New Orleans Muffuletta (Italian Sandwich)

The muffuletta is a New Orleans classic stacked with cured meats, cheese, and a tangy olive salad (tapanade) on a sesame loaf the size of a hubcap. Central Grocery invented it, cold and unapologetic. Napoleon House presses it hot, melts the cheese, and adds a few things to their tapanade. I went to both, ate way too much, and now I miss it. So today we'll get to the bottom of this fued. Hot vs. cold: which one actually hits harder? Let’s find out. 🤘🏼 Adam

P.S. Here’s a short-form video on the muff that I made a while back.

A cold O.G. muffuletta from Central Grocery in New Orleans (left). The hot muffuletta from Napoleon House in New Orleans (right). Both are great in different ways.

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Muffuletta

Ingredients

Meats & Cheeses

• ¼ pound Hot Capicola
• ¼ pound Mortadella
• ¼ pound Prosciutto
• ¼ pound Swiss Cheese
• ¼ pound Provolone Cheese

Olive Tapenade

• 1 cup Olives, pitted
• ¼ cup Capers
• ½ cup Roasted Red Pepper
• ½ cup Hot Giardiniera (optional)
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
• ¼ cup Italian Seasoning
• Kosher Salt, to taste

Sicilian Sesame Bread

• 4 ½ cups Bread Flour (540g)
• 1 ½ cups Water, room temperature (340g)
• 1 tsp Instant Yeast (4g)
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt (9g)
• Sesame Seeds, to taste

Instructions

Olive Tapenade

1. Add everything to a food processor except for the olive oil. Pulse to puree the mixture into a spreadable, chunky “salad”. Transfer to a container, then pour the olive oil over and mix. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Sicilian Sesame Bread

1. The day before baking, add the bread flour, water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attached, knead the dough on medium-low speed until it passes the “window test” and is smooth and shiny. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it into a smooth ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 2 hours, or until nearly doubled in size.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl. Oil a 12 inch circular pizza pan or cast iron skillet liberally with olive oil. Use your fingers to work the dough into the pan, then allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Do it again, ensuring that the dough reaches to the rim of the pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. The next day, remove the pan from the fridge at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour before baking. Preheat the oven to 350F.
4. Sprinkle raw sesame seeds all over the bread. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and the bread reaches an internal temperature of 190F. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before slicing. See assembly directions for the next step.

How to Assemble

1. Carefully slice the bread in half like a hamburger bun. Brush one side with olive oil and the other with vinegar. Layer on all of the sliced meat and cheese however you’d like. Spread the tapenade evenly, edge to edge. Close the sandwich and cut into quarters. The pieces should be large and thick.

Adam's Notes

• This bread is a 62% hydration dough meaning that it’s moderately “high hydration.” The dough should have a strong rise creating a semi-tight crumb with some holes here and there, but is strong enough to hold up to olive juice, vinegar and olive oil without falling apart right away.
• Use bread flour for this for a better rise. We don’t want the loaf super tall, about 2-2.5 inches in height is good to aim for.

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