Daily Loaf

The world seems mighty small these days. We can get to almost any corner of the globe in a matter of hours. That’s pretty amazing really, considering how much time and effort it took to get anywhere as recently as the early part of the last century. And as different cultures introduced themselves to each other (or killed each other), we humans began enjoying the diverse foods and cuisines that we encountered.

Today we can experience such an array of flavors — spices, meats, vegetables, fruit, seafood — that it is difficult to think of a time when whole wars were fought over pepper. I’ve had great sushi in Oklahoma and gulped down a cheeseburger in Asia. Even as diverse as our cultural food evolution has been, though, there are a few staples. While eastern Asia harvested their vast abundance of rice, the entire rest of the world found that with some flour, liquid and heat, we could make bread.

Click through for more about bread, with the recipe at the end:

The earliest versions were probably as simple as the aforementioned ingredients mixed into a paste and cooked over fire, and we know from ancient Aztecs to Egypt that breads were made in some form or another since before civilization began. But bread’s role goes beyond just food. Its relevance in religious ceremonies carries over to this day and while Catholics are the most noted with their whole “body of Christ” thing, both central American and Egyptian hieroglyphics depict bread in their own versions of devotion.

The earliest renditions of breads were believed to be simple flat breads with no leavening. At some point, yeast came into the picture. Since yeast can be naturally occurring on some grains, one might guess that someone mixed up a batch of dough, left it sit too long while stoking the fire (perhaps it rained), came back and found it had grown to twice its size. Given time and the right temperature, yeast eat and belch their way through your dough injecting their gaseous waste product so you can have pockets of risen air. That is leavening.

Since those early days, we’ve come a long way, baby. We’ve incorporated milk, eggs, cream, fruits, nuts, sugar, spices and herbs and blended them with too many varieties of grain to name. A simple visit to a bakery reveals cakes, pies, tarts, and loaf after loaf of fresh, nose-stimulating bread, an overwhelming and pleasant olfactory cacophony. No one leaves a bakery in a bad mood. And if you think it smells good, one bite of warm, fresh-from-the-oven bread with steam releasing from its soft center as you break it apart will make you understand why various world religions feel closer to god eating it.

I love making bread. I don’t do it enough — life tends to get in the way. Far removed from those days of simply keeping the cave clean, we humans are far too busy. And while I will occasionally spend a day of bread making, I must admit, I cheat and create most of my dough in a bread maker. I then bake them off in the oven in whatever preparation I choose. Once a year, at Christmas, my bread maker goes into high gear and I make about 10 loaves of bread for family and friends. I then wrap and deliver them, still warm from the oven. I’m not sure if I invented my little preparation or I got a recipe elsewhere, but I take a mix of Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, parmesan a few herbs and roll it up in fresh dough. Baked off and eaten warm, this savory little tradition of mine seems to be gobbled up pretty quickly (of course, I keep a loaf or two for myself). I know it doesn’t sound very Christmas-y, but all traditions are born somewhere. My neighbors have grown quite fond of it.

You want to begin this recipe by making dough (duh!). For the recipe below I used a 1.5 lb box preparation for bread makers. I then set my bread maker on “dough” setting and 2 ½ hours later I had what I needed. If you are a purist and the idea of bread maker mix appalls you, a basic white bread recipe is here. Sourdough would be really good too. I do usually make my own dough and I admit they are better (not sure why), but the box has all of the dry ingredients combined. Just add the water and yeast and you’re done. I add the step of sifting the dry ingredients because clumps are the enemy of good bread.

Sausage Bread

1.5 lb basic white bread dough
2 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 links Italian sausage, casing removed
2 cloves garlic
2 cups water
10 slices fresh mozzarella
¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and sausage. Break the sausage up into the smallest bits possible. Once browned mostly through, reduce heat to medium, add the garlic and 1 cup of water. Continue to work the sausage to break up. Once the water is mostly evaporated (8-10 minutes), add the next cup of water and continue to break up. Once water is completely evaporated (another 10 minutes or so), transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool. To make the sausage pieces really small, you can pulse them a few times in a food processor or simply place on a cutting board and chop until fine.

2. Roll the bread dough out to ¼ inch thickness (much like a pizza). If you have the talent to get the dough squared, that’s great but not necessary. Cover the surface of the dough with the sausage mix leaving about 1 inch of the edge uncovered. Lay the mozzarella slices out evenly and sprinkle with the parmesan and parsley.

3. Begin rolling the dough from the 6 o’ clock position towards 12 0′ clock. Once about a third of the way up, fold in the 3 o’ clock and 9 o’clock sides (think of a burrito). This fits nicely into a standard 8.5×4.5×2.5 bread pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool at least 15 minutes, slice and enjoy.

As always, feel free to visit my blog or email me directly at louistjr@gmail.com

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