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Avid Baker's Challenge

Maids of Honour

March 13, 2020 by sblades Leave a Comment

Maids of Honor

This is the second Avid Baker’s Challenge of 2020 and I really learned a lot from making these little pastry cups of goodness. Notice the English spelling of ‘honour’ on these Maids of Honour pastries. That’s because it’s a hoity-toity recipe by Prue Leith from the Great British Bake Off website.

The first thing to learn is making your own curd cheese. Wait – you don’t want to make your own curd cheese? The instructions are quite good and basically you get whole milk and boil it lightly. Then you take it off the stove, add vinegar and salt, and let it sit until it ‘curds up’. Strain it and there you go – curd cheese.

Easy and interesting, but you can also use small curd cottage cheese or cream cheese to save washing pots, strainers, and bowls.

Maids of Honor

The rough puff (made by grating the butter instead of using a slab of butter as in regular puff pastry) is time consuming because of the 3 different roll out, fold, and refrigerate sessions (60 minutes total).

OK, here’s an easy one – the lemon curd. It takes very few ingredients and just a little muscle to whisk it in a pan over boiling water. The end result is an outstanding lemon curd that I could drink with a straw. All of it. I really like the lemon curd.

Besides the lemon curd, there’s a filling made with the homemade curd cheese. The pastry is pre-baked and cooled. Then you put a dollop of lemon curd, pour a little filling in, and bake until set. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar and you’ve got a special treat.

Maids of Honor

I tried to use a pretty little design stencil for the powdered sugar, but it came out ugh-ugly, so I just sprinkled powdered sugar over them. I think they look quite pretty.

I’m adapting the recipe for these Maids of Honour a little. They need more of that wonderful curd, so the recipe below reflects double what they call for in the original. Trust me – you’ll want to do that.

Don’t let the European weights and measures throw you off – just get out that handy-dandy kitchen scale we’ve been talking about for the last several months.

These Maids of Honour will be great for a fancy little dessert after that special dinner. Crispy layered puff crust, lemon curd and a cheese-cakey (but not as sweet) filling. These are quite the treat and interesting to make!

Maids of Honor

Maids Of Honour

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 32 minutes
Dough Resting: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 17 minutes

Wonderful little puffy pastry cups filled with lemon curd and homemade cheese curd.

Ingredients

  • Homemade Curd Cheese:
  • 900 ml (30.4 oz) whole milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 45 ml (1.5 oz) white wine vinegar
  • Rough Puff Pastry
  • 200 g (7 oz.) flour, plus extra for dusting
  • pinch of salt
  • 35 g (1.23 oz) cold butter, diced
  • 80 g (2.8 oz) butter, frozen
  • Homemade Lemon Curd
  • finely grated zest and juice of 2 medium lemons
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
  • 50 g (1.7 oz) butter, diced
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • Filling (using the curd cheese from above)
  • 200 g (7 oz) curd cheese
  • finely grated zest of 2 medium lemons
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) sugar
  • 10 g (.35 oz) flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

  1. For the Curd Cheese: Pour the milk into a large pan and add the salt. Stir and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vinegar. Leave pan for 7 minutes without stirring. Put a sieve lined with a damp muslin cloth or cheesecloth (I used a damp paper towel) over a large bowl and pour in the milk/curd mixture. Let it drain for at least 30 minutes, until cool. Pour the remaining curd cheese into a bowl, scraping down the cloth to get all of it. It will be just at 200 gm of cheese.
  2. For the Rough Puff Pastry: mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Rub in the chilled butter (not the frozen butter) until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (ish). Gradually add 6 to 8 tablespoons of water - just enough to form a kneadable dough.
  3. Lightly flour your counter or marble and roll out the dough to a rectangle measure 30x12cm (about 12x4.75") with one of the long sides facing you. Grate half of the frozen butter over two thirds of the dough, starting from the right to left. Fold over the right edge of dough two thirds to the left, then fold the left side up over the first fold, as if you were folding a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it again into a similarly-sized rectangle.
  4. Grate the remaining frozen butter over the right two thirds of the dough as in the first instruction, and fold again (two thirds from right to left; one third from left to right, like a letter). Wrap in cling wrap and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  5. Repeat the rolling and folding of the pastry twice more (without any more butter), each time wrapping in the cling wrap and leaving to rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  6. While the dough is on it's last rest, make the Lemon Curd: Put the zest and juice from one lemon, the sugar, and butter in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water (or a double boiler). Stir constantly, until the butter has melted, then slowly drizzle in the eggs while whisking vigorously. There may be a few white pieces from the egg, but they'll get sieved out. Whisk the mixture constantly for 7-8 minutes, until thickened like custard. Pour the cooked curd through a sieve into a small clean bowl (to remove the zest and bits), then set aside to cool.
  7. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Lightly flour your surface again and roll out the chilled pastry to about 3 mm. (.12") thick. Make sure you can get 12, 4" circles out of the rolled out dough - if not, it's not thin enough - keep rolling (you'll have scraps after 8 or 9 of the circles are cut - just gently reroll out and finish cutting the circles).
  8. Put the circles into the 12 muffin tin holes, pressing lightly up to the top of the cup. Cover each with a 3" square of parchment paper and put beans in each hole to weight them (so the pastry doesn't puff up too much). Bake for 18-20 minutes, then remove the pan to a rack. Carefully (it's hot) remove the paper and beans and set the muffin tin aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
  9. For the filling: While the pastry is baking, place the curd cheese, lemon zest, sugar, flour, and eggs into a medium bowl and whisk together (or better yet, use a hand mixer) until smooth.
  10. Place 1 1/2 teaspoon of the lemon curd into the base of each pastry case, then carefully pour the filling into the cases until they are fairly full, but not overflowing the top of the pastry. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until almost set (barely wiggly). Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack and allow the tarts to cool.
  11. Sift powdered sugar over the top of the completely cooled tarts.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Read the recipe thoroughly, then get all your equipment out and ready to use.

I used apple cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar and it worked great.

If you don't want to  make cheese curd, you can substitute mashed small curd cottage cheese or softened cream cheese.  I urge you to make the lemon curd from scratch, though.

Be careful when grating the frozen butter - it gets slippery and you don't want to scrape your little fingers.  Chop off a slightly bigger slab than you need so you'll have a little left after grating, and you don't have to grate to the nub.

Do not skip the four rolling and three resting periods.  This is going to laminate your dough like puff pastry should be.  Be gentle with the dough as to not mush the lamination together (or it might be tough after baked).

You'll have a little leftover lemon curd.  You're welcome.

Make sure the cheese curd filling is very smooth before pouring into the muffin cups. It will be fairly thin.

DON'T forget to lower the oven temperature immediately after you finish baking the pastry.  Give it 10 minutes to get back down to 350°.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
© Prue Leith - Great British Bake Off
Category: Pies/Pastry/Puddings

Filed Under: All Recipes, Pies/Pastry/Puddings Tagged With: Avid Baker's Challenge, cheese curds, fancy dessert, homemade cheese curds, lemon curd, Maids of Honour, puff pastry, rough puff pastry

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

October 27, 2019 by sblades Leave a Comment

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

The Avid Bakers Challenge this month is the Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread from Brown-Eyed Baker’s website. I knew I was going to love this one – first of all it’s a yeast bread (yay) and has every component of a cinnamon roll. That you can pull off pieces of the bread with your fingers is another plus!

Oh, and don’t forget the gooey carmely apple stuff that sinks to the bottom. The soft, pillowy yeast bread, chewy top, little chunks of apple and caramel cinnamon gooey stuff comes together and makes an amazing bread.

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

The photos don’t do the bread justice. It was really hard to stop eating it, especially when you can peel off a little piece at a time. Pretty soon you’ve eaten five or six of those little pieces. They’re kind of like sticky buns, but are pull-apart.

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

I followed Brown-Eyed Baker’s instructions to manipulate the dough almost exactly and the it came out just like she said it would. A little sticky, but it rose beautifully. The dough did rest longer than specified so it would be easier to roll out and wouldn’t spring back.

I’ll definitely make this Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread again…and again. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite breads!

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

Yield: 10 (one loaf)
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Rising/Resting Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours

Amazing soft, pillowy yeast bread with a gooey apple cinnamon sauce on bottom. Really a great bread!

Ingredients

  • For The Dough
  • 2 3/4 C plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 C granulated sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 oz (about 4 tbsp) butter, diced small
  • 1/3 C 2% milk
  • 1/4 C water
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • For the Filling
  • 3/4 C granulated sugar
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 large apple, peeled, cored and small diced
  • 2 oz (about 4 tbsp) butter, melted
  • dash of salt

Instructions

  1. Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and set aside.
  3. Place the milk and butter in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-40 seconds. Stir to make sure all of the butter is melted, then stir in the water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand until it registers 115 to 125° (a little past lukewarm to the touch).
  4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden or silicone spoon until combined. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. It will be sloggy, but keep stirring until completely combined - 2-3 minutes. Add 3/4 of the remaining flour and stir until fully incorporated, about 2 more minutes. The mixture will be slightly sticky.
  5. Spray a medium-large metal bowl (or grease with butter). Loosely roll the dough into a ball shape and put into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and let rise for an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes, until the dough is almost doubled in size.
  6. Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and dash of salt. Stir in the diced apple. Set aside.
  7. Spray a 9x5" loaf pan.
  8. Assemble the Bread: Deflate the risen dough and knead the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough (about 2 minutes). Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rest on the counter for 5 minutes.
  9. Lightly flour your counter or work surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 12 x 20-inch rectangle. Brush the melted butter evenly across the dough to the edges. Spread the apple/cinnamon/sugar mixture evenly all over the dough to the edges, including any thick juice that may have accumulated.
  10. Slice the dough (pizza cutter is the easiest) into six equally-sized strips vertically and horizontally for a total of 36 squares/rectangles. It won't hurt if they're not perfect, just get close.
  11. Create six stacks of six layers each. Place each stack into the prepared loaf pan with the cut edges up, arranging them however you want. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place for 35-45 minutes, until almost doubled in size.
  12. Bake the Bread: Preheat the oven to 350°. Place a sheet pan on the lowest rack of the oven to catch any drippings which may overflow. Place the pan on the middle rack and bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is very golden brown, turning the pan once after 20 minutes. An instant thermometer should read 195-200° so the insides will be done. If the top starts browning too much, tent aluminum foil over the top while it completes baking.
  13. Remove from the oven and rest for 25-30 minutes on a rack. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and turn it out onto a cutting board or serving plate. Serve warm or room temperature.
  14. Wrap leftover bread in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

The original recipe used unsalted butter and whole milk.  I didn't.

The original recipe also used all granulated sugar in the filling, but I thought the brown sugar made the gooey stuff better.

If the dough springs back too much while you're trying to roll it out, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rest on the counter for 5 to 10 more minutes.  It will roll out more easily.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 237Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 246mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 2gSugar: 27gProtein: 3g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Brown Eyed Baker
Category: Breads/Muffins

Filed Under: All Recipes, Breads/Muffins Tagged With: apples, Avid Baker's Challenge, Brown-eyed Baker, cinnamon bread, homemade bread, pull apart bread, sticky buns, yeast bread

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

June 24, 2019 by sblades Leave a Comment

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

The June choice for the Avid Baker’s Challenger is Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones. The photo on the Brown Eyed Baker’s website looks so good, I could just imagine what they tasted like.

The oatmeal gives these scones a wonderful texture, and the light peanut butter flavor is terrific. Add chocolate chips to the mix and you have some very, very tasty scones!

You need a light hand mixing these so they won’t be tough. I used my fingertips to blend the butter into the flour and, after the chocolate chips were added, I dug in with both hands and squished the dough together – it blended easier that way. Just be gentle.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

If you search for scones on my site, you’ll find that I have quite a thing for them. My delicious Cinnamon Scones also have oatmeal in them and I just love that chewiness it brings to them.

Since they’re rather rich, next time instead of making a 9″ circle and cutting them into 8 scones, I’ll make two 5-ish” circles and make them more like mini scones.

Eating one of the big ones is quite a substantial breakfast. Of course that didn’t stop me from eating the whole scone, washing it down with coffee, and licking my fingers. It’s like having a big ole’ oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookie for breakfast!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

These Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones are easy to throw together and so worth making. I’m planning on freezing a few of them and seeing how well they thaw. I’ll update you on that later.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes

Great texture from the oatmeal, rich from the peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Ingredients

  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 C old-fashioned oats
  • 1/3 C dark brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3/4 C buttermilk
  • 1 egg separated
  • 1/2 C peanut butter
  • 1 C semisweet chocolate chips
  • Sparkling or large grained sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a wide baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the very cold butter and cut or rub the butter into the flour mixture until blended and pea sized (easiest to use your fingers, but do it quickly so the butter doesn't melt).
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the egg yolk.
  4. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour the buttermilk mixture into the center of the well, then add the peanut butter.
  5. Gently fold the ingredients together with a rubber spoon, very gently until it starts coming together. Then add the chocolate chips and gently knead with your hands until chips are incorporated. (Do not over mix the dough - you don't want tough scones).
  6. Turn the dough out onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and pat it gently into about a 9" circle. Whisk the egg white, then brush it all over the top of the dough. Sprinkle generously with the sugar.
  7. Cut the dough into 8 wedges (do not separate them) and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the scones are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs.
  8. Remove from the oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then recut the scones and separate. Cool on a rack. Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days or, after they're completely cooled, freeze.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

These were rather large and rich, so next time I would make two 4 to 5" circles and cut them smaller (and bake them for a few minutes less).

The changes I made from the original recipe:  I added a tablespoon of granulated sugar for a little more sweetness; I used salted butter; I used smooth peanut butter (hers called for chunky).

Don't overwork the dough - you don't want tough scones.  These are a little softer than usual for scones, but it works!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 482Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 494mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 4gSugar: 23gProtein: 11g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Adapted slightly from BrownEyedBaker.com
Category: Breads/Muffins

Filed Under: All Recipes, Breads/Muffins, Breakfast Tagged With: Avid Baker's Challenge, breakfast, Brown-eyed Baker, chocolate chip scones, chocolate chips, oatmeal scones, peanut butter, peanut butter scones, scones

Easy Tiramisu Trifle

March 19, 2019 by sblades 1 Comment

Easy Tiramisu Trifle

For March, the Avid Baker’s Challenge group chose the Brown-Eyed Baker’s Easy Tiramisu Trifle for us to make. The easy part is that you don’t have to make the ladyfingers and there’s no custard layer like the full-blown version.

Even though there’s no real baking in this recipe, I’m glad we chose it because I’ve never made a trifle or a tiramisu before!  Of course I had to embellish it a little with chocolate syrup… (and it’s wonderful that way).

Easy Tiramisu Trifle

This Easy Tiramisu Trifle is so easy to throw together. I halved the recipe and used a 2 quart glass dish since I don’t actually have a trifle bowl. It worked out great for the two of us and we’ll be able to finish it up fairly quickly.

I can see this working great for a last minute elegant dessert for a get together. It’s rich, but not cloyingly sweet and the coffee flavor really comes through on the layers. If you don’t want to use Kahlua, just substitute a little of the coffee mixture.

Easy Tiramisu Trifle

I’ve never used mascarpone before, mainly because our local grocery never carried it until lately. I was pleasantly surprised because frankly I thought it was going to be grainy like cannoli filling. It whipped up creamy and delicious and made the dessert taste perfect!

Easy Tiramisu Trifle

Easy Tiramisu Trifle

Yield: 10
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Inactive Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 45 minutes

Layers of ladyfingers dipped in a coffee/kahlua mixture and fluffy mascarpone blended with rich whipped cream.

Ingredients

  • 1 C heavy cream
  • 1 C coffee, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp instant coffee or espresso powder
  • 2 tbsp Kahlua, divided
  • 8 oz mascarpone cheese
  • 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 8 oz lady fingers (about 24)
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, about 45 seconds.  Place the whipped cream bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir the coffee, instant coffee and 1 tablespoon of the Kahlua until the powder dissolves.  Set aside.
  3. In another medium bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese until smooth and light (may look like curds, but will smooth out later).  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar , vanilla and remaining tablespoon of Kahlua.  Mix until smooth.
  4. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until thoroughly mixed in and lightened.  Gently fold the rest of the whipped cream in until most of the white streaks are gone.
  5. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mascarpone mixture onto the bottom of a 2 quart glass bowl (or bowl of your choice).  Then one-by-one, dip the lady fingers into the coffee and quickly roll to cover.  Put a layer of the dipped ladyfingers on the bottom of the bowl, adjusting to fit.
  6. Spread about half of the mascarpone mixture over the bottom layer of ladyfingers, smoothing to the edge.  Dust the cocoa over this layer. 
  7. Next, dip more ladyfingers in the coffee and gently lay horizontally around the edges of the bowl and also a layer of ladyfingers over the mascarpone.   Put the rest of the mascarpone mixture in the glass bowl (should come to the top of the bowl).  Dust the top of this layer with the remaining cocoa.  
  8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I used store-bought lady fingers, but you can make your own if you wish.  Don't soak the ladyfingers in the coffee or they may fall apart - just dip them in quickly.

You could use cream cheese in a pinch instead of mascarpone, but the mascarpone really is outstanding in it.  If you use cream cheese, bring it to room temperature before beating.

When stored in the refrigerator, a little moisture winds up on the plastic wrap.  Use a new piece of plastic wrap when you store the leftovers.

I halved the original recipe, so if you have a big trifle bowl, double the recipe.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 301Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 140mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 4g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Brown-Eyed Baker
Category: Dessert

Filed Under: All Recipes, Pies/Pastry/Puddings Tagged With: Avid Baker's Challenge, Brown-eyed Baker, coffee, dessert, Kahlua, tiramisu, trifle, whipped cream

Soft Cheese and Ham Bread

February 12, 2019 by sblades Leave a Comment

Ham and Cheese Bread
You may remember that I’m in a little Facebook baking group called The Avid Bakers and for 2019 we’ll be baking from The Brown-Eyed Baker’s website. She’s been a food blogger forever and has a ton of great recipes on her site.

Today I’m making her Soft Cheese and Pepperoni Bread, but am renaming it Soft Cheese and Ham Bread because of the substitution of ham for the pepperoni.

Bret made a Costco trip and you know what’s coming….3 pounds of really good sliced ham that needs to be used. That’s OK. It makes a good substitution choice for the pepperoni.

Ham and Cheese Bread

This is a tasty yeast bread with a soft texture and swirls of melty mozzarella cheese and ham. As you can see above, I made a nice chicken salad sandwich with it for lunch today. The flavors of the bread are mild and go together nicely.

This recipe makes two giant standalone loaves of bread and next time I’ll divide it into four smaller loaves. I think the swirl will be more uniform and I can give away the extra loaves!

Ham and Cheese Bread

I’m going to give you my adapted recipe and instructions, but if you’d like to see the original just go to The Brown-Eyed Baker’s page and check out the variations. I’ll be making this bread again. It’s easy to put together, rises beautifully, and the end result is a nice Soft Cheese and Ham Bread!

Ham and Cheese Bread

Soft Cheese and Ham Bread

Yield: 2 giant loaves
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Inactive Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Tasty homemade yeast bread loaf with a swirl of melted mozzarella cheese and ham. 

Ingredients

  • 1 C lukewarm water
  • 2 pkgs Active Dry Yeast (almost 1 1/2 tbsp)
  • 5 1/2 to 6 1/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp coarse kosher salt
  • 5 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 C plus 2 tbsp 2% milk
  • 1/4 C melted butter, slightly cooled
  • 2 1/2 C shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese
  • 16-20 slices of thinly sliced, good quality deli ham (about 3-4" rounds)

Instructions

  1. In the lukewarm water, stir in the yeast and a pinch of sugar.  Let sit to bloom while assembling the rest of the ingredients.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk 5 cups of the flour, salt and sugar together.  Pour the milk, yeast mixture, and slightly cooled melted butter into the dry ingredients.  Use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.  Let the dough rest in the bowl for 5 minutes.
  3. Switch the mixer to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 4 minutes, adjusting with more flour or liquid if needed.  (I used almost 6 cups)  The dough should be soft, supple, and tacky, but not sticky.
  4. Lightly oil a very large bowl and place the dough in the bowl, turning to oil the dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and set at room temperature for 60-90 minutes until it doubles in size.  (It was about 75 minutes for me)
  5. Lightly dust a counter/surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it.  Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll the dough into approximately 8" wide by 12" high rectangles.  Sprinkle half of the cheese over each and layer the ham on each rectangle.  Roll up the dough as evenly and tightly as possible, starting with the 8" end.  Pinch together the seams very well or the cheese will leak out.
  6. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a large baking sheet and place the loaves seam side down at least 4 inches apart for rising room.  Spray or lightly rub the loaves with oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rise at room temperature to 75-90 minutes, until increased to about 1 1/2 times its original size.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Poke the top crust of the loaves with a toothpick in about six different places to clear out any air pockets.  Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan.  Bake for 25 to 30 more minutes until medium to dark golden brown and the internal temperature is about 185°.
  8. Remove the loaves to a wire rack and cool at least 1 hour before slicing.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

Next time I'll make four smaller loaves - just roll out the dough in smaller rectangles.  

The original recipe calls for bread flour, but I used all-purpose and it came out nicely.

If you use Rapid Rise Yeast, you don't have to bloom it, but I have more luck with the Active Dry Yeast.  (One day I'll tell you about various hockey puck yeast items I've made....)

Use a digital thermometer to test the temperature - they're cheap and incredibly useful to a baker.  No guessing if the bread is done.

Use whatever ingredients you'd like on the bread, but make sure to pat any wet ingredients (black olives, for instance) dry before putting into the bread or it will make a mess.

You can also make spiral rolls if you prefer - just bake for less time.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 slices Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 464Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 233mgCarbohydrates: 93gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 13g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© Adapted from The Brown-Eyed Baker
Category: Breads/Muffins

Filed Under: All Recipes, Breads/Muffins Tagged With: Avid Baker's Challenge, ham, homemade bread, pepperoni, pepperoni bread, Soft Cheese and Ham Bread, swirled bread, yeast bread

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Welcome!  I’m Susan and I love finding wonderful new recipes.  I hope you’ll find a few new ones here that you and your family will love. Browse around and stay a while!Save

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