BBA Challenge #5 Casatiello

I LOVED this bread! I'd been waiting and waiting for this one to arrive in the lineup, and it lived up to the dream.  Light and fluffy, so buttery but packed with flavour.  I used pastrami and sharp cheddar (can we get a T for Tillamook!), and because I was only doing a half recipe, I baked it in a 6" cake round, and added a tall parchment collar.  Thank goodness I did, because this baby rose so high it was crazy!! The part of the crust that looks paler is because that's the part that was covered by the round :)

When I started the dough for this, it looked really dry to me, but I fought the urge to add water to it, knowing that the addition of the butter was going to loosen it way up.  The dough felt really wonderful, so velvety smooth and supple - I almost hated to add the mixin's into it! I'm betting this dough will work well with almost anything you can think of adding, sweet or savory.

It made awesome roast beef sandwiches and One-Eyed-Jack (Egg in a Basket or Nest, same thing).  I actually couldn't really stop myself from slicing and eating it while it was warm.