is- you have 2 or 3 teams, depends on how many people are going to show up- some brought even their kinds, which was a good thing I have to say, since we simply didn’t have a clue about all these video games where you shot the Predator or the Alien or preferably both of them (however I have to quietly admit I attempted this one, but the Alien was usually killing me after like 60 seconds or so, and I still remember the screen of my computer displaying “Oh Marta just got killed, Marta just got killed…so no more games). Anyway, they give you a sort of vest with your name on it- you have to pick a nickname- I was Sarah Connor, but next time I will definitively go for something more spectacular like the Green Lantern ( who doesn’t like Ryan Reynolds right?!!) or Kill Bill! You’ve got points for each shot- positive if you “killed”someone from the other team, and the negative ones for shooting to your own team. Also, the more times you get shot, the more negative points you get. Once you fire your gun, for 8 seconds it gets blocked- the same for the one who got shot or who “killed” you. You might think all this sounds perfectly clear and there is a logic behind it and so on. Well, not for people working in finance…enough to say, some of the game participants were following their “victims” even if their gun was blocked, so once it was loaded up they could shoot right in the victim’s back again… No comments. I think I don’t work in finance long enough…Another thing, some people were just hiding in the dark corners and they were waiting patiently until the more naive ones would approach them too closely- does all this sound familiar to you when you think about the general banking/finance practices??? The positive thing about that evening was, that I woke up the next morning all pumped up and full of energy (on the second thought, maybe I do work in finance long enough awww!) and I decided to try THIS BREAD.
I was looking at this recipe for some time now, and was not sure whether it would work out or not. But let me tell you, this bread is beautiful and very special. I know, it looks a bit unusual, and the taste is very strong, it’s full of cheese in the end. But, if you have it with some good quality ham, or even avocado and a glass of red wine it will make your evening for sure. In this instance I used again the Dutch oven method, also please remember that my cast iron pot has 24 cm of diameter. If you have the 22cm one, this bread will not be as flat as mine. I modified the original recipe- it’s Jim Lahey and his book- by adding some pancetta. If you’re vegetarian however, feel free to add some walnuts, sun dried cherry tomatoes or herbs. Also please remember that the cheese has to be hard, otherwise it will melt in. I thought pecorino was a good idea, but parmigiano is also good and I added a few pieces of parmigiano too. This bread requires about 12-16 hours for the dough to “rest”- it’s “no kneading” method, but I did it to be honest, as I thought the ingredients should be combined properly.
Ingredients
Makes 1 loaf of bread, preparation time- I figured that the best way to do it- you set the dough early in the morning, around 7.30- it takes really 10-15 min, when back home wait until 8 p.m.- then another hour or so and the bread goes to the oven- 20 min with the lid on, another 15-20 min with no lid on, the oven temperature- 230/240 C
- 400 g of flour- any type, however I used 200 g of dark, whole grain flour, have also another 150 g for later when the dough is ready
- 200 g of cheese- pecorino, parmigiano, in my case- chop the cheese in small cubes
- 2 slices of pancetta- in case you’re vegetarian replace it with sun dried cherry tomatoes, walnuts, herbs of your choice
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 teaspoon of instant yeast
- 300 ml of warm water
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
Method
All ingredients combine well in a big bowl, leave aside for 12-16 hours in a warm and quiet place. When the dough is ready, knead it for a few minutes ( I did it anyway just to be sure), form a loaf of bread and place it on a floured table cloth. Place in a plastic bowl of similar size and leave it for another 30-60 min.
In the meantime preheat the oven- for me it takes about 30-35 min- set the temperature for 230-240 C and place the cast iron pot with the lid on inside. After this time, take it out, place the dough inside the pot, and place it again in the oven, for about 20 min. If you remember my Bread with herbs recipe, I added some ice cubes to make the crust more crunchy. You need to place another baking sheet underneath the pot and add some ice cubes- I usually add around 12 of those, and after 15 min just pour a glass of water. After 20 min take the lid off and bake the bread for another 15-20 min.
You might think the dough looks a bit strange- it’s the cheese that makes it looking so, but don’t worry. Once the bread is ready it will be nicely roundy, crunchy and the aroma is amazing. I hope you are going to enjoy it đ
Plate du Jour 
Oh… bread looks gorgeous! Wonderful recipe!
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Bookmarking to give this a try – my first in a cooking pot! – upon return from the US. I will use olives instead of pancetta (although I’m sure that pancetta tastes scrumptious in this). Wishing you a very happy holiday season.
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Thank you Kellie! I hope you’re having a wonderful time with your family and friends down there đ I can imagine it must be great to see them all! xx
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Made my first bread-in-a-casserole today – divine! I knew I had to do it after your first post, and I was right.
Made a simple white sourdough bread which was a tad soft – lovely texture, big holes, but too flat for my liking.
Thanks for convincing me!
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What is the size of your casserole? I figured that everything below 500g of flour should be baked in 22cm diameter casseroles- above this quantity 24cm of diameter. My last bread recipe required 600 g of flour and I made it in the 24 cm one- it was fabulous, but I’m on the market for the 22 cm for the recipes like the one with pecorino and pancetta.
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Nooo! You are giving me numbers!! I cannot deal with numbers!!!
đ
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Hmmm let me think how I could make it simpler for you Madam đ
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You do not need to convince me to make this bread. Cheese inside bread, I am in. I am loving this recipe, Sarah Connor. đ
Btw, it looks like you have such a cool colleagues. đ
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Thank you so much Pang! I’m so happy you’re back đ I will head to your latest post this evening- have seen the pictures and they look amazing! hugs xx Yes, my colleagues are cool, so true!
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Beautiful bread, Marta đ I’m sure I will try this bread during this Holidays. I will add black olives with Pecorino instead of pancetta. Love your pictures.
Happy Holidays xx
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Linda black olives is one of the possible options for this bread, and please let me know how it went for you. I will be making this one with cherry tomatoes at some point- I have another recipe on the way, I hope you’re going to like it too. Thank you so much, I’m in Lyon and it’s wonderful here xx
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Hahaha! I love everything about this post!
Video games are my favorite!
Beautiful pictures sis, great job on this bread!
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Video games and Miss Dana- I kind of knew đ
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Your bread looks gorgeous and the game sounds lots of fun. I love that you added pecorino and pancetta. Amazing. Great photos too. No such thing as too many bread recipes!
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you like it! I thought pecorino and pancetta are already a fantastic combination- to have all this in your bread, that’s heaven đ The laser game is a great fun, that’s true- it can even replace gym on occasion, since you run a lot- at least you should- and in general it was nice to spend that evening with the people I know from work, just doing something else than working you know đ
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What a wonderful looking bread.
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Thank you! I was a bit surprised when I saw it, because it looked a bit different then the first one I made the same week, but once you try it you know this is going to be one of your favorite breads đ
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Ahahaha…Sarah Connor! OMG hilarious! I’ve never laser tagged before, but I’d imagine with the right people it would be so fun. Pecorino and pancetta in bread is always a good idea, and I love that you used whole grain flour…this one is a keeper…thanks for sharing Sarah Connor! đ
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Ihhihiii you know I was laughing to my tears when they put my nickname on the display!! But there were other names, like Matador, so I think mine was not so bad in the end đ This bread is delicious, really good then next day, toasted with some veggies!
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Ahhhh bread AND cheese AND pancetta – with such a lovely crust…. Looks amazing!
How great if could be great if all the wars in the world were as virtual… đ
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Ronit I kind of suspected you might like this combination đ I love it! Pancetta and cheese like pecorino is always good, and imagine you can have it in your bread!! This bread is really good the next day- toasted!
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Can’t get into the laser game, but can definitely get into that wonderful bread and cheese:)
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You know I thought so too, but once you start doing it it’s actually fine and can be really funny! on the other hand nothing can replace the homemade fresh bread I totally agree đ
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This looks delicious, Martka! What’s all this about not baking?!
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Haha there you go! Baking yes- but then the picture part is a bit of disaster- no light đŠ so even if I make something I have to wait until the weekend or I don’t even post it because I don’t like the pictures- where is the Spring ha?!
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We have the same issue here, too! Some days it’s so dull you need an x-ray machine to be able to see the stuff đ
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Tell me about it…I work only with the day light so I suffer a lot
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