Italian Country Loaf Rustica Recipes

Steps:

• Crumble sausage into large skillet (if sausage comes in casing, remove and discard casing).Add onion and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until sausage is browned. Drain off fat; set sausage mixture aside to cool.
• In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup all purpose flour, the whole-wheat flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and yeast. Stir in water and butter; mix will. Stir in remaining 1 cup flour to form a soft dough. Cover dough in bowl and let rest 10 minutes.
• Grease 9- or 10-inch spring form pan. Stir down dough. With buttered fingers, press about 2/3 dough in bottom of greased pan. Add cheese and peppers to sausage mixture; spoon into center of dough. With spoon, spread and press filling toward edge of pan. leaving a 1/2=inch rim of dough at side. Drop remaining dough by tablespoonfuls over filling. With back of spoon or buttered fingers, carefully spread dough to cover and enclose filling (top will be rough). Cover loaf loosely with cloth. Let rise in warm place, away from drafts, until dough is double in size--20 to 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 400°F Brush top of dough with beaten egg; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 25 to 30 minutes or until bread pulls away from side of pan and loaf is golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen loaf from pan with knife; remove side of pan. To serve, cut into wedges; refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• BREAD MACHINE DIRECTIONS
• PLACE all ingredients except cornmeal and egg white in bread machine pan according to manufacturer's directions. Process on DOUGH setting.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. At end of dough cycle, remove dough from machine. Place on lightly floured surface. Punch down dough. (If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour before shaping.) Cover dough with clean cloth. Let rest for 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place loaf on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 20 to 25 minutes or until light and doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• CONVENTIONAL OVEN METHOD
• SPOON flour lightly into measuring cup. Level off. Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Mix well. Add warm water and oil. Mix well. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 degrees to 85 degrees F) for 30 to 40 minutes.
• SPRINKLE ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal. Punch down dough. Cover dough with inverted bowl and allow to rest on counter 15 minutes. Shape dough into baguette-shaped loaf about 12 inches long. Place dough on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet. Cover. Let rise in warm place 35 to 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
• HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Make 1 deep lengthwise slash with sharp knife in top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg white. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
• High Altitude (3500 ft.):
• No change.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 190°C Sprinkle a teaspoon of the plain flour over the centre of a baking tray and set aside. Put 2 teaspoons of plain flour into a small bowl and set bowl aside.
• Meanwhile, put the remaining plain flour, wholemeal flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and mix well with your hands to combine.
• Add the butter, breaking it up into small pieces with your fingers, and mix it into the flour mixture until combined.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour-butter mixture and add the buttermilk.
• Slowly add the buttermilk into the mixture with your hands until a rough ball forms.
• Turn the mixture out on a lightly floured surface and form into a neat ball (without kneading).
• Transfer the dough to the centre of the baking tray and press gently to form a 20cm-wide round.
• Using a sharp knife, slash a cross 1cm deep across the entire top of the loaf and then dust the top of the loaf with the reserved flour.
• Bake until the bread is light golden and a tap on the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow, about 60 minutes. N.B. Oven temperatures do vary so keep an eye on its baking -- some oven's may take less and other's longer.
• Wrap the bread in a clean tea-towel, and allow to cool for about 2 hours.
• Slice and serve at room temperature or toasted, with a generous dollop of butter.

Steps:

• If sausage comes in casing, remove casing break up. In large skillet, brown sausage, onion and garlic.** Drain set aside.For the bread, in large bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and yeast blend well. Stir in hot water and margarine mix well. Stir in remaining 1 cup all-purpose flour to form a stiff batter. Cover let rest 10 minutes.Grease 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Stir down dough. Spread about 2/3 of dough in bottom and 2-inches up sides of greased pan. Add cheese and peppers to meat mixture spoon over dough. Gently pull dough on sides over meat mixture. Drop tablespoonfuls of remaining dough over filling. With back of spoon or buttered fingers, carefully spread to cover. (Top will appear rough.) Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85°F.) until light, 20 to 30 minutes.Heat oven to 400°F. Brush top of dough with beaten egg sprinkle with sesame seed. Bake at 400°F. for 25 to 35 minutes or until bread begins to pull away from sides of pan and edges are deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen edges with knife remove sides of pan. To serve, cut into wedges. Store in refrigerator.TIPS:*Two medium chopped red bell peppers (1 1/4 cups) can be substituted for roasted red peppers.**If using chopped red bell peppers, cook with sausage, onion and garlic. Continue as directed above.HIGH ALTITUDE - Above 3,500 feet: No change.Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 350 Protein 19g Carbohydrate 35g Fat 15g Sodium 550mgFrom "Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off® Cookbook." Copyright 2004 General Mills. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.