Muffuletta King Cake
My wife Mary Ann had the idea of making a muffuletta, using the same kind of bread that would be used to make a king cake, but without any of the sweet ingredients that define a king cake. With a number of recipes at hand, she asked me to leave the kitchen and not to bother her with any of my dubious advice. What came out was surprisingly good. The bread part had a near-perfect king-cake appearance and texture. The meats and cheeses bakes inside the dough in such a way as to almost melt into the bread. I am no fan of hot muffulettas, but I didn't get a chance to taste it until it had cooled down. By that time, the cheese had reformed and the fat from the salami returned to its place. It's a unique and fun idea.
- Bread
- 1 1/2 packets active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup milk at room temperature
- 1 cup bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbs. salt
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
- Fillings
- 1/2 lb Chisesi ham, sliced very thin
- 1/2 lb Genoa salami, sliced very thin
- 1/2 lb provolone cheese
- 2 cups Italian olive salad
1. Stir the yeast into the milk. Let it sit on the counter until it begins to foam.
2. Pour the yeasty milk into the bowl of a large mixer. Using the paddle attachment, slowly blend about half of the bread flour into the milk. Mix for three minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the remaining flour (both kinds), egg, salt and half the melted butter. With the hook attachment, run the mixer on medium-slow speed until the dough rolls up and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, leaving almost no dough sticking to the bowl.
4. Move the dough to a glass bowl. Add the remaining melted butter and coat the dough with the butter. Cover the glass bowl with a damp, warm towel or plastic wrap. Keep in a warm space for an hour.
5. When the dough is approximately twice its original size, , place it on a floured board and roll it out into a sheet of dough about a quarter-inch thick. Slice the dough sheet into two sheets lengthwise, about the same size.
6. Lay down about half of the ham, salami and cheese down half of one of the dough sheets. Leave a narrow, uncovered strip along the edge of the meat and cheese. Fold the uncovered dough over and press it down along the edge, to seal the meat and cheese inside the dough. Repeat this for the second half of the dough, meat and cheese.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, no convection.
7. On a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, connect the ends of the two sealed pieces of dough to form a king cake. Bake the "cake" in a 350-degree oven, and bake at 350 until golden brown.
8. Remove to a serving platter and ladle the olive salad over the top.
