Stunning and shockingly simple. I made this loaf for a friend’s birthday party. I managed to make it while working.
The loaf is an enriched white bread filled with all sorts of goodness. The rise times were long enough that I managed to time the filling portion over my lunch break. This is kind of necessary since there’s a lot of rolling out, filling, rolling up, and shaping that needs to be done prior to the second rise.
The shaping is incredible. The loaf does not look too impressive in its figure-eight shape initially. The rise fills it out and the bake sets it perfectly.
Beware, however. This loaf will make your kitchen and every adjacent room smell like pizza.
My one qualm with this loaf was that the tomatoes that were exposed in the oven burned to a terribly bitter crisp. I had to cut the burned bits off with kitchen shears. That was a little more work than I was expecting, and I’m not entirely sure where I went wrong. I assume I cooked the loaf a bit too long or had the rack a bit too high.
This piece was a hit at a gathering. There were about 8 people and only about 4 small slices left at the end of the evening.
Food For Me 