In a large non-reactive pot or very large mixing bowl, place all but 6 of the lemon slices and artichokes.  Fill with cold water and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes.

Drain the artichokes in a colander.  Use a very sharp knife to cut off the stems from the bottom so that the artichoke will stand up flat.

Slice at least a ¼-inch in a straight line across the top of each artichoke with a knife.  Then, with Kitchen shears, clip just the tips off of all the leaves on the remainder of the artichoke.

Open the leaves of the artichokes by pushing the stem side firmly onto your countertop.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, parsley, Italian Seasoning, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

To stuff the artichokes, use your fingers to gently pull and pry open the center leaves of the artichoke.  Pull out the inner yellow leaves and discard them.

Use a teaspoon to scrape and scoop out all of the fuzzy inner ‘choke’.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Stuff the filling into the artichokes, pushing the filling down into and between the artichoke leaves until they are well packed, with a generous amount in the center.

To bake the artichokes, pour the wine into the bottom of a Dutch oven.  Add the remaining 6 slices of lemon, the bay leaves, and garlic cloves to the bottom of the pot.

Nestle the artichokes, sitting upright into the Dutch oven.  Ensure that they will rest and nestle, upright, against each other.  If necessary, place crumpled foil around the artichokes to hold them upright.

Drizzle with ½ cup of olive oil.

Cover the pot tightly with the lid and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until you can easily remove one of the outer petals.  Keep in mind that depending on the size of the artichokes you are using, the cooking time could vary from 50 minutes to 1 ½ hours.  I used medium artichokes for this recipe.

Remove the cover from the pot and turn the oven onto broil.

Broil for 1-2 minutes just until the top crumb filling begins to turn golden.

Remove the artichokes from the Dutch oven with a wire spider and serve hot with garlic aioli, if desired.

For the Aioli:

In a small bowl, mash the garlic, salt, and lemon juice together with the back of a metal spoon until the garlic is smooth.  Whisk in the mayonnaise, mustard, and white pepper until fully combined.  Serve alongside the artichokes, if desired.