Prosciutto Bread

Prosciutto Bread is a savory Italian-style baked loaf made with soft, enriched dough and generously filled with cubed prosciutto, cheese, and sometimes pepper or herbs. Golden and slightly crisp on the outside with a fluffy interior, it’s a flavorful, crowd-pleasing bread often served as an appetizer, snack, or centerpiece for gatherings.

Ingredients:

• 240 ml warm water
• 4g granulated sugar
• 7g active dry yeast
• 280g bread flour
• 4g ground black pepper
• 3g salt
• 45g lard, melted
• 340g provolone cheese, cubed
• 340g prosciutto, cubed
• Olive oil

Directions:

You will need a stand mixer for this recipe. In the bowl of the mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together the water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and stir again. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is foamy. If the yeast doesn’t foam, the yeast is likely expired, so you will need to discard the mixture and start over again.

Take one tbsp. of melted lard and add to bowl. Place the rest of the melted lard off to the side for use later.

Add flour, salt, and pepper to bowl. Attach dough hook and turn mixer on medium. Mix dough for about 10 mins. Dough should be sticking to the bottom of the bowl - if it seems too sticky, you can add one tbsp. of flour as needed.

When dough is formed, stop mixer and add the cheese and prosciutto. Mix on low/medium until meat and cheese are equally incorporated.

Brush a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Flour parchment paper and remove dough to paper. Using your hands, roll the dough out into a long log, about 15” long. Twist the dough log from one end to the next to form little cracks in the surface of the dough. Think of the pattern of a candy cane.

Form the log into a circle by connecting both ends of the log. Your dough should now look like a wreath.

Cover dough again with a towel for another hour.

Remove towel and brush an additional tbsp. of melted lard over the top and sides of the dough. If your lard has solidified at all, you may need to melt it again so it’s totally liquified.

Lift edges of parchment paper to transfer loaf onto a pizza stone or a large cast iron surface. Place on the middle oven rack and bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Check it, and bake for another 5 minutes if it’s not quite golden on the outside.

Remove bread from the oven. Brush hot bread with remaining melted lard. Cut and enjoy!