Casatiello bread is a rich, softer, buttery, brioche-like bread with salami, bacon or pepperoni and cheese sprinkled throughout…kind of like a pizza in a loaf of bread. My friend Susie will love this. Susie was my inspiration for this since she’s apparently on some kind of a no-crust pizza diet. LOL!

Ingredients
Sponge
½ cup bread flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm whole milk

Dough
3-1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs slightly beaten
½ cup butter, room temperature
5 oz pepperoni cubed
¾ cup shredded provolone cheese
½ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes

Egg wash: 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water

To make the sponge, stir together the flour and the yeast. Whisk in milk. Cover with plastic and ferment for 1 hour.

While the sponge is fermenting dice pepperoni, chop tomatoes and shred cheese.

To make dough add dry ingredients and then wet.. Mix for 5 minutes then add pepperoni, cheese and tomatoes. Mix another 2 minutes. You should have a fairly wet tacky dough but it should form a ball. If too wet sprinkle in a little more flour (just a little)
Place dough in a greased bowl and rise for 90 minutes. You can then cut it in two if you’d like two smaller loafs (placed in a loaf pan) or you can make one long French style loaf as in the picture.
Rise a second time in pan for 1 hour.
Brush with egg wash and bake.

Bake 375 (in loaf pans) for 30 minutes or 450 (oblong clay baker w/cover) for 30 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.