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The Baking Sheet

The Baking Sheet - Summer 2009

Summer's here at last, and with it all kinds of ways to make the most of the garden's bounty. You can put local tomatoes and basil to good use with our Panzanella. The bread in this salad is our Bread Machine Bounty Tuscan Loaf, so you can let your bread machine do the work and keep the kitchen cool. The summer Baking Sheet has lots of quick and delicious ways to take advantage of summer flavors: Lemon Raspberry Whoopie Pies, Blueberry Streusel Pie Bars, Raspberry Pie, Blackberry Turnovers, and a lovely 3–layer Peach Crisp. We celebrate the great bread bakers from the Iowa State Fair, and take a stab at baking a classic Jersey Hard Roll at home. If you'd like to get your hands on these great recipes and many more throughout the year, subscribe to our award–winning baking newsletter, The Baking Sheet.

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Berry Cheese Braid

Rhubarb crunch

This is my standby "house" potato bread fancied up a bit and in a new guise. It's the perfect sweet bread with a cool glass of lemonade or iced tea or a cup of coffee. Tart, sweet, spicy, cheesy; all together. Yumm! This never lasts long in my house, but be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.–M.T.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 cup (8 ounces) milk
  • 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom or nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) softened butter
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour
  • 3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All–Purpose Flour, or Mellow Pastry Blend
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Cheese Filling

  • 1/2 cup (4 ounces) ricotta or cream cheese
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (1 ounce) King Arthur Unbleached All–Purpose Flour
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Berry Filling

  • 1 pint fresh blueberries or raspberries or a mixture
  • 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) Instant ClearJel®
  • 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar

Egg wash

  • 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Directions

For the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them together –– by hand, mixer or bread machine –– till you've made a soft, smooth dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it's puffy (though not necessarily doubled).

To make the cheese filling: While the dough is rising, prepare the filling by mixing all of the ingredients together till smooth. Chill until ready to use.

To make the berry filling: Mash the berries slightly to get the juices flowing. Combine the Instant ClearJel and sugar, and stir into the berry mixture. Set aside.

Assembly: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and divide it in half. Roll each half on a piece of parchment into a 12 x 8–inch rectangle (or make one braid and 8 individual buns, as described below). Move parchment and all to a baking sheet. Spread half of each filling lengthwise down the center third of each rectangle. Cut 1–inch–wide strips from each side of the filling out to the edges of the dough. Fold about an inch of dough at each end over the filling to contain it, then fold the strips, at an angle, across the filling, alternating from side to side.

Alternate shaping: Divide dough into 16 equal sized pieces. Pull the edges down and pinch together in the center. Roll to make a smooth ball. Place on parchment lined baking sheets seam side down and let rise until puffy looking. Use a small measuring cup to make a deep indentation in center leaving a raised rim around the edge. Put a small spoonful of each filling on each bun. Brush the edges with the glaze. Bake for about 15 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack. Yield: 16 buns.

Baking: Allow the braids to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till almost doubled in size. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sparkling white sugar, if desired; then bake the braids in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. You can also sprinkle the braids with powdered sugar after baking and cooling. Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack. Yield, 2 braids, 8 slices each, or 16 individual pastries.

Nutrition information per serving (87g): 185 calories, 5g fat, 1g fiber, 3g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 31g Carbohydrates, 37mg Cholesterol, 173mg sodium, 5g protein, 10g sugars, 5mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 46mg calcium, 0mg caffeine.

Weight Watchers Points®: 4