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Sitting idle is a dangerous thing for me. I mean, really - my brain refuses to shut up at the
best of times, and when there's food involved to be thinking about? That's just asking for trouble. Or a plethora of random baking experiments like the ricotta-cherry turnovers I made last week to accompany the
baked pasta at the Boys and Girls Club
(I didn't post a recipe, but it was a blend of ricotta, honey, lemon zest, and a little whipping cream spooned into triangles of thinly-rolled crescent roll dough that I brushed with egg, topped with a maraschino and wrapped like a samosa and baked). But who doesn't love a change from the ordinary once in a while? I mean, some of the most famous chefs in the world exist because of their incurable curiosity - think
Grant Achatz,
Thomas Keller and
Ferran AdriĆ . A few simple ingredients - for me usually comprised of leftover bits and pieces of my fridge stash - can turn into any number of things. There are flops, for sure, but then you get something wonderful.
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Something like these loaves, that filled the house with such rich and decadent aromas from the moment I mixed the dough to when they were fully cooled that I
knew they were nothing but delicious. They stemmed from a leftover tub of herb and garlic cream cheese and some aging potatoes in the bin, and a half container of ancho chile paste I had saved for an unknown reason made a vibrant orange-red spiral that added an earthy, underlying hit of spice. The super-tender loaves sliced incredibly well after they cooled, and when one of my taste-testers toasted it for an omelette sandwich she said it was the best one she'd ever had! I don't know if it's the best bread in the world, but I do know I'm sending it into
YeastSpotting at
WildYeast!
Tender Cheese Bread with Ancho Swirl
Makes 2 loaves, 16 slices each
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup herb-and-garlic cream cheese, cubed and softened
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole milk, warm
1/2 cup reserved potato water
1 tbsp instant yeast
4 cups flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup ancho chile paste* (about 2 whole chiles, soaked in hot water 1 hour and pureed to a thick spread)
- In a large saucepot, boil potatoes until very soft - about 25 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup water, and return to the pot over very low heat.
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- Add cheese, garlic, oregano, sugar, salt, milk and water. Mash until it's a completely smooth, slightly thick liquid.
- Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool slightly, about 5-6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together yeast and flours.
- When the potato mixture had cooled slightly, beat in the eggs, followed by the flour in small batches to form a soft, smooth dough.
- Continue mixing fr 8-10 minutes, until all the flour is incorporated.
- Turn onto a floured board and knead 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
- Cover and let rest 40 minutes.
- Deflate dough, divide in half.
- Roll one half of the dough into a rectangle, spread half the ancho paste overtop.
- Roll dough up as you would for a cinnamon-raisin bread (jelly-roll style) and place in a greased loaf pan. Repeat for remaining dough and filling.
- Cover loaves and allow to rise 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then cover with foil and bake a further 20 minutes.
- Turn out of pans immediately and cool on wire racks.
*Ancho chile paste is also made by
Purcell Mountain Farms
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 134.3
Total Fat: 2.9 g
Cholesterol: 18.8 mg
Sodium: 64.1 mg
Total Carbs: 22.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
Protein: 4.7 g
We love the food and we love the blog. In fact, we love it so much that we have nominated you for an award, well-deserved: http://cookingschoolconfidential.com/2010/03/25/ive-gone-and-won-an-award
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
I love the idea of the ancho swirl. I bet this bread DID make an excellent egg sandwich!
ReplyDeleteThe ancho swirl is a fantastic idea. My husband LOVES anything with ancho in it (almost as much as anything with cheese in it), so this recipe would be a sure hit. Fun to find your blog today for the first time- found the link via yeastspotting.
ReplyDelete-SIRI
That swirl of cheese got me from the moment, I spotted it. Kudos.
ReplyDelete