I’ve always found bread very appealing. I don’t know if it’s the science behind how to make a good loaf or the ‘magic’ moment when you take the cloth off your bowl to see your little ball of dough has swollen into a puffy monster; perhaps it’s both and more besides. Whatever it is, I just keep coming back to make more and more!
Last week, I bought some lovely black iron loaf tins. I HAD to try those out over the weekend, so I came up with this fun and very tasty version of a ‘tear and share loaf’ packed full of tasty ingredients.
You could easily customise this recipe with other fillings if you wanted, perhaps adding salami or roasted veg or even using sweet fillings for a dessert loaf; I bet it would be delicious with some custard!
I used Pomora Extra Virgin Olive Oil in this recipe. I was recently sent some to try and I think it really is an excellent quality olive oil. What makes it even better is the ethics and business ideas of the company.
Pomora recognise the financial struggle that smaller olive oil producers face but also see the fantastic quality product they can produce. So, they offer the opportunity for you to ‘adopt’ an olive tree from the farm and in return you get sent oil from that tree once every quarter. Neat idea, huh?
At the end of this post, I am giving away a subscription for a WHOLE YEAR so one lucky reader can try this excellent oil for themselves.
But first, on to the recipe… I have included a lot of images below, because I know some of you like to see how something is made as well as having it described.
Cheese, Ham and Onion Tear and Share Bread
A tasty tear and share bread, packed with filling. An idea addition to any lunch.
Ingredients
- 250g strong white flour
- 3g fast action dried yeast
- 4g fine salt
- 0.5tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 150ml warm water
- 50g mature cheddar cheese, cubed, plus extra for topping
- 1 slice good quality ham, cut into small pieces
- 1 medium onion
Instructions
1. Place the flour, yeast, salt and oil into a bowl or a stand mixer. Always place the yeast and salt in opposite sides of the bowl, to ensure the salt doesn’t come into contact with (and kill) the yeast (image 1). Gradually add the warm water until the mixture comes together as a dough.
2. Knead for at least 10 minutes (image 2) or until the dough is ready. A good test for this is the ‘window pane test’; simply stretch the dough between your fingers and if it holds together enough to see light through it then it is ready (image 3).
3. Leave the dough in the bowl, covered, for 1-2hrs or until doubled in size. I use a shower cap to cover the bowl, it makes for a perfect see-through cover! (image 4)
4. Meanwhile, slice and fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft and allow to cool completely (image 5).
5. When the dough is ready, give it a quick knead to knock out the air and pull into a rough rectangle shape. Lay the onion, cheese and ham in rows across the dough (image 6) and roll up like a swiss roll.
6. Cut the dough into small pieces around 2cm across; a dough scraper is the perfect tool for this. Roll the cut pieces into rough balls and place into a loaf tin greased with more extra virgin olive oil (image 7).
7. Top with some extra grated cheese (image 8) and cover with the trusty shower cap (image 9). Leave for another hour to rise. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200ºC.
8. Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through (image 9).
9. Leave to stand for 5 minutes then remove from the tin (image 10), tear apart (image 11) and ENJOY!
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: One 1lb loaf
Use the below widget to enter the giveaway. See here for more details of the prize. Please note: Entry is open to UK Residents ONLY and a blog comment telling me your favourite way to use olive oil is mandatory.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck!
Disclaimer: I received some Pomora Olive Oil for free to review. As always, I wasn’t expected to write a positive review and all views expressed are my own personal opinions.
a Rafflecopter giveaway Good luck!
Disclaimer: I received some Pomora Olive Oil for free to review. As always, I wasn’t expected to write a positive review and all views expressed are my own personal opinions.
Cook generally with it, when I'm not hitting my walnut oil. Love using EVOO in my ciabatta and focaccia doughs, which us where a LOT goes. Also much love for my most recent "am baking THAT": fennel seed and sweet wine yeasted crackers. A decent olive oil is just a kitchen staple really, isn't it?
In Bread xxx
In bread and on salads!
Mixed with balsamic as a dip for bread. Yum!
on salads
in dressings and on salads
Drizzling it all over the bread when I'm making bruschetta, yum
for dipiing for fresh bread thankyou
In salad dressings
on my salads, and grains dishes spelt etc
on salads x
to dip my bread into
salad
To fry with chicken x
salad
Definitely on bruschetta with plenty of garlic!
I love a good tear and share bread. I haven't put onion in mine before. I will have to try it.