Pepperoni Basil Bread
Ingredients:
1 pound pepperoni (do not by the pre-cut ones, they are too think for this application, most stores will have a 8oz whole pepperoni or even a long stick that is a full pound, just look around)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ cups hot (120-130 degrees) milk (use any milk over 2% that you like or have on hand, with whole milk being preferred)
¼ cup ( ½ stick) butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs at room temperature
5 cups flour (bread or all purpose will do)
2 packages ( 4 ½ teaspoons) yeast
1 tablespoon dried basil
Baking pans - Either 1 12 inch cake pan or two 8 inch cake pans, greased
Method:
Start with making the dough; we'll get to the pepperoni in a bit.
In your large mixing bowl or the work bowl of your stand mixer, combine the hot milk, butter, salt, and sugar. Stir together until the butter melts.
Add the eggs and beat until they are completely combined with the butter and milk mixture. Then add the yeast, basil, and three cups of the flour. Beat with a wooden spoon or the flat paddle attachment of your stand mixer for three minutes. This will form a thick batter.
Add the rest of the flour ½ cup at a time, stirring each addition completely into the developing dough before adding the next. You will now have a soft and shaggy mass of dough. It is time to knead it.
If you are doing this by hand, flour your work surface then put about 1/8 of a cup of flour in the center of your work surface. Set the dough on top of the flour. Press the dough away from you so it flattens out. Turn it 90 degrees and fold the bottom of the dough over the top, then push it away from you to flatten. This is the Push-Turn-Fold method that you will use for all hand kneading. Knead for 10 minutes.
If you are using your stand mixer to knead, then switch to the dough hook attachment and knead for 10 minutes at low speed. You will want to watch this dough a little bit, it sometimes needs a shot or two of flour. It should not stick to the sides of the bowl but rather clean them. Use as little flour as you need to make this happen, in no case should it be more than ¼ cup.
Place the kneaded dough in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to stand at room temperature until it has doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
While the dough is rising it is time to get the pepperoni into shape to be added to the dough. The first thing that needs to happen is the casing needs to be removed. All almost every sausage has a casing, even if it is very thin and pepperoni is no exception.
Just push the point of a sharp knife into the sausage and run it down the length. The this will cut the casing. Peel the casing off and throw it away.
Cut the pepperoni into ¼ inch discs. Then stack two or three on top of each other and cut ¼ slices out of them, try to keep the slices together. Turn the slices 90 degrees and slice again in ¼ slices, and Bingo, you've got quarter inch cubes (well, mostly cubes since it is a round sausage there are going to be all kinds of curved pieces, don't worry, no one will bitch).
It will look about like this when you are done:
When the dough has risen, prepare your pans. I like to bake mine in one big loaf but not everyone has 12 cake pans. Be sure to give them a good shot of cooking spray or grease them with butter before you put your dough in, this will save you a lot of tears at the end.
Turn the risen dough out onto a work surface (you won't need to flour it, trust me). Using your hands flatten it into a big oval. Spread half of the chopped pepperoni on the oval. Press down firmly on the 'roni's to press them into the dough.
Fold the dough over the middle. Knead, with the push-turn-fold method described above for 3 minutes. Form the dough into ball and cover with a tea towel to rest for 5 minutes. If you skip this step the dough can become very stiff and hard to work with.
Flatten the ball into an oval again and add the rest of the 'roni's. Fold it over the middle and knead for another 3 minutes.
Now, there are going to be 'roni's that fall out, just pick them up and press them back in, there are a lot of them so it is going to be a little frustrating, but the end result is well worth it.
If you suffer from arthritis, you can use a stand mixer, though I am never as happy with the distribution of the 'roni's when I do. Just put the dough in to work bowl (after you've cleaned it, of course) and use the dough hook. Add the 'roni's in two batches and knead at a medium speed for a total of 7 minutes.
If you are making this in two pans, divide the dough into two roughly even balls (don't get all OCD about making it exactly even, life is way too short). Press them into the pans so they completely cover the bottom. They should come up about half way in the pans.
Cover with a sheet of wax paper and allow to rise, at room temperature, for 30 minutes. They should be right up to the edge of the pan by then.
Twenty minutes before baking, place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 375 degrees. When the dough is risen and the oven is hot, slip the pans in and bake for 40 minutes. If you are baking one big loaf you will need to bake it for 55 minutes.
The bread is done when the top is a nice dusky brown and a forefinger flicked at the bottom of the loaf produces a nice hard hollow sound. Be sure to do this! If you don't get a hollow sound you are going to have under cooked bread and that is not a good thing!
When the bread is done, place it on wire racks to cool.
You will always get a big reaction when you bring out this bread. It is great to serve with a soup or stew, and I like to have a slice with a nice salad as well. And, of course, it is great just all on its own!
The flour is yours. |
