Casatiello Panini
Well another week and another bread down. Thankfully this bread was simple enough that I could easily do on a Sunday with a pounding headache. Do not have any sympathy for me because it was a self-inflicted headache. I do not what possessed me to think that I could possibly drink as much as I could when I was in my early 20s. However, in my defense it was the perfect day though for grilling and the drinks just started piling up the longer friends stayed over.
If you are following my facebook you also have seen the next project which is building my own grill/smoker. Step one has been accomplished which is I managed to acquire a couple 55 gallon drums that did not have extremely nasty stuff stored in them. I am currently at the stage where I am trying to design it and get the drums ready for cutting and grinding.
For my fellow readers if you had to design your perfect grill what would it entail? So far I have came up with two layers of shelving, slide out shelves, extended port on the side for hooking up duct work to convert easily into a cold smoker, and a couple other features. I want to see if there is anything I am really missing that I need. The whole smoker part I am not to concerned about since I already possess a couple smokers that work amazing but more want a big $%&* grill.
Stupid shiny object syndrome kicking in and I must get back to the bread topic……
This week’s challenge was castiello which has some of the same similarities of brioche (good amount of butter for one) but incorporates meat and cheese. Now I read this and not going to lie I did a happy dance because I love meat and I love cheese so if I can combine them with a carb coma woo hoo. In an ongoing effort to stay local the cheese I used was a bacon cheddar from the local Amish cheese shop and the meat was a locally made salami.
Instead of using the paper bags or tins that the book recommended I decided to use the banneton (fancy name for wicker basket). Oh yeah this also reminds me of another point am I the only one who is finding himself ordering a weekly shipment from King Arthur? I am scared that the DEA is going to be knocking down my front door because of the mass amount of white powder substances that are getting delivered weekly to my house.
Finally I do not know if I am finally starting to get comfortable with bread making or if it was a fluke but this bread was by far the easiest. It rose perfectly and it turned out amazing!
This bread also was perfect for a panini. I received a panini pan years ago from All*Clad after I bought my 10 piece set as a thank you for buying and I have never really had a need to for it till this bread. I went with a simple ham, turkey, lettuce, dijon mustard, pickled jalapenos, and some more bacon cheddar cheese.
Would love to stay and ramble more incessantly about my life but I have a friend’s birthday dinner to attend in 20 minutes.
Finally, for those who have been missing the grilling posts fear not I have a couple more almost prepped and ready to post.
You did a beautiful bread. I skipped it and going to make Ciabatta. My family prefers those kind of bread. That must have been a great BBQ party!
Congrats on a very successful casatiello, Jeff. I am looking forward to pics of the finished grill project.
Very nice! My husband was hugely excited over this bread and is always jonesing for “another sliver” when I head into the kitchen. This one was a real winner; love the panini idea!
When you described about you built your own grill/smoker, I was hoping to see the photo. Anyway, your panini look really deeeelish!
Great looking! I want that sandwich.
Nice baking along with you,
Susie
Your grill sounds like it’s going to be pretty neat and the Panini looks delish!
Jeff If I had to design my own smoker it would be pink with puffy blue clouds-talk about shiny object you had me dreaming of my own smoker. The bread looks great and you seem to have it down great! Oh I did not get to grill with my new grill last night- my boy have a bb game that I forgot about. Will try again later. I think I should get a chimney though for the coals and the whole lighting process. I am new at this thing coal thing.
Nice job on the bread! The panini looks perfect!
you continue to amaze! panini-perfect.
meanwhile, sorry about the dreaded hangover, but i’m sure you’ve figured out ways to combat those by now.
We want to build our own smoker this year too (well actually Matt would like to buy one but building seems more likely) I’d like too see how yours turns out.
Look at you, you are becoming a master bread baker!
I can’t wait to see your smoker when it’s finished.
I think my dream grill would be less about the grill than it would be a place to put one. I’d be happy just to have a yard to grill in. Then I cank work on the grill.
I’m loving that panino. Great combo of ingredients. Yummy.
The only reason I dont’ get hangovers from drinking as if I were still in my 20s is because it now takes so little alcohol to get me drunk. I’m done after a glass and a half of wine. It’s pathetic!
Now aren’t you glad you didn’t give that panini pan away? I’m going to stand on the side of “you’re getting better at baking bread,” which is 1) good in that there will be no more crying in the kitchen but 2) bad cause its fun to read about crying but 3) excellent because after you’ve conquered bread anything is possible in the baking dept! Cookies? Nomnom
OOH! This is the perfect bread….and is hard to find in stores by me?? Not sure why..
I have the All Clad set too that came with the panini press! I use it all the time–I even use it for quesadillas
(But without the press)
Nothing better than a good panini - yours looks delicious!!
I am impressed not only with your bread baking abilities (although they are QUITE amazing) but also by your aspirations to build your own grill! That’s awesome.
I love this kind of bread and buy it sometimes in the Italian deli near my house. It is definitely a good panini bread.
The hang over, one of our cooks came in witha hang over . An older hostess told him that drinking a mix of raw eggs and orange juice would cure it. She mixed it up for him and we all stood and watched him drink it. He said it helped his hangover, but you should have seen the look on his face as it was going down! LOL!! The bread looks fantastic, your gettin gto be a pro at this. I’d love to have a paninni press!
Hehe @ self inflicted pain. It’s a tough moment when you realise that you can’t do the same as when you were in your 20s. And how you had no idea how much you could do when you were in your 20s! The sandwich looks amazing (no surprise there :P)!
I am so impressed with your bread making. I really need to try but it scares the hell out of me. Your panini looks tasty.
Hi Jeff! That’s exciting about building your own smoker/grill.
I always love seeing ones built on a Grill cook off on Food TV, people have come up with really creative stuff!
Your bread looks awesome, I love that its great for a panini too! Great job!
You know I was dreaming of making a panini with my casatiello as well. But my bread turned out to be way to dense and I had to throw it out.
Jeff your panino looks awesome! I might just have to bake another loaf to make some panini myself! Bravo! Looking forward to seeing your smoker grill!