All the banters and paleos and gluten frees and carb fiends should look away because this Gourmet Stuff Braai Loaf is fantastic! Freshly baked home made bread stuffed with caramelised onions, roasted tomatoes, some grilled peppers and two cheeses. A winner in my book and perfect for these summer days filled with barbecues and outdoor eating next to the pool that is lying ahead.
The original idea when chatting to my friend Conrad was to bake a focaccia, slice it in half stuff it with all those ingredients, place between two grills and cook it on the barbecue. After I had baked the focaccia and sliced it in half, I realised it might not work that well and there was a good chance of ending up with burnt bread and cold filling. I then decided to use exactly the same recipe I wrote but do it as a loaf and let the filling bake at the same time as the bread.
I really worked like a charm. Making the dough is so easy and you can play around with the fillings to your heart’s content. I do think the mozzarella and mature cheddar is a must but you could go to town with the rest. And this bread is not just for barbecues, I think it is a perfect bread for picnics or with a wintry soup.
And if you have a cast iron pot I would most certainly bake this bread over the coals. Enjoy!
Gourmet Stuffed Braai Loaf
Ingredients
- Bread:
- 500 g cake flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 300 ml tepid water
- Olive oil sea salt and rosemary for topping
- Filling:
- 150 g mature cheddar grated
- 200 g mozzarella cheese sliced into about 10 slices
- 8 Char grilled sweet pepper slices
- Roasted Tomatoes:
- 250 g baby tomatoes
- Few cloves of garlic
- Sea salt
- Olive oil for roasting
- Caramelised Onions:
- 1 large onion thinly sliced
- ½ tsp salt
- Olive oil for frying
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Make the dough by mixing the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl
- Add the olive oil and water and mix well to bring all the ingredients into a ball of dough
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it by pulling, stretching and folding the dough for about 10 minutes until it is a soft dough that bounces back to the touch and feels elastic
- If the dough is too sticky during kneading, add a bit more flour
- Roll the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl
- Turn the ball of dough in the bowl so it gets the oiled as well and cover with clingfilm
- Place in a warm spot for about an hour to hour and a half until it has doubled in size
- While the dough rises, prepare the tomatoes and onions:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
- Place the tomatoes in an oven proof dish with the garlic, drizzle with some oil and a sprinkle of salt
- Roast for 30 minutes until blistered, pour off any liquid and set aside
- Place the onions, salt and olive oil in small pan and fry over a gentle heat for 15 minutes until soft and golden
- Add the vinegar and sugar and cook for another 5 minutes until caramelised and thickened and set aside
- Grease a 22cm loose bottomed cake tin
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into two
- Roll out the one piece of dough slightly larger than the tin and place in the tin with the edges slightly up the side of the tin
- Place the filling on top of the dough, starting with the cheddar then peppers, tomatoes, onions and ending with the mozzarella, leaving 1cm of the edges without filling
- Roll out the remaining piece of the dough, dab the edges with some water and place over the filling
- Press the edges of the two pieces of dough together to seal it
- Press your fingers over the dough and drizzle with some oil and sprinkle with rosemary leaves and salt
- Let is rise for another 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 220 degrees C
- Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until well risen and golden brown
- Knock the top of the bread and if it sounds hollow it is done
- Let the bread rest for 10 minutes, remove from the tin and let it cool a bit on a wire rack
- Cut into wedges and eat while still warm
** This recipe first appeared in the Sunday Times Food Weekly
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Zirkie
Sep 28, 2015
My mond water! Dit lyk en klink heerlik!
hein
Sep 28, 2015
Dankie Zirkie!
Sabrina
Sep 28, 2015
This looks scrumptious!
hein
Sep 29, 2015
Thanks Sabrina. So happy with how it turned out.
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