madbaker | The first of a few from the war.

This week's Resolution Recipe: Baked Cheese, Bread, etc.

Crostata de Caso, Pane, etc. (Baked Cheese, Bread, etc.)

Piglia pane he getta via la crosta, he fette sutile he bruscule a lo foco che siano colorite; dapoi inbratale cum butiro fresco, he ponerai de sopra zucaro, canella; et poi habi fette de caso grasso he metelo sopra questo pane cum de sopra ancora zucaro he he canella; poi mette queste fette in una padella de torat sopra le cinere cum lo coperto de sopra cum braxa; et como lo caso sia squagliato, manda presto a tavola.

Get bread, remove the crust, slice it thin and toast it on the fire to color it, then coat the slices with fresh butter and put sugar and cinnamon on top; then get slices of creamy cheese and put them on the toast with sugar and cinnamon on top; then put the slices into a torte pan and put this on the coals with its lid on and coals on top; when the cheese has melted, serve it quickly. (Cuoco Napoletano, late 15th century)

bread
butter
sugar
cinnamon
creamy cheese (I used Fontina)

Remove crust from the bread and slice 1/8 inch thin. Toast to medium brownness. Butter the toast and lightly sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Slice thin slices of Fontina cheese and layer on the toast. Top with more sugar and cinnamon. Place in a covered dish and bake over medium heat just until the cheese has melted. Serve hot.

I used Fontina cheese as it is a creamy, easily-melted, and lightly-flavored cheese. Any "artisanal" bread will work but it should not be too dark; 15th century mills were capable of producing good white flour and this was desired.

Sources
Scully, Terence. Cuoco Napoletano: The Neapolitan Recipe Collection. Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan, 2000. Print. ISBN 0-472-10972-3.
Holt, Richard. The Mills of Medieval England. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell, 1988. Print. ISBN 0-631-15692-5.