Intro
Sometimes the most delicious dishes don’t have the most appetizing names, like brown butter for example. If you had never had brown butter but just knew about it from its deceptively “blah” name you would have no idea that brown butter is quite simply one of the most amazing smells/tastes known to man. Rather than being a rancid blob of butter that has transformed its shade due to age or intriguing forms of mold, brown butter has the aroma of toasted nuts and the ability to transform whatever it touches into a completely new taste. As soon as the milk solids are cooked and begin to caramelize you are nearly punched in the face with an aroma that is both comforting in its familiarity and exciting as it is unlike anything you’ve tasted.
I didn’t really mean to come here to talk about brown butter rather, Stuffed Bread. Now you may be intrigued but chances are you aren’t salivating yet. When I give you a few more details about the recipe you will learn an important lesson about judging a dish by it’s name. That, or you will email me with a much better way of describing what I am calling, “Stuffed Bread”.
What’s better than homemade bread? Not much right?! What happens if you take that bread and stuff it with ham, hard-boiled eggs, fresh basil, loads of cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes? I’ll tell you what happens you get an incredible dinner and a happy husband, who will – while in the midst of consuming several hefty slices – grab his iPhone and twitter about the vast amount of luck bestowed upon him for marrying such a fine woman. Maybe those weren’t his exact words but I’ve learned to read between the lines.
If you are a creative type then you will especially love this recipe because really what it is is an idea. A starting point. Just think about all the possibilities. Bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, cheddar – Breakfast Stuffed Bread. Roasted vegetables, thyme, Gruyere – Meat-less Stuffed Bread.
Let me know what you come up with!
Stuffed Bread
One recipe basic white bread. You can use Jamie Oliver’s recipe or you can use Ruhlman’s ratio for basic bread which is 5:3, five parts flour to 3 parts water. Add some yeast (I typically add 2-3 tsp.) and salt (maybe a touch of sugar too) and you have bread.
1/2 lb. sliced Ham
5 hard boiled eggs, (instructions on how to perfectly boil eggs)
1 1/2 cup cheese (I used Fontina and Parmesan, but you could use cheddar, Gruyere, mozzarella, etc.)
5-7 large fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper – Use it if you think it needs it but with the salty ham, Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes – dare I say – I didn’t add additional salt. (I hope this doesn’t mean I have to change the name of my blog again).
Prepare your basic bread recipe as directed. After the dough had risen and doubled in size, punch down, then shape into a rough rectangle on a floured surface. On the dough place your ham, eggs, cheese, basil and tomatoes. Over the top drizzle with a touch of extra virgin olive oil.
Pull the dough over the filling to connect the edges – think of it like you’re making a giant burrito. Pinch the edges to seal in all your incredible ingredients. Now your burrito is going to become a large donut as you carefully join the ends to meet. Pinch and seal the ends so that you now have an endless ring of stuffed-bread goodness.
Carefully place your ring of bread on a oil piece of parchment lining a baking sheet. Paint or drizzle the top of the dough with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter. Let the dough rest and rise while you are pre-heating the oven to 350* Bake for 35 minutes or until golden.
Let cool, although I understand if you can’t wait that long. It really is best served while the contents of the bread are still warm.
Slice and devour.
I cook and bake almost exclusively Italian dishes and the Italians do love to bake stuffed breads! Your photos are gorgeous, thanks for sharing!
Simply beautiful. This is such a great idea. Looks delicious, I cannot wait to try it!
I look at most recipes as inspiration, but this looks fantastic just as it is written and shown! Beautiful!
Now I want to make brown butter stuffed bread. This looks amazing, Ashley. Your husband had every reason to take to the rooftoops (or at least Twitter) for this.
So many possibilities!
That looks absolutely delicious. Do the eggs get overcooked at all when you put them inside? The stuffed bread concept kind of reminds me of stromboli, but in a round form rather than in a straight line. Do you think you could make it with sourdough bread dough also?
Ok, I just drooled on my keyboard. Slice & devour isn’t even the proper phrase!
Oh my word, I wish I was eating at your house right now. That looks incredible.
yummmm!!!!!!
GAH! I am in love!
I am always amazed at what you post here. This recipe on the other hand, not so much. I think it’s the hard boiled eggs. I’m still a huge fan and can’t wait until your next posting.
Oh my goodness!!!! I can’t wait to try this. Carbs and meat in one pretty package? – my husband won’t be able to handle the bliss.
Beautiful!!
-FH
This would be a great thing to take on a picnic–and we just happened to have one planned for Labot Day (assuming it doesn’t rain too hard here in Seattle). Thanks for sharing!
This looks amazing and sounds incredible! I can’t wait to try it with some grilled vegetables.
Wow, that is fantastic looking! I’ve stuffed biscuits before (http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2009/04/cooking-for-others-non-picnic-brunch.html), for brunch, but never actually baked the filling inside.
Thanks for sharing!
Your boys are lucky to have a mom who bakes home-made bread.
what’s truly amazing to me is I know what misery you were in when you put this meal together. Love your food and your writing.
I saw this recently on a jamie oliver show. Added it to my list of things I want to try and then saw your’s. Lovely pics, will have to try it out very soon. Thanks for sharing.
WOW I need to try this! 😀
Oh my this looks fabulous! I can just imagine how good it is too!!!
Day two, morning…Two slices popped into the toaster oven…”ding”…a drizzle of olive oil. Crunchy, warm. A side of breakfast potatoes and some fresh fruit. A little oj and a hot cup of dark roast.
How creative! And it looks delicious too. I’m going to try this despite my fear of making bread from scratch.
Wow! I just stumbled upon your blog and this is the first post!?! I can’t wait to try this… yumm….
That slice looks so delicious! A meal in itself!
This should be called working mom’s bread. Imagine the time saved fussing with the individual elements. Just slice and serve. Breakfast in 5 seconds. Does it freeze well? ooooh if you answer yes to that then the name changes to “Working Mom’s Perfection bread:-)
holy Yummy batman!!!
This looks like it might be like crack to those of us who love bread and cheese almost more than our own families 🙂 So excited to have discovered your blog! Beautiful photos–great recipes. What a treat!
That is amazing!!! I would never have thought to put all that in the bread. I think I will be trying this TONIGHT!!
Ian
Wow! I just stumbled upon your blog and this is the first post!?! I can’t wait to try this… yumm….
What a fantastic idea! I bake bread every week, and am always trying to find something new to do with it. My husband will love this. Thanks for sharing.
While I cook more than the average American teen does, I don’t think I could ever immerse myself in food enough. I want to know more about /everything/ possible–how do you know when the pasta’s at the perfect al dente stage? What are heirloom tomatoes?
But… Aside from my rambling, I must say this looks incredibly delicious. Well, minus the eggs. (I don’t really “do” eggs…) I think a stuffed bread with fillings reminiscent of a Caprese salad could have potential, but… Do you think the filling would be too watery?
Either way, I’d love to try this recipe out.
Geof – I think the caprese sounds great. You may want to use sundried tomatoes rather than fresh as that would help keep the bread from getting soggy. Keep up with the cooking!
I made your recipe yestarday. I just added olives to the braed. It was delicious!!! Thanks for sharing this.
Mariana – I’m so glad you liked it. I love hearing people enjoying the recipes. Thank you for sharing.
this looks so delish! i’m a huge jamie o. fan but had totally forgotten about this. i printed out the recipe immediately and will have to make this in the next few days! so yum, so versatile … why do we still eat normal sandwishes at all i wonder?!
can’t decide if this would be unbelievably delicious or a bit too much. i think i would need to change the ingredients a bit (eggs are a bit to much for me), but overall, i want to try it!
@Claire – That’s the beauty of it. It can be whatever you desire.