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Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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.

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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!

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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.

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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.

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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.

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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.

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

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!

A loaf of Onion Gouda bread sitting on a cake stand over a blue striped napkin.

Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello

Author: Julie Menghini
Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello is a soft and dreamy adaption of an Italian Brioche. This loaf is loaded with flavor with bits of caramelized onion and gouda cheese.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword: Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello, Casatiello
Servings: 16 people

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

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

Recipe adapted from the book “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart *Prep time includes rising time. **For the dough, I recommend using an electric stand mixer. This dough is tacky and somewhat difficult to knead by hand.

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 4gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 246mgPotassium: 58mgSugar: 2gVitamin A: 375IUVitamin C: 0.6mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 0.2mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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!

BreadBakers

#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!

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A loaf of Cherry Almond Kugelhopf Bread that\'s been baked and shaped in a bundt pan sprinkled with powdered sugar and sitting on a silver platter over a cutting board.

Spiced Apple Star Bread Recipe

Top-down view of a star-shaped bread filled with diced bread that sits on a wood cutting board.

Pin it now!

Two photo collage for Pinterest. The top photo is a mushroom-shaped loaf of bread called a Caramelized Onion Couda Casatiello. The bottom photo is a slice of the bread with fresh gouda sitting in the background. The title runs through the center.
Recipe Rating




Mike

Tuesday 26th of May 2020

I love the combination of cheese and bread. We have done this one several times.,

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Pavani

Thursday 17th of November 2016

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

Thursday 17th of November 2016

Thank you Pavani!

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