Reuben Bread
If you are looking for a twist on a Reuben sandwich try baking all the traditional ingredients into a loaf of bread. By using quick rising yeast, this bread can be ready to eat in right around an hour. It tastes amazing, and looks pretty impressive, too. Easier than you think, it will look like you spent all day making it. Plus, you can switch out the ingredients in all sorts of fun combinations. In class the other night we used ham and Gouda instead of the corned beef and Swiss for a cheesy ham bread. Added a grainy mustard to the bread, too. Came out so nice!
This would make a great bread to serve for your Super Bowl party. Fun for anytime. really.
Reuben Bread
3 ¼ c. all purpose or bread flour, you can add a little rye flour, too
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 package quick-rising yeast, or a scant tablespoon of yeast in bulk
1 c. hot water
1 T. oil
¼ c. thousand island dressing*
6-8 oz. thin sliced corned beef – or thin sliced smoked turkey for a Rachel
4 oz. sliced Swiss cheese
1 c. sauerkraut, rinsed and squeezed dry
1 egg white, beaten
Caraway seeds
Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Spread dressing down center middle of dough. Top with meat slices, cheese and sauerkraut. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe. Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle. Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Brush with egg white and top with seeds. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.
* You can make your own Thousand Island Dressing by combining equal parts of ketchup, mayo and sweet pickle relish.
Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, Spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, pizza, assorted fillings. You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.
If you want to use regular yeast use warm, rather than hot water. Also, don’t let dough rise over boiling water. After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen.
Chili Stew
We made this dish in class the other night. It’s a great dish when time is short. It is fast to make and still has plenty of flavor. It falls somewhere between a chili and a stew, so that is where the name came from. I like it because it can be made from so many ingredients I already have in my pantry/freezer. This is a fun dish to serve for Super Bowl Sunday!!
Can be served as is, or topped with cheese, sour cream or chopped onions. Perfect dinner for a “chili” night.
Chili Stew
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small sweet pepper, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. corn, fresh, frozen or canned (drained)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook the meat, onion and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 4-5.
Pepperoni Pizza Bread
If you are still looking for food to serve for Super Bowl Sunday, you can make these filled breads in no time at all. They might look difficult, but they are pretty easy to make. They are similar to Stromboli. You can fill them with all sorts of ingredients.
I have made them with Reuben sandwich fillings, spinach with cheese, and have even made a breakfast version with scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage.
The pizza fillings are always popular with my friends and family. Pictured is a double batch- which made two loaves. The recipe below makes one bread, but feel free to double the recipe.
Here is the recipe for one loaf.
Pepperoni Pizza Bread
3 ¼ c. flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 package quick-rising yeast
1 c. hot water
1 T. oil
Extra oil for brushing on the dough
1/2 c. marinara sauce
6 oz. mozzarella or provolone cheese
2 oz. sliced pepperoni, about
Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Brush with oil down center middle of dough. Top with sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe. Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle. Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers. Makes one loaf.
Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, curried veggies. You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.
If you want to use regular yeast, use warm, rather than hot water. After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen.
Cut strips of dough and fold over the filling
Transfer to baking sheet to rise.
Cool a few minutes before slicing
