Anchovy and olive oil bread

Saturday night I had a big dinner of pasta marinara, baked eggplant, sausage and peppers, olives and this anchovy bread. I know, as soon as I say the word anchovy, I lose most of you. Anchovies bring a hiss out of most people, kinda like holy water and Dracula. That’s too bad, because I love anchovies, and I really love this anchovy bread.

I’ve made this a few different ways over the years. One of my favorites, is to put the anchovies and oil only on one half of the dough, fold the other half over, cut some slits in the top, and brush the dough with lots of olive oil, before and after it is baked. 

Today’s recipe is a little simpler than that. It is basically a pizza, topped with anchovies, and lots of olive oil, and, when it comes out of the oven, a little bit of cheese. The result is a salty, anchovy flavored bread. It is a little bit crisp, due to the oily bread being toasted in the oven. Here’s how I put this together. Use only your very best olive oil on this.

2 cups of unbleached flour

1 cup of lukewarm water

1 tbs. yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. honey

Extra virgin olive oil

1 tin of anchovies in olive oil (buy a good brand)

Fresh ground black pepper

Corn meal

1/4 cup of grated Italian Provolone

Preparation

Place the flour, water, yeast, salt, honey, and two tablespoons of your best olive oil, in a mixing bowl. Bring the dough together with your dough hooks, and adjust with a little extra flour or water if needed. Knead the dough for a minute or so, and let it rise for about forty five minutes in a warm place.

Knead the dough again, and on a floured surface, work the dough into a large circle, about sixteen inches or so. Slide the dough into a pizza pan that has been sprinkled with lots of corn meal. Roll up the edges of the dough to form a crust. Let it rest for about ten minutes. 

Open the tin of anchovies, and distribute the filets evenly on the pizza dough. Pour the oil from the tin evenly over the dough. Add about two tablespoons of your very best olive oil evenly on top of the bread surface. Tilt the pan, this way, then that, so as to let the oil spread out on the top of the bread. Grind some black pepper over the top of the bread. Bake it at 400º for about twenty to thirty minutes, until the bread turns a light golden brown.

Remove the bread to a pizza cutting pan. Drizzle a little more of your best olive oil over the top of the bread. Sprinkle that good imported Provolone on to the top of the bread. Let it rest for about ten minutes before slicing.

Serving

I served this anchovy bread with a cheesy, olive oily, baked eggplant. We also had a garlicky marinara sauce over pasta, sautéed sausage and pepper, and a bowl of assorted olives in olive oil. The wine was a large double bottle of Chianti. It seemed like the dinner guests were very pleased. Some passed on the anchovy bread, but that’s to be expected. It’s a special dish, made for just those few who appreciate it.