Cheese Bread Crescia Recipes

CHEESE BREAD - {CRESCIA} RECIPE

Steps:

• Spray a 6 1/2- by 6 1/2-inch high sided pan and a 4- by 6 1/2-inch high sided pan with olive oil and set aside. The insert to a Slow cooker works well for the larger loaf and brown paper lunch bags or panettone papers work well for the smaller loaf. Pour the water into a large bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the yeast and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes; it will get chalky looking and bubbles should appear on the surface. Beat the eggs with a whisk in a separate bowl to break them up; whisk in the olive oil, black pepper, salt, and grated Pecorino cheese. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture and blend well. Begin adding the flour 1 cup at a time until a dough is created that is not sticking to your hands. Use the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer to make the dough; the dough should wind itself around the paddle attachment when enough flour has been added. If doing this by hand, the job will be a little harder since this is a fairly heavy dough; add just enough flour to allow the dough to come away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface; knead it a few times with your hands, then stretch the dough out, and sprinkle the diced cheeses over the top. Fold the dough over the cheeses and knead them into the dough. Brush a large bowl with olive oil, and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled. This should take about 2 hours. Punch down the dough with your hands, and transfer it once again to a lightly floured surface. Knead it for a few minutes. Cut 2/3 of the dough and knead it into a round; place it in the large pan; round the remaining 1/3 portion of dough and place it in the smaller pan. Cover the doughs with clean towels and allow them to rise for 30 to 35 minutes or until they have risen 2/3 of the way up the sides of the pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the top rack in the oven and set aside. Place the pans on the lowest position in the oven and bake the breads for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean. The breads will rise to impressive heights, and if the tops brown too much before the breads are done, loosely cover them with a piece of aluminum foil. Transfer the breads to a cooling rack. Allow to cool until warm. Run a butter knife inside the pan to loosen the bread from the sides; then invert the pan and remove the bread. If using paper bags or panettone papers, there is no need to remove the bread from the papers. Tip: Use the water drained off of boiling potatoes in the recipe since potato water has so much starch that yeast loves to feed on it. This recipe yields 1 large and 1 small bread.

CRESCIA AL FORMAGGIO (EASTER CHEESE BREAD)

Steps:

• To make the dough in an electric mixer: Combine all of the dough ingredients except the cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat on medium speed for 10 minutes, until the dough becomes shiny and satiny. Add the cheese and beat until blended. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and set it aside to rise for 1 hour. Gently deflate the dough, turn it over, return it to the bowl, and allow it to rise for an additional hour, or until it's nearly doubled in size.
• To make the dough in a bread machine: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for manual or dough, and press Start. Check the dough about 10 minutes before the end of the final kneading cycle, and adjust its consistency as necessary with additional flour or water; it should be shiny and elastic. Allow the machine to complete its cycle.
• To shape the dough: Oil or flour your hands. To make one large loaf, form the dough into a ball, and place it in a greased pandoro (star) or panettone pan, large souffle dish, or other round, deep pan; the pan should be about 6" to 7" wide and 3" to 4" deep. To make two medium loaves, divide the dough in half, shape it into two logs, and place it in two greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans. Cover the loaf or loaves lightly, and allow them to rise for 2 hours (or longer, depending on the warmth of your kitchen); the bread should have become noticeably puffy, though it may not have doubled in size.
• To bake the bread: Put your oven rack in a lower position, just below the middle, and preheat the oven to 425°F Whisk the reserved egg white with the water and brush the top of the loaf/loaves. Place the bread in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, tent the bread lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 25 minutes, until it's a deep, golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F.
• Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges, if necessary, and turn the loaf/loaves out onto a rack to cool completely before slicing. Yield: One large or two medium loaves.