For the dough
1 envelope active dry yeast (or 2 ¼ teaspoons)
1 cup whole milk
4 cups Italian organic 00 soft wheat flour, plus a little extra if/as needed
1 teaspoon of sugar
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of salt
4 large eggs
For the filling
1 cup diced Neapolitan or other air dried, tasty, salami
4 oz or about a cup diced Italian Provolone Piccante cheese (or other aged, flavorful cheese such as aged asiago, pecorino, aged gouda, aged white cheddar, dry Monterrey Jack, for instance)
4 oz or about 1 ½ cups diced fontina, Emmental, Monterrey Jack, mild Asiago, or other meltable mild white cheese
1 cup whole milk, or as needed
Warm the milk until it reaches just body temperature, that is lukewarm or tepid—if it is hot, it will kill the yeast. If it is too warm, do not add the yeast immediately, but wait a few minutes until it cools.
Dissolve the yeast in the warm (but not hot) milk; set aside while you sift the flour with the sugar.
Combine and mix, then knead and slowly add the milk; this is best done in an electric mixer, preferably one designed for bread.
Pouring down the side of the mixer, add the 6 tablespoons of oil and the salt. When this is mixed in, slowly, one at a time, add the eggs. If the dough becomes too thick, add a little more milk and knead until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Next, add the diced salami and cheeses and mix together well, adding a little bit of milk to help hold it together.
Prepare a Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it.
Pour the mixture into the prepared Bundt pan then cover with plastic wrap. Leave it to rest for at least two hours or until the dough rises to reach the top edge of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check for doneness after the first 20-25 minutes, by inserting a knife or skewer into the dough. Be sure to check several times as the dough can be a little wet from the cheese which will give the wrong results.
When cooked through, remove from the oven and cool a few minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool all of the way through.
Serve in small slices with cocktails, aperitivo, or a glass of wine.
Everyone knows rum baba, though internationally many do not realize that it is a symbol of Italian and – in particular Neapolitan – cake-making. Often, it is thought of as French.
This makes sense: it was invented in France in the early 1600s. But its international citizenship goes further: it was Stanislao Leszczyński, the Polish king in exile, who—along with his chef–wanted to make the traditional Alsatian cake, “kugelhopf”, less dry and juicier. He decided to drench the somewhat dry cakes with a sweet rum-enriched syrup.
The baba arrived in Naples at the end of the eighteenth century with Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, and by end of the nineteenth century, baba au rhum had become the favorite dessert of the aristocracy.
But the baba didn’t stop at rum, and it didn’t stop at sweet. After all, this is Naples: when it comes to delicious food, enthusiastic chefs and bakers know no limits.
The sweet cake family evolved to include a savory cake, baba or brioche, whichever you prefer to call it. But it is not the French brioche, it is a typical Neapolitan savory cake, shaped like a ring (in a Bundt pan). And unlike any other brioche, this one is full of salami and cheeses–perfect for an aperitif, a picnic, or to serve at a festive table.
Here we give you the recipe from a talented Napolitana, famous for her irresistible savory brioche: Lia Arciello.