Place the bread into a large bowl and pour in the milk. Push the bread down with the back of a spoon and mix so that all the bread pieces get a chance to soak up some of the milk and soften. Allow to soak for at least 15 minutes, mixing occasionally and pushing the bread down with the back of a spoon. By now most (if not all) of the milk, will have been absorbed. If needed, squeeze excess milk from the bread and place the bread into a large clean bowl. Discard any leftover milk.

Add the speck, egg, cheese, parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Bring together with your hands to make cohesive dough and allow to rest, covered in the fridge for at least 15 minutes (or several hours).

Shape balls of dough, about 35g in weight. If the dough is too wet, add a bit of extra parmesan; it should easily stick together. Roll the balls lightly in flour and set aside.

Boil a large pot of salted water and gently drop in the gnocchi. Allow to cook at a slow steady boil, for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, melt butter on low heat in a frypan. Drain gnocchi using a slotted spoon and place on warmed plates (or on a large warmed platter). Drizzle the cooked gnocchi with melted butter and scatter plenty of extra parmesan and freshly ground cracked pepper.