Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello is a soft and dreamy adaption of an Italian Brioche. This loaf is loaded with flavor from bits of caramelized onion and gouda cheese.
One of the great things about this time of year is with the cooler weather I just love firing up my oven. I love to bake, and I especially love to bake bread. So when this month’s BreadBaker Host blog: Karen’s Kitchen Stories stated the theme was root vegetables, I had a heck of a time deciding what to make. This Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello was a great choice!
I’ve never heard of Casatiello. I read that it is an Italian version of a Brioche. It traditionally contains meats such as salami and flavorful cheeses and baked in paper bags or a Panettone mold.
The last time I shopped at one of the large membership stores I bought a big bag of onions that I couldn’t finish so decided to caramelize them…in the crockpot! I had those caramelized onions in my freezer and this bread was the perfect time to use them.
I baked this bread in a tall-sided 8-inch cake pan. The recipe said I could use a 9×5 loaf pan or brown paper bags put in large enough coffee cans to hold it.
My bread had such a beautiful rise that I could have probably put it in a 9-inch cake pan. There is no way it would have worked in a 9×5 loaf pan. This baby rose like it was on steroids.
The second raise said to let it rise until it reached the top of off the pan, about 90 minutes. I think it took only 45 minutes and she was peaking over the top. Do you get as excited about dough performance as I do? Sorry folks, I’m a self-proclaimed bread nerd.
This bread tasted so warm, savory and delicious. My biggest problem was cutting this slice before my bread was cooled so I mutilated it a bit but I just couldn’t wait to dive in.
Don’t have time to make it now? Pin it for later!
Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello
Ingredients
Sponge
- 1/2 cup bread flour I used unbleached
- 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature (you can also use warm water)
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
Dough
- 3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup Gouda cheese roughly grated
- 1/2 cup caramelized onion roughly chopped
Instructions
Sponge
- Stir together the sponge ingredients in a 1 quart sized bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature for 1 hour. The sponge will foam and collapse on itself when you tap the bowl. If it doesn’t foam you will need new yeast and repeat the process.
- While the sponge is fermenting, grate your cheese and chop your caramelized onion.
Dough**
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fit with the paddle attachment, add flour, salt, and sugar. Mix or whisk to combine. Add eggs and sponge and mix together on low speed until the ingredients form a coarse ball. If you have loose flour in the bottom drizzle a small amount of water or milt to gather it into the ball. Mix for 1 minute and then let the dough rest for 10 minutes to allow the gluten to develop.
- Divide the butter into 4 pieces. On medium speed, mix the butter into the dough one piece at a time. The dough will be soft but not like a batter. Continue mixing until the dough is a smooth tacky mass, about 8 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl down occasionally if necessary. Replace paddle attachment with a dough hook attachment and continue mixing on a medium speed for 4 minutes or until dough comes off the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t do this add a small amount of flour.
- Add the cheese and onions and mix on low until just combined. If the dough is sticky, add another small amount of flour until dough is tacky but not sticky. Transfer dough to a large well oiled bowl, rolling to coat all sides with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until dough increases at least 1-1/2 times, 90 minutes.
- Leave dough in one piece for a large loaf or divide in half for two smaller loaves. Place dough in an 8-inch round cake pan or 2-8″ loaf pans that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Let rise until dough just reaches the top of the pan(s), 60-90 minutes.
- With the oven rack set in the lower 1/3 of the oven, preheat to 350°F. Bake for 20 minutes and then turn the pan. Bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until bread reaches an internal temperature of 185°-190°F.
- Remove the bread from the pan(s) onto a cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool for one hour before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The right supplies will make your bread baking success a surer thing. In this recipe. I used 8″x3″ round cake pan and my favorite instant-read thermometer.
One of the things that I love is looking at all of the wonderful recipes that all of the other #BreadBaker participants bring!
- Caramelized Onion Cheddar Bread from Hezzi-D’s Cooks and Books
- Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello from Hostess at Heart
- Carrot Spiced and Teff Bread from kidsandchic
- Garlic and Herb Wreath Bread from Herbivore Cucina
- Ginger Sweet Rolls from Passion Kneaded
- Potato Dinner Rolls from Cook’s Hideout
- Pull Apart Onion Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Rustic Parsnip Bread from Food Lust People Love
- Sourdough Onion Pockets from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].
I love this Bread Bakers Group. Here are a few of my other Recipes!
Hungarian Egg Twist Bread
Cherry Almond Kugelhopf Bread Recipe
Spiced Apple Star Bread Recipe
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Mike says
I love the combination of cheese and bread. We have done this one several times.,
Pavani says
Wow, what an amazing bread. LOVE the caramelized onions and gouda in there.
Ya, I do a happy dance when I see my bread starts to rise like that 🙂
Julie Menghini says
Thank you Pavani!
Mimi says
Brioche is wonderful, but this sounds even more spectacular! Beautiful photos!
Julie Menghini says
Thank you, Mimi. It did remind me a bit of a Brioche when I made it. It was a lot of fun to follow it’s progress and it tastes great.
Jennifer A Stewart says
This is gorgeous bread and I can’t wait to make it! I’m thinking about making a savory french toast with it too!
Julie Menghini says
I hope you will let me know how it comes out. It was a fun one to make. The french toast sounds marvelous!
Michaela Kenkel says
Julie — this is positively STUNNING!! I can only imagine how wonderful this smelled while it was baking!
Julie Menghini says
Thank you Michaela! It was really good and you’re right that there isn’t anything better than the smell of baking bread. Well maybe eating it warm with some good all butter.
sharanya palanisshami says
Onion and cheese must be a great combination. Love the combination and bread…….
Julie Menghini says
Thank you so much! I appreciate your stopping by!
Andrea says
Hi just trying to imagine how to use a paper bag??? Any chance you could explain that part??
Julie Menghini says
I didn’t use that method Andrea but if you wanted to you would spray the insides of a brown or white lunch-sized paper bag with non-stick cooking spray and then place the bag into a can just large enough to hold them such as a coffee can. Fold the top of the bag a couple of inches over the can and let them rise until they reach the top of the bag. After baking for 20 minutes, turn and reduce oven temp to 325. Bake an additional 40 minutes. When you remove it from the oven take it out of the can and slit the bag to vent and let it cool for 1 hr. It should have the same shape as mine because it will be circular at the base and dome over the top. If you do this, PLEASE send me a picture and let me know your opinion! Thanks for stopping Andrea and let me know if you have any more questions.
Andrea says
Thanks am thinking how using a paperbag can be used when camping, will let you know how it goes
Julie Menghini says
Thank you Andrea!
Michelle says
I am seriously drooling over this bread! I love caramelized onions so much!
Julie Menghini says
Thank you Michelle!
NancyC says
I’m a big fan of caramelized onions and cheese so this is my kind of bread! 🙂
Julie Menghini says
Thank you Nancy! ❤️
Judi Graber says
Beautiful bread Julie, inside and out… Besides the onions and cheese I like the buttermilk in the sponge. I don’t think I’ve used it much in a yeast bread.
Julie Menghini says
Thank you Judi. It was easy and delicious to make and a new one for me.
Platter Talk says
This is such an interesting recipe and I have to confess that your photos literally took my bread away; this Casatiello looks simply amazing.
Julie Menghini says
Thank you, Dan! This was a fun bread to make in a cake pan no less!
Michelle says
Sounds like “Gouda” bread! Maybe that was funnier in my head!?!?
I wouldn’t have been able to wait either!
I wish I was a bread nerd – I would love to make a loaf like this!
Thanks
Michelle
Julie Menghini says
Thank you, Michelle! My love of baking bread is probably more of an obsession LOL!
Christie Campbell says
Oh.my.word. This looks insane!! And there’s gouda in there? I’m hooked. It looks amazing.
Julie Menghini says
Thank you so much, Christie! That Gouda is a goooood thing!
Jenny | Honey and Birch says
This loaf makes me want to bake my own bread so badly! And caramelized onions and gouda – you can’t go wrong!
Julie Menghini says
Thank you, Jenny! You aren’t a bread baker? This one would be an easy one to try. Feel free to let me know if you have questions.