The genesis of this dish is many things. It starts with my pet peeve of wasting bread. If you are a baker and make your own bread you know it takes time to make a good loaf. As with many breads you also know they are never as good as the first day. While I will always eat bread the second day and even the third there are time when you need to do something with the extra. This recipe is also the culmination of two culinary heroins, Lydia Bastianich, and Alice Waters. Lydia, through her books, gave me the idea long ago to make lasagna type dishes using old bread. The idea for the topping is loosely based on Alice Waters calzones from her book on pizza and pasta. You could easily go without the pancetta for a nice vegetarian or meatless Monday dish. A nicely chilled rose from Provence would just be wonderful with this.

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