Italian filling stuffed bread

בס"ד

I love making doughs at home, however it can be pretty hard to knead when you don't have any stand mixer, if you wish to donate i would be more than happy to take it :-) .

I love making all those yeast breads, but no more than about a pound at a time, 'cause else

i'll spend in the kitchen way longer than anticipated.

What's unique about this recipe is the filling and the shape of the bread.

The bread is filled with Italian tastes and it is so good.

For the bread, you can use each bread recipe you love, i used the Cordon Bleu recipe with just a basil spice for extra Italian taste.

The filling recipe was taken from the book: "The prepared pantry" by Dennis R Weaver.

 Ingredients:

For the bread:

1/2 Tbsp. dry yeast

225 ml lukewarm water 

1/2 tsp. sugar

375 gram flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. basil

Preparation:
Mix together a bit of the water, the 1/2 Tbsp. of yeast and the 1/2 tsp, of sugar 

and cover. Let sit till the yeast start to foam.

Mix the entire ingredients with the yeast mixture and knead until an elastic and smooth

dough is formed.

Place for 1-2 hours to double the volume and meanwhile prepare the filling:

For the filling:

1/2 cup dried tomatoes

85 gram dark olives , sliced

1/4 medium onion, diced

1/4 Tbsp. oregano

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 cup grated mozzarella

1 Tbsp. grated mozzarella

Preparation:

Place the dried tomatoes in a microwave safe bowl, cover with water and a lid and cook

in the microwave for a minute. Let sit for couple of minutes in the covered bowl and

then strain and pat dry with a paper towel.

Mix all of the filling ingredients together, except from the 1 Tbsp. of mozzarella.

After the dough has doubled its volume, pound it and let it rest for 5 minutes covered.

Roll the dough into a 38X30cm rectangle, cut unwanted leftovers to get a straight rectangle. You can prepare buns from the leftover.

Cut strips of 2.5cm from each side, leaving the middle third whole.

You need to get equal amount of strips on each side, i accidentally had 14 on one end and

15 on another, but it still came out alright.

Place the filling on the center and start folding:

Fold one of the middle edges inside and start folding the strips on the filling by folding one time from one side and then folding over that strip from the other side.

Keep folding like this till just about the end.

When you're almost done, fold the middle edge inside and finish braiding.

Place the bread on a baking pan, cover with a towel and let rise for an hour.

Heat oven to 175C, brush the bread with egg mixed with 1 Tbsp. of water and bake

for about 30 minutes.

When done, sprinkle the 1 Tbsp. of mozzarella and if necessary bake for one more minute

till the cheese has melted.

Enjoy! 

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