The Godfather: Crusty Italian Bread
The Godfather: Recipe #4
Bread is, of course, a staple in most cultures, and Italian culture is no different in that respect. Fresh bread is omnipresent in the Corleone household and is mentioned multiple times throughout the book. I mentioned bread in my last post as well, Sausage and Peppers: “He took peppers from the pan and bread from the basket on the table and made a sloppy sandwich with hot olive oil dripping from his fingers.” - Book I, Chapter 2. This recipe can be used for sandwich bread, garlic bread, crostini, or just to sop up some delicious olive oil. I am only halfway through the book, and bread has already been mentioned more than 10 times. Here are a few instances:
“Peter Clemenza slept badly that night. In the morning he got up early and made his own breakfast of a glass of grappa, a thick slice of salami with a chunk of fresh Italian bread that was still delivered to his door as in the old days” - Chapter 6.
“He didn’t eat and neither did Tom, but Sonny, Clemenza, and Tessio dug in, mopping up sauce with crusts of bread.” - Chapter 8
“On the coffe table were the remains of his late lunch, scraps of steak and bread…” - Chapter 11
“His wife, after putting a plate of salami, olives, and a loaf of Italian bread on the table…” - Chapter 14
“They left him sitting at a checkered table, morosely munching a piece of bread…” - Chapter 14
“In a few seconds there was bread and cheese and salami on the table and coffee (…) She poured the coffee and forced Kay to eat some bread and cheese.” - Chapter 15
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Instant or Rapid-rise yeast
1.5 cups cold water
Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl or Kitchen Aid mixer with bread hook attachment, stir together flour, salt, and yeast.
Add water slowly, and continue to mix until a sticky dough forms into a ball, coming away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight/ 12-18 hours (I let it sit for 16 hours).
When dough is done rising overnight, preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a large, covered cast iron pot (think le creuset) into the oven and let it heat up with the oven. When oven is preheated, let the pot continue to heat for an additional 30 minutes.
Scrape dough out of the bowl and onto a heavily floured surface. Cover dough with flour and pat into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap again and let sit for 30 min.
Remove the heated cast iron pot from the oven and remove the lid. Scrape dough ball into pot and cover. Cook for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes until bread has turned golden brown on top.
Remove from oven let cool.
Slice and serve with olive oil.
Enjoy!
