Ham and Cheese Bread

The warm season is approaching and I "smell" picnics in the air. I love preparing the basket filling it with some goodies, a drink, we shouldn’t forget a blanket and a good book. We hop on the bike and go. A few hours in the open air, a lunch on the grass and we forget all about winter. Some days ago I baked a loaf of bread stuffed with ham and cheese that is just right to be cooked and delivered warm up at our destination in the country, or by the lake or wherever our picnic is going to take place. I got the idea from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day  website and I made it mine.  I used my usual no-knead bread dough , and although at first I thought of adding caramelized onions I gave up because I didn’t have enough time. Next time I’ll surely use them in this loaf because I think they’re just  a great addition to it.

For a loaf of bread:

 

• leavened bread dough
• all-purpose flour
• 100 g ham slices
• 6 thin slices of Gouda cheese
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Flour the work surface and the bread dough, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 20 cm x 30 cm. Cut the dough into 6 rectangles of about 20 cm x 5 cm. Roll out each rectangle so as to widen it up to obtain a 20 cm x 10 cm rectangle. Place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on the dough and fold it in half. Repeat with the other 5 rectangles of dough and place in a 25 cm x 11 cm bread tin. It could be useful some baking parchment, I didn’t use it and my loaf stuck a bit on the sides of the tin. Or maybe you could lightly grease the tin with a little olive oil. Let proof for about 1 hour and bake the loaf at 200 °- 210 ° for 35-40 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown. While the bread is baking, fry the garlic and rosemary in the oil. Brush the loaf with the flavored oil as soon as you take it out of the oven then allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve this bread with a mixed salad and you’ll have a hearty and tasty meal.
Welcome Spring.