Savory Swirl

When the Bread Baking Babes made Yule Wreath breads, there were both sweet and savory versions on their blogs. The one that really caught my eye was the savory version found at Tanna's blog, My Kitchen In Half Cups. Although many elements in the filling sounds delish, she had me at Spinach. The idea of a bread wreath with a spinach stuffing just had instant appeal. Then you throw in some Italian sausage, some onions (in my version) and herbs in the bread dough, plus a little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the crust and you are in heaven. Thank you Tanna!

I used the recipe for the Yule Wreath found on her blog, used my plain sourdough starter instead of yeast, and used whole wheat flour plus an additional half cup of all purpose flour.

Since the Yuletide is long past, I decided to skip the wreath and shape the rolled up, stuffed dough into a big letter C. For a pretty simple dough and easy to do filling, this looks really impressive once you cut the slashes with scissors and turn the pieces out to show off the filling.

It is even more amazing when you take it out of the oven, all golden brown and smelling like the best Italian food you can imagine. The best part is eating it! Warm bread, savory sausage, tangy spinach, sweet onions, and just a hint of herbs and Parmesan. It will be gone before you know it!

Yule Wreath
adapted from Betty Crocker's International Cookbook
as seen on My Kitchen In Half Cups by Tanna

variations in italics

1 package active dry yeast
(I used 1 cup sourdough starter instead, plus ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast mixed into the water - below)

1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 deg. F)

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

1/4 cup sugar
(I used 1 tablespoon sugar)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 tsp ground cardamom
(I used 2 teaspoons mixed dried herbs instead)

1/2 tsp salt

3-1/4 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
(I used 2-1/2 cups AP flour +
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)

1-Whisk together 2 cups flour, yeast, cardamom, (dried herbs) sugar and salt. Stir in milk, butter, egg, Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

2-Turn dough onto lightly floured surface: knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. (Mine took 2 1/2 hours)

3-Prepare Filling

Saute
3/4 pound Hot Italian Chicken Sausage
(I used Turkey Italian Sausage)

brown well & add
6 shallots sliced thin
(I used ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion)

for about a minute then top with
4 hands full spinach
stir until wilted
(I used chopped spinach)

allow to cool

4- Punch down the dough. Roll into rectangle, 15 x 9-inches, on a lightly floured surface. Spread with the filling to within 1/4-inch of the edges. Roll up tightly, beginning at the wide side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal well. Stretch roll to make even. With sealed edge down, shape into ring on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Pinch ends together. (I shaped it into a letter C shape)

5- With scissors or kitchen shears, make cuts 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1-inch intervals. Turn each section on it's side (90 degree turn), to show off the pretty swirled filling. Cover loosely with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise until double, about 40 to 50 minutes.

6- Heat oven to 350 deg. F. Right before putting into the oven, brush crust with a little milk and sprinkle on about 1 tablespoon grated Parmesans cheese. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. (If it browns too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.)

You can find this at Yeastspotting at Susan's blog Wild Yeast...around Dec. '10!