Stecca - A Little Lagniappe

     I know I already baked my bread for this week, but it was almost gone, and I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while.  So I thought, "Why not have a lagniappe bread this week."  
     Stecca is an extremely easy no-knead bread.  It is basically like a baguette, only very easy to make.  It is a very wet dough.  The first rise is12 - 18 hours.  I replaced the yeast with a half cup of my starter and also increased the amount of water by nearly a half cup.  This morning I took the dough out of the bowl and placed on a silicone mat that had been liberally dusted with flour.  I stretched and folded the dough 3 or 4 times.  Back in the bowl for the second rise, about a hour and a half.  The recipe called for each loaf to be garnished with olives, garlic cloves or cherry tomato halves.  I did not have any cherry tomatoes, but I did have a fresh jalapeno and some parmigiano reggiano.  One loaf was topped with jalapeno stuffed olives, one with pimento stuffed olives, one with garlic cloves (with a good sprinkling of black pepper), and the final loaf with a slice of fresh jalapeno and a small cube of parmigiano reggiano in the center.  The bread was removed from the bowl after the final rise.  The dough was divided into 4 pieces.  Each piece was stretched and placed on an pan lined with parchment and oiled.  Each loaf was then stuffed, brushed with olive oil and baked.  There is no shaping , just pull the bread into a rustic baguette shape.
     One of the unusual things with stecca is you eat it while it's warm.  As the bread cools, the crust softens.  Wayne couldn't believe he was finally getting warm bread.  The flavor of the bread with the toppings was great.  It was very aromatic when it baked. The crunch of the bread was sensational.  As I've mentioned before Wayne is, as our cousin Lillian likes to say, a pepper belly.  I was not surprised that this jalapeno and parmigiano reggiano was he favorite.  I was surprised that he said it was quite spicy.  I did indeed seed the pepper and remove the membrane.  He was right; it was spicier than expected, but wonderfully spicy.   Although the garlic cloves appeared burned, there was no burned flavor, just that wonderful roasted garlic flavor you would expect it to have.
     Stecca is a great bread for anyone who is looking for a very easy bread to make. Or for someone who feels they do not have the skills to make "real" baguettes.   It makes a great presentation, has a  wonderful crust and crumb, and you could convince people that you put a lot of work into it. This is the link for the   Stecca recipe I used.