Today we’ll reinvent the classic salami sandwich and create a soft sandwich loaf with a tasty filling: a whole salami, flavored with chili pepper and fennel seeds! Find this and many more recipes with pictures on the Giallozafferano App (in English) http://itunes.apple.com/app/giallozafferano-recipes/id384387249?mt=8
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Salami sandwich loaf (for 8-10 servings)
For the dough
• 1 2/3 cups (220 g) of bread flour
• 1 ½ cups (200 g) of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (250 ml) of water
• 1 1/3 tbsp (20 g) of extra virgin olive oil + as needed, for greasing
• 1 1/3 tsp (8 g) of salt
• 1 tsp (6 g) of malt (or 1 tsp of sugar)
• 1 tsp (3,5 g) of active dry yeast (or ½ oz-12,5 g of fresh yeast)
For filling
• 1 lb (500 g) of Italian sausage
• 2 2/3 tbsp (20 g) of sweet chili powder
• 2 ½ tsp (5 g) of fennel seeds
For topping
• 1 medium egg
• pumpkin and sunflower seeds, to taste
• butter as needed, for greasing
First of all, make the bread dough, so combine and sift the 2 flours into the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl if working by hand. I’m using bread flour and all-purpose flour. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment… and dissolve the salt in a little of the water needed. Then take the remaining water, add the malt… if you don’t have malt, replace with 1 teaspoon of sugar… the active dry yeast, or crumble in the fresh yeast as an alternative… and lastly the oil. Now turn on the mixer and pour in the resulting mixture, a little at a time, beat for 1 minute, after that add the salt and water mixture; once the ingredients have come together, replace the paddle with the dough hook and beat for at least 4-5 minutes, at medium speed. As you can see, the dough has come together, so switch to the dough hook as said before. And beat for about 4-5 minutes.
The dough is done: lightly oil the work surface, instead of dusting with flour… take the dough… form into a ball shape… and place in a bowl, that has been lightly oiled, covered with cling film. Allow the dough to rise for a couple of hours at a room temperature between 82°F (28°C) and 86°F (30°C), or until doubled in size.
Now move on to the filling: I’ll use 3 Italian sausages, but you can use any type of sausage or even salami paste… so remove the casing and break up the sausage into a bowl, meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil, about 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter, not too deep, in which the salami will be cooked. Ok, now add the sweet chili powder, or sweet paprika, to the bowl — otherwise you can replace 1 teaspoon of sweet chili powder with hot chili powder, for a fiery touch — add the chopped fennel seeds and mix with your hands to blend well; mix for at least 5 minutes, then we’ll form it into a cylinder, about 8 inches (20 cm) long. I’ll go wash my hands, after that we’ll go on with the recipe.
Here we are, now grease the work surface with a little oil… spread it out, then take the mixture and roll into a cylinder, about 8 inches (20 cm) long, as said before; the oil keeps it from sticking and helps to shape the mixture. The salami is ready, place on a plate, clean the work surface and take a piece of muslin cloth, slightly longer than the salami, as we’ll wrap the salami in it and cook it wrapped in cloth. If you don’t have this type of cloth, you can use a clean kitchen cloth — roll it tightly around the salami and tie both ends with string, then drop the wrapped salami into the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Keep the water at a soft boil rather than a rolling boil, or it will ruin the salami… in this way.
After 2 hours, the dough has risen as you can see, in the meantime drain the salami, twist the ends in opposite directions to squeeze out the excess fat and allow to cool at room temperature; remove the cloth and here it is, ready to use. Now lightly oil the work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle, about ¾ inch (2 cm) thick, large enough to hold the salami. That’s it, now place the salami in the middle and roll the dough around it… pinch the ends to seal. Now take a loaf pan, about 10 inches (25 cm) long by 4 inches (12 cm) wide, that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper, and place the salami sandwich loaf in the pan, with the seam down. Brush the top with the beaten egg… and sprinkle with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, otherwise you can use poppy or sesame seeds. Push gently into the dough… cover with cling film… and let it rise at room temperature for at least an hour.
When the dough reaches the top of the pan, bake the salami sandwich loaf in a preheated static oven at 350°F (180°C) for about 45 minutes.