Saffire Braided Holiday Bread
The Saffire Braided Holiday Bread recipe is a perfect addition to your holiday traditions. Brick oven baking permeates multiple cultures from Persia to India, Europe to the Americas. Brick oven use dates back to the the days of the Roman Republic, and became widespread through Europe. Ovens in those days were enormous, intended for serving whole communities of people. They made their way across the Atlantic with colonists, and continue to be used today.
The modern kamado functions very much like a traditional brick oven without the size and bulk. You can enjoy the flavor of a wood fire oven on your Saffire at a fraction of the cost!
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon active yeast
1 teaspoon organic sugar
¼ cup warm water (110-115° F)
¼ cup peanut oil
1 egg
3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup cold water
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
Egg wash for loaf (1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water beaten)
Dough
- Mix yeast and sugar into 2 cups warm water. Stir and let bloom (foam) for 6-12 minutes. Mix oil and ½ cup cold water and blend in yeast mix with fork.
- In a food processor with dough blade, mix the following: flour, salt. Slowly stream these through the feeding tube on top of the machine until a ball forms. If too wet, add flour a little at a time (one tablespoon at a time).
- Place dough in large, greased bowl. Wrap top of bowl and let rise until the dough doubles in size.
- Remove dough and place on lightly floured surface and knead out any and all air in the dough. Reshape into ball and repeat rising process. The second rise will take 1-2 hours in a warm dry place in your kitchen.
- Remove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface, and divide into thirds. Hand roll each ball into a long strand about 14 inches long. Repeat with remaining dough.
- On a foil-lined large sheet pan, braid the bread. Braid dough as you would rope. Tuck end of loaf under and slightly pinch the ends to hold together. Loaf will be 10 to 12 inches in length.
- Wrap with plastic for one last rise. Let the braid loaf double in size. This will take about 1 ½ hours. Brush with egg wash using pastry brush, and now the loaf is ready to be baked in a Saffire.
Baking Method
- Prepare Saffire for baking with heat deflector (see Saffire manual page 11).
- Preheat Saffire to 375 degrees.
- Place the sheet pan on the defector plate and bake until golden brown (30-40 minutes). Test doneness by tapping on the bottom of the loaf. If you get a hollow sound the braided bread is done.
- Serve with any of your favorite BBQ dishes such as ribs or brisket-hot off the Saffire. Also, consider making French toast with this bread…a great unique brunch dish for the whole crew.
