Hello, those who know me know that I love to prepare leavened products, especially pizzas and bread. It might be because during my adolescence I participated in the ritual of bread making when we visited my grandparents. I watched closely as my mom prepared the starter dough, a leftover dough from a previous batch, used again as natural yeast. After dissolving it with slightly warm water, she prepared the pre-dough in the large wooden kneading trough, and in the evening she kneaded and let it rise. Late at night, we would then form the bread loaves, cover them, and let them rise again until early morning to bake. A true magic. Often when I prepare bread or pizzas, these sweet moments come back to me.
Today, I want to share a recipe that is very dear to me and that I already made when I was at my parents’ home: the Savory Danube with Provola and Salami.
The Savory Danube is a soft savory brioche, made up of many dough balls, perfect for buffets, appetizers, or as an appetizer. Filled with provola and salami, I’m sure it will win you over at first bite with its irresistible flavor. Easy to prepare, you can personalize it with various fillings according to your tastes. So, what else to say? Let’s stop the chit-chat and get to work.
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By the way, if you like pizzas, rustic dishes, and leavened products, you can also see:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 812.46 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 96.14 (g) of which sugars 7.74 (g)
- Proteins 35.87 (g)
- Fat 33.70 (g) of which saturated 15.52 (g)of which unsaturated 13.55 (g)
- Fibers 2.99 (g)
- Sodium 1,790.43 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 3.5 tbsp butter
- 0.42 oz compressed yeast
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 2.6 oz provola cheese
- 2.6 oz smoked provola cheese
- 5.3 oz salami
How to Prepare the Savory Danube with Provola and Salami
Here are the various steps to prepare the Savory Danube.
In a cup, dissolve the yeast in warm milk together with the sugar and let it rest for 10 minutes until a light foam forms.
Take a large bowl and mix the flour and salt, add the whole egg, the yeast and milk mixture to the flour, then start kneading. Continue incorporating the soft butter a little at a time and keep kneading until you get a smooth and elastic dough (it will take about 10 minutes of hand kneading or 5 minutes if you are using a stand mixer).
Form a ball with the dough and place it in a lightly greased bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in volume.
While the dough rises, dice the provola and salami and place them separately in two bowls.
Once the dough has risen, deflate it and divide it into balls of about 50 g each. Flatten one ball at a time with your hands and place a bit of provola and salami in the center. Seal each ball well, forming smooth spheres by rolling the dough on the work surface. Then arrange the filled balls in a round pan of 10-11 inches in diameter, lined with lightly oiled parchment paper, leaving some space between them. Cover the pan with a cloth and let it rise again for about 1 hour, or until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the surface of the risen balls with extra virgin olive oil. If you like, you can sprinkle the Danube with sesame seeds. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the Danube is golden brown on the surface.
Let it cool slightly before serving. The Savory Danube is delicious both warm and at room temperature.
Tips
To get an even softer dough, you can use half all-purpose flour and half Manitoba flour.
Make sure the environment is warm (around 77-82°F) to aid rising.
Tips
You can freeze the Danube once cooked. Just thaw it at room temperature and reheat briefly in the oven before serving.
Notes
The Savory Danube with Provola and Salami is ideal for parties and buffets as it can be prepared in advance and stays soft for several hours.
You can customize the surface decoration with poppy seeds, flax seeds, or even chopped herbs for an extra touch of flavor.
