Stuffed Italian Bread Traditional Food

ITALIAN STUFFED BREAD

Steps:

• Place dough in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Roll dough into a 17x20-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick on a large piece of parchment paper. Brush olive oil over dough; sprinkle basil and oregano on top. Layer mortadella, provolone cheese, capicola ham, Genoa salami, tomatoes, and mushrooms over dough.
• Roll dough lengthwise into a log. Brush the top with beaten egg; sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Transfer to a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

STUFFED ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• 2. Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, Dijon mustard, poppy seeds and parsley in a bowl.
• 3. Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.
• 4. Pour the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into those X cracks using a small spoon and over the top of the bread. Fill those delicious cracks with the grated cheese. (It seems like a lot of work and trouble but it's all worth it. Yes.)
• 5. Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the sides properly and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

STUFFED ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix melted butter, parsley, olive oil, and garlic together in a bowl.
• Slice bread diagonally without cutting all the way through; do the same on the opposite diagonal to create cube-shaped sections still attached to the bottom crust.
• Spoon butter mixture carefully between sections; stuff in shredded Italian cheese blend. Wrap loaf in aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; unwrap and bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

STUFFED ITALIAN BREAD (TRADITIONAL)

Steps:

• Place yeast in 1cup warmed water and let sit for 10-15 minutes until it starts to foam.
• Dissolve salt in remaining 2 cups of warm water.
• Place 5 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and salt mixtures and mix well. Dough will still be wet and sticky.
• Either continue kneading the dough or place it in an electric mixer with a dough hook.
• Continue adding flour until the dough forms a kneadable mass. At this point, it will pull away from the mixing bowl or kneading surface on its own. Typically, it's another 1-3 cups of flour.
• Once the dough has a satiny sheen and pulls away from mixing/kneading surfaces easily, knead for another 10 minutes, or knead with the dough hook in the electric mixer on low-medium for about 7-8 minutes.
• Remove dough from mixing bowl and place into an oiled bowl (olive oil works the best). Flip the dough once to coat the top of the dough as well.
• Allow the dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1-1,5 hours, until dough doubles in size.
• Once dough has risen, punch it down and knead again for either 5 minutes by hand or three minutes by machine. After re-kneading the dough, separate it into two equal portions.
• If you're running low on space, place both dough balls into the same bowl (oil it again with olive oil if you don't feel it's slippery enough).
• If you have enough space, place both halves into separate bowls, both oiled with olive oil.
• Allow the dough to rise again for about an hour (doubling in size).
• While the dough is rising its second time, it's time to start the filling.
• Combine the loose sage sausage , sweet onion, and raw pine nuts into a large skillet.
• Brown sausage mixture until cooked.
• Drain excess liquid/fat.
• Once the dough has risen for its second time, remove one ball of dough at a time, and roll out flat (a rectangular shape is preferred).
• In the center of the dough, place the cheese - roughly 3" in from any edge - right in the middle of the dough. Use half of the filling for each loaf.
• After the cheese is placed, layer the cheese with 1/2 package of spinach per loaf, and again with 1/2 of the sausage per loaf.
• Once all of the stuffings are laid in place, fold over the long edges of the dough, followed with the short edges. Squeeze/roll the edges flat - this prevents leakage of the stuffing, and seals the bread shut.
• Coat the wooden peal with corn meal.
• Flip the stuffed and closed bread over, presenting the untouched side as the top. Place both loaves on the corn meal coated wooden peal.
• Let the dough rise, covered, and in a very warm place, for another 40-50 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 (or 325, if you have a gas oven).
• Once ovens are hot and dough has risen, use a very sharp knife to make a slit down the top of the loaves - be careful and don't slice into the stuffing!
• Brush melted butter over the tops of both loaves.
• Once the loaves have risen again (I've gotten the best results after rising loaves on top of the heating oven), place in the oven to bake for 20-50 minutes. Since ovens vary greatly, keep an eye on your bread. It only took me about 20 minutes in a gas oven, on a baking stone, heated to 350 on the dial (which was more like 375 in reality). The bread is ready when the top is a nice golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you thump on it. The crust will be crunchy and hard. The insides will be tender and moist.
• Once bread is done, remove from oven and allow to cool for 30-40 minutes before serving.
• To serve, slice into 1/2" wide slices. It's best served warm, but can also be warmed up in the microwave at about 15 seconds per slice, or in the toaster oven at 350 for about 5-7 minutes for as many slices as you can lay flat (or you could just toast it).

SPINACH-STUFFED BREAD

Steps:

• Thaw bread dough according to package directions; let rise until doubled. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in spinach. , On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14x10-in. rectangle. Spread the spinach mixture to within 1/2 in. of edges; sprinkle with cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; tuck ends under. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack; let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

ITALIAN PARTY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• Place pizza dough on a floured surface and roll into a rectangular shape between 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch thick, letting dough relax occasionally if it keeps springing back. Spread pesto on top, leaving about a 1-inch border around the edge. Top evenly with provolone cheese, prosciutto, and peppers.
• Roll up tightly in the direction that gives you the most length, ending with the seam on the bottom. Press down to flatten slightly and dust the top lightly with flour. Use a pizza wheel to cut dough lengthwise into 3 long, even strips using a pizza wheel.
• Place strips next to each other but not touching, the middle strip cut-side up and the other two cut-sides facing in. Braid them together, then curl the ends in to form a round wreath shape, tucking any loose ends under the loaf. Transfer onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.

STUFFED ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, dijon mustard, poppy seeds and parsley in a bowl.
• Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.
• Pour the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into those X cracks using a small spoon and over the top of the bread. Fill those delicious cracks with the grated cheese. (It seems like a lot of work and trouble but it's all worth it. Yes.).
• Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the sides properly and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

STUFFED BREAD

Steps:

• Roll out pizza dough, layer with salami, ham, pepperoni,and cheese.
• Roll from top to bottom.
• Brush on beaten egg and sprinkle with garlic powder.
• Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden.

STUFFED ITALIAN SAUSAGE BREAD

Steps:

• For filling sauté sausage, veggies and seasonings until sausage is no longer pink and liquid has evaporated from pan.
• Add tomatoes and 1/2 cup of pizza sauce.
• Roll out bread dough to a large rectangle (stopping once in awhile to let dough rest).
• Spread filling up to 1 inch from sides of dough. Top with cheeses. Roll to a log. Seal ends (brushing water and pinching).
• Place log on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
• Let rest 30 to 45 minutes.
• Bake in 350°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes (until loaf is golden brown).
• Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
• Heat left over sauce for dipping before serving.