Cast Iron

Experimenting with making a pesto loaf, and it came out pretty good using the Lodge loaf pan. The dough is actually made from a pizza dough recipe that I like to make pan pizza with and had extra of. For one loaf (or pizza):

• 200g bread flour
• 25g whole wheat flour
• 158g warm water
• 4g salt
• 2g instant yeast
• 9g olive oil

Mix until all the dry bits are absorbed into a sticky dough ball, and let rest for a few minutes. Then stretch it out and fold it in half once from each side (top to bottom, right to left, bottom to top, left to right) and tuck it into a ball. It should be stronger, smoother, and feel less sticky afterwards. If it still feels like a weak shaggy mess, let it rest for another 10-20 minutes then repeat the folds. Then put the dough ball in a covered container that’s twice as big as the ball and put it in the fridge overnight (it’s good for probably up to 5 days to a week, and it will actually develop more flavor that way).

Pull the dough out about 1.5 hours before you want to bake. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a rectangle that’s as wide as the loaf pan is long, and make the dough as long as you can roll it out without too much trouble. Spread the pesto over the flattened dough, leaving a bit of a margin along the edges, with a bigger margin at the bottom. Roll the dough from the top down into a cylinder that will fit nicely in the pan and pinch all the seams along the loaf and at the ends to seal it up.

Grease the pan with softened butter, place the loaf in the pan, and cover with plastic wrap (or whatever). Let it rise until it’s at least 1.5 times larger (probably 1-1.5 hours). When it’s close to the right size, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the loaf is risen, uncover and brush the top with melted butter. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the inside is 190-200°F. Take the loaf out of the pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes, then slice and enjoy.