One of the things I enjoy the most about my cooking
classes is the fact that people feel free to ask questions. Good questions make me think more carefully
about almost every aspect of cooking (methods, flavors, ingredients, culture,
etc.). This serves to make me a better
cook…and a better teacher…and often it gives me great ideas for new recipes.
During my last class—Cooking for Holiday House Guests—I
demonstrated the recipe for a Jam and Cheese-filled Yeasted Coffee Braid. Because I love sweet breakfast breads—for
breakfast, brunch, coffee or a late night snack (basically all the time)—that’s
what was filling my mind as I discussed the recipe. Suddenly someone asked if they could use the
dough and method for a savory filled braid.
My initial reaction was: of course not…this is a sweet dough. But then it immediately dawned on me that of
course you could make a savory bread…as long as you reduced the sugar in the
dough just a bit (although, not too much…the dough actually isn’t that sweet).
Over the next few days I continued to think about all the
possibilities of a savory braid. Then
the following week I decided to make one to serve as a snack for a gathering of
friends. I filled that first attempt
with a garlic and herb flavored ricotta (in place of the sweetened cream cheese
in the sweet version), prosciutto, sundried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms and
goat cheese It tasted good, but I didn’t
use nearly enough of the filling ingredients.
My mistake was that I still had the requirements of
the sweet braid in my head. One of these
requirements is to not use too much jam.
Besides the fact that too much jam filling oozes out all over the baking
sheet, a generous amount of bread is what I expect in a breakfast pastry. This isn’t the case with the savory version. I
wouldn’t want to go on record as saying that you can’t have too much filling in
the savory braid….but in this version, the filling is the star. The bread is just a convenient and beautiful
vehicle.
Since the recipe makes enough dough for two braids, I
had the opportunity to make a second pass at getting the quantity of filling
right. Of course it would have made
sense (from a recipe-testing, compare and contrast perspective) to just
increase the quantity of all the filling ingredients that I had used the first
time. But when I finally got around to making the second braid (one of the nice
things about this dough is that it will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator)
I was more interested in making dinner than testing a recipe. In any case, I had some other ingredients in
my pantry that I wanted to use and that I thought would make a nice filling…so
I used those instead. The second braid
was delicious. And the balance of dough
to filling was perfect.
When I made the second braid, I still had half of the herbed
ricotta left from when I made the first braid, so I went ahead and used it. Not only does this cheese mixture taste good,
it provides a nice base for the other fillings.
But I’m certain that you could use seasoned cream cheese or goat cheese…or
maybe Boursin…or even a simple herbed sour cream. I still had mushrooms, so I repeated the
sautéed mushrooms too. But for the second
version I doubled the quantity.
The biggest change I made for the second braid was
that I added some cooked spinach. And I think
the spinach was the key to the success of the second braid. Even when cooked to the point where the
excess liquid has evaporated (which you must do to keep the loaf from being
soggy and damp), greens are still inherently moist. So not only do they add nice flavor, they
keep the filling from seeming dry. Other
greens (kale, chard, beet greens, etc) would work too…as long as you cook them
in the manner appropriate for your chosen green. Kale, for example, will need to be blanched
and squeezed dry before it is added to the pan of mushrooms. And while it isn’t a leafy green, it occurred
to me that cooked leeks would behave in a similar manner (and would be
delicious!).
I replaced the crumbled goat cheese with some sliced Cambozola
(a German, Brie-style, triple cream blue cheese). I’m very partial to the Cambozola…but it
isn’t something I typically keep on hand.
I wouldn’t hesitate to substitute another flavorful melting cheese. (But if you are shopping for the other
ingredients, you should definitely pick up the Cambozola!)
Finally, if you decide to improvise with your savory
fillings, I think it’s important to include ingredients that are strongly
flavored. In my braid, mushrooms and
blue cheese fill the bill in this regard.
Cured meats (ham/prosciutto, cooked sausage and bacon) would be
good. Brined/salt preserved foods like
olives or capers…or anchovies…would pack a nice flavorful punch. Other strongly flavored items include pesto,
tapenade, and sundried tomatoes. I’m
sure I’m forgetting some obvious possibilities…but you get the idea.
I don’t know if the person who asked if the jam braid
could be turned into a savory filled bread will see this post, but if he does,
I would love to hear if he took a stab at it.
And of course I would also like to thank him for asking the question in
the first place. It was obviously a
great source of inspiration. I even
think it’s possible that this version might make its way into a class someday….
Spinach, Mushroom & Cambozola Filled Braided Bread
1/4 c. (56 g.) lukewarm (105 to 115 degrees) water
2 1/4 t. active dry or instant yeast
1/2 c. (121 g.) sour cream
4 T. (56 g.) unsalted butter, sliced 1/4-inch thick
and softened
1 large egg
3 c. (360 g.) unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
1 T. (12 g.) sugar
1 t. salt
1 c. (250g) whole milk ricotta
1/3 c. (30g) finely grated pecorino
1 fat clove garlic, smashed to a purée with a pinch of
salt (or grated on a microplaner)
1 t. minced fresh rosemary
1 egg yolk (save the white for the egg wash)
2 to 4 T. olive oil
14 to 16 oz. crimini or white mushrooms, sliced
10 oz. baby spinach, large stems trimmed if necessary,
leaves coarsely chopped
7 to 8 oz. Cambozola, sliced a scant 1/4-inch thick
and torn into 1-inch pieces
1 large egg white beaten until frothy with 1 T. cold
water
3 to 4 T. sesame seeds
Place the water in a mixing bowl and scatter in the
yeast. Whisk or stir to dissolve. Add the remaining
ingredients in the order listed, adding only 340 grams of the flour and making
sure the salt doesn’t touch the yeast-water mixture directly. Mix
and knead (by hand or mixer fitted with a dough hook) until you have a smooth,
velvety dough. The dough will be very dry at first; resist the urge
to add more liquid. It'll come together and smooth out as you
knead. Once the dry ingredients are absorbed (and this only takes a
minute or two) the dough may begin to stick. Use small increments of
the extra 20 grams of flour…and the help of your bench scraper…to keep the
dough from sticking. It is unlikely that you will need all of the
reserved flour.
Place the dough in a lightly buttered bowl or other
container, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk (about an
hour). Deflate the dough, cover with
plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight (and up to three or four
days). It may or may not look risen when you pull it out to use
it. That's OK.
When you are ready to bake, make the filling: Combine
the ricotta, pecorino, garlic, rosemary, and egg yolk. Set
aside.
Prepare the mushrooms
and spinach: Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to sauté the
mushrooms in batches—don't overcrowd the pan. Heat a sauté pan (non-stick, if
you have one) over high heat. Add oil to coat the pan. When the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms.
Cook, shaking the pan and tossing the mushrooms occasionally, until the
mushrooms are browned, tender and any liquid that they have given off has
evaporated. If they seem dry at any time as they cook, drizzle in a bit more
oil. If sautéing in batches, transfer the finished mushrooms to a plate and
season with salt & pepper. Return
the pan to the heat, add more oil and repeat with the remaining mushrooms. When all the mushrooms are cooked, return
them all to the pan and heat through.
Begin adding the spinach to the pan a handful at a time, turning with
tongs to coat the greens in the oil and mushrooms and adding successive handfuls
of spinach as the previous one collapses.
Continue to cook until the spinach is tender and any liquid given off
has evaporated. Season well with salt
and pepper and set aside to cool.
Divide the chilled dough into two pieces. Working with
one piece at a time (and keeping the other chilled), flatten/pat the dough into
a rectangle.
Flour the surface and dough
very lightly and roll the dough out into a 10" x 15"
rectangle. Transfer the rectangle to a piece of parchment paper.
Spread half of the ricotta mixture down the center
third of the rectangle. Leave 1/4-inch of dough bare at each
end.
Spread half of the mushroom spinach mixture over the
ricotta.
Arrange half of the Cambozola over all.
Using a pizza cutter (or a sharp knife), cut 12 to 13
slightly slanting lines down each side—angling the cuts from the edge of the
filling to the outside edge of the dough. The cuts should be a
generous one inch apart and should start about 1/4-inch away from the edge of
the ricotta. Being careful not to stretch the dough, fold the
strips of dough over the filling, criss-crossing the strips by alternating a
strip from the left with a strip from the right.
Lightly press/pinch
at the two ends of the loaf to seal.
Transfer the braid (using the parchment to
lift it) to a sheet pan and cover loosely with greased/sprayed plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling
ingredients.
Let the braids rest at room temperature for 30 to 40
minutes. (Alternatively, transfer the
formed covered loaves to the refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.)
Whether you choose a traditional rise at room temperature
or an overnight cold rise, the loaves will not “double in bulk.” They
might look a bit puffed, but that is all. This is how it should be.
To finish and bake: Brush the egg white/water mixture
over the loaves. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.
Bake the braids in a preheated 375°F oven for 20 to 25
minutes, until they're puffed and golden brown. The cheese might be
bubbling or oozing a bit. This is fine. Remove the
loaves from the oven and place them on a rack to cool slightly (10 minutes or
so). Serve warm. One loaf will serve 4
to 6 as an accompaniment to soup or salad as a light entrée. Or, each loaf may be cut into 12 slices and served as part of an appetizer
spread.
Store any leftovers, well-wrapped, for several days in
the refrigerator or for longer in the freezer. To serve, thaw if frozen, and
then reheat in a 350°F oven, wrapped in foil, for about 20 minutes.
Note: Although you can
put both of the loaves on one sheet pan, I find that they bake best on two
sheets. When one is done, just slide the second one into the oven…or
bake on separate racks, rotating half way through the baking time.
Printable Version
