Serendipity Ranch

Kitchen Korner

From the Kitchen of Judy Montrose

Bread dough:

3-3/4 cups milk -- can use soy or regular

1/4 c + 2 T sugar or 3 T honey or Agave nectar

5 t salt

1-1/4 cups margarine

5 packages active dry yeast or 5 T dry yeast

7 eggs

18-3/4 cups unsifted unbleached flour -- can replace some (maybe 2 cups) with wheat flour and add up to 6 T wheat germ

Filling:

5 cups finely chopped parsley

2-1/2 cups finely chopped scallions or chives

5 T margarine

1-3/4 t salt

Dash Tabasco

2-3 eggs

1/2 + 2 T margarine, melted

1. In small saucepan, heat regular milk until bubbles form around edge of pan; remove from heat. Add sugar, salt and 1-1/4 c margarine, and stir until the margarine melts. Cool to lukewarm. (For soy milk, simply heat milk enough to melt margarine.)

2. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a large bowl and stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in milk mixture.

3. Add 7 eggs and 10 cups flour and beat vigorously until smooth.

4. Gradually add remaining flour; mix in last of it with hand until dough is stiff enough to leave the side of the bowl.

5. Turn out dough onto lightly floured pastry cloth or board. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic -- about 10 minutes.

6. Place in lightly greased large bowl; turn dough over to bring up greased side. Cover with pastry cloth and let rise in warm place until double in bulk -- about 1-1/2 hours.

7. Make filling: In small sauce pan, combine parsley, scallions or chives and butter. Sauté over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is soft but not browned -- about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes. Add salt and Tabasco. Reserve 5 T of egg and add remaining egg to parsley mixture.

8. Turn dough out onto lightly oiled board or counter. Divide into six loaves (1-1/2 pounds per loaf). Roll one part into an 8 x 16-inch rectangle. Brush with 1 T reserved egg and spread with 2/3 cup herb mixture.

9. Starting at narrow end, roll up jelly-roll fashion. Pinch edges and ends together to seal. Tuck ends under to give a smooth shape.

10. Place seam side down in greased 9 x 5 x 2-inch loaf pan. Brush surface lightly with melted butter. Cover with pastry cloth. Repeat with each section of dough.

11. Let rise in warm place until sides of dough come to the top of the pan and tops are rounded -- about 1 hour.

12. Preheat oven to 375 F. Brush loaves with remaining melted butter and bake 35-40 minutes. Tops should be well browned. (If crust seems too brown after 25 minutes of baking, cover with foil or brown paper for remaining baking time.

NOTE: I mix in a large Kitchen Aid mixer -- three loaves at a time (half of this recipe) and finish by hand or I mix the entire recipe until it is too much for the mixer, then turn it out on the table or counter and mix the rest by hand. The dough needs to be fairly thin when rolled out or there is way too much dough between the filling.