The brioche loaf filled with fava beans, pancetta and pecorino is a soft and tasty savory bread without eggs, rich and flavorful. It’s very easy to make and suitable to serve as an appetizer, on a buffet or with aperitifs (reduce the size for bite-sized portions); you can also prepare it for a picnic or a day out. Its softness and its enticing flavor will win over your guests from the very first bite.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 3 Hours
- Cooking time: 35 Minutes
- Portions: 10/12 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring
Ingredients
- 0.58 cup Type 0 flour (about 70 g)
- 0.25 cup Manitoba (strong) flour (about 30 g)
- 0.27 cup Water (about 65 ml)
- 1 tsp Fresh brewer's yeast (about 3 g)
- Leaven (starter)
- 2.08 cup Type 0 flour (about 250 g)
- 0.83 cup Manitoba (strong) flour (about 100 g)
- 0.75 cup Water (about 180 ml)
- 3.5 tbsp Neutral oil (about 50 ml)
- 0.5 tsp Fine salt (about 3 g)
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 7 oz Pancetta (about 200 g), diced
- 7 oz Pecorino Romano (about 200 g), diced
- 9 oz Fresh fava beans (about 250 g), shelled
Preparation
Prepare the starter (lievitino).
In a large bowl pour the water and dissolve the fresh yeast. Add the sifted mix of flours and knead just enough to obtain a soft dough ball. Cover it and let it rise until doubled in size.
Prepare the dough.
Transfer the risen starter to a stand mixer. Add the sifted mix of flours, the water, the sugar and the salt. Mix roughly for a few seconds and finally pour in the oil.
Continue kneading until you have a soft, elastic and well-integrated dough ball (about 7-8 minutes maximum). Shape it into a ball, cover it and let it rest for one hour, well covered.
Meanwhile, dice the cheese and the pancetta. If using fresh fava beans, after shelling them remove only the inner skin (the little “eye”).
– If instead you use frozen fava beans, use 400 grams and proceed as follows: bring water to a boil, add the frozen favas and blanch them for about 15 minutes, then drain them and, without burning yourself, remove the inner skin and the outer pod so they will be softer and more flavorful–
After one hour, take the dough and divide it into three equal pieces, from which you will form three strips, lengthening and slightly flattening them.
Each dough strip will be filled with a single ingredient: on one place the diced pancetta, on another the fava beans and on the last the pecorino cubes.
With your hands, press the ingredients onto the dough strips, then close them perfectly and finally braid them tightly. Fold both the beginning and the end of the braid underneath the loaf to prevent it from opening during the final rise.
Place the brioche braid in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and let it rise until doubled.
Preheat the oven and set it to 338°F. Bake the filled braid on the middle rack of a hot oven for about 30–35 minutes. Let it cool before slicing to avoid it breaking. With these quantities you can obtain two braids, one large and one small.
