It’s Easter and, even if in quarantine, it’s not Easter without Auntie Lu’s Caciatiello. To remember her at a party that she liked so much, here is the recipe for this soft bread, with cheeses and mortadella and the whole egg, which when you cut it looks like a sunset. Auntie Lu, an incredible and beloved character, even though she wasn’t technically my aunt, was the adored auntie of many nieces and nephews, real and acquired ones. And I like to remember her with this recipe, I can still see her, sitting in her chair on the beach, reading the newspaper, always smiling. Hello Auntie Lu…
For the bread dough you can choose between two options, click on the link for the step-by-step recipe:
Pan Brioche, for a more refined result
Focaccia, for a more rustic result
You must follow the recipe and complete the first leavening, then you will assemble the caciatiello with the dough and let it rise quickly the second time.
For the filling here are the ingredients:
- 150 gr of finely sliced mortadella
- 100 gr of grated parmesan
- 100 gr of grated Emmenthal
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
- 1 beaten egg for brushing
- oil, salt and pepper to taste
Take the bread dough and roll it out on a baking tray lined with lightly greased baking paper. Roll it out with lightly greased hands until you obtain a square of approximately 40×40 cm. Sprinkle it with a first layer of grated cheeses (if you have any homemade leftovers, add that too), then the mortadella and finally another layer of cheeses.
Place the hard-boiled eggs in a row about 8 cm from one of the edges and fold the dough and finish rolling with the help of baking paper to form a strudel. Close the edges well to prevent the filling from spilling out during cooking.
At this point you can put your caciatiello in a plum cake mold (so it will maintain its beautiful cylindrical shape during leavening and cooking). Or you can close the caciatiello into a ring.
Brush with the beaten egg and leave to rise the second time, in the warm oven (off) with the light on for at least 30 minutes.
At this point brush again with the egg and sprinkle the surface with coarse salt and pepper.
Bake at 250°C with the fan oven for about 20 minutes, then switch to the static oven until cooked (do the toothpick test).
Remove from the oven and cover with a cloth. Eat warm or at room temperature.
And here is your Apulian caciatiello, in all the beauty of its filling… with a sunset egg!
