Stuffed Braided Bread is delicious and looks fancy, stuffed with your choice of filling and melted cheese it makes a perfectly satisfying stuffed bread for family and friends. It’s artistic and looks difficult, but it really couldn’t be easier.
Preparation Time: 2 hours Cooking Time: 25 to 35 minutes
Makes: 4 stuffed braided breads
Ingredients For stuffing
1 small onion finely diced about 3/4 cup
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup paneer or / diced mushrooms or/ shredded chicken
1 tsp jalapeños chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 - 2 tsp Sriracha sauce or Sambal sauce
3 -4 tbsps sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or mozzarella Cheese
Toppings
1/2 tsp red chilly flakes
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, to brush on the dough
To make the filling:
1. Heat the oil in a pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent.
Add the garlic and veggies of your choice and cook till done. Make sure there is no moisture residue.
2. Season the filling with salt and pepper as per taste and remove from heat, allow it to cool to room temperature.
3. Add the chilly sauce and sour cream, mix well and add shredded cheese. The filling can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. We need our filling to be room temperature when ready to use.
Ingredients For Dough
3 cups flour
5 tbsps butter softened
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup warm water only add as needed
Steps:
To make the dough
Bloom the yeast with sugar and milk set aside for a few minute. Mix the flour and salt along with the softened butter and mix into a crumble. Add the beaten egg with the yeast mixture in the dry ingredients and make a soft dough. Knead the dough well adding water only little at a time to make a soft dough. Apply oil over the dough cover and keep aside for 1 hour in a warm place to double in size.
Bread Braid
1. Place the proofed dough on a lightly floured surface, deflate the dough and divide into four parts.
2. Take one part of the dough and roll it out evenly into a long oval if around 1/2 inch thickness and place a portion of the stuffing in the center of the oval as shown below, you can add extra shredded cheese over the filling if you like.
3. With a sharp knife make diagonal cuts on each side of the filling on the dough as shown in the picture. Make sure there are equal number of cuts on both side.
4. To braid the bread, fold over the first strip of the dough over the filling and press the end into the dough on the other side close to the filling. Then bring the other strip from the other side and fold over the filling, overlapping the strips alternately, keeping the folds clean. Make a tail with a few cuts on the bottom end of the center cut of the dough. Add black peppercorns for eyes and sprinkle red chilly flakes and poppy seeds for decoration.
5. Keep the stuffed bread braids covered for the second rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour and brush the bread with the beaten egg and sprinkle with red chilly flakes and poppyseeds.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until the top of the bread is light to medium brown in color. Serve warm with your favorite sauce.
Comments