The Fresh Loaf

News & Information for Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts

New Member Hello and Question

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SusanO's picture

New Member Hello and Question

Hi to everyone.  

I've been a lurker on the site for almost a year now (about the amount of time that I have been experimenting with baking breads) and have found lots of great articles, notes, ideas and recipes which I very much appreciate.  I decided it was time I joined the forums and interacted a bit.  

I consider myself a novice at this as I've kept to very simple traditional items as a beginner - italian bread, bagels, hard rolls, garlic knots, dinner rolls, pretzels, and such.  My family has been thrilled with this new-found hobby (which I find easy to fit into my work-from-home schedule) and I will admit that although not everything has turned out perfectly, nothing would have been considered bad either.

I've been looking into spicing things up a bit by adding sausage, onions, etc. and had a question.  Most recipes with meats that I find entail wrapping or rolling the meats/additions (so they end up in a pocket of the bread).  Is there any reason why this seems to be preferred over kneading the mixture into the dough itself?  Just curious  - and looking forward to another experiment!


MisterTT's picture

Bacon Bread from FWSY. It's a sourdough, but you could use a commercial yeast dough as well. A couple of TFL'ers have posted about it:

Since you've been experimenting for a year, maybe you're thinking about growing yourself a sourdough starter?

SusanO's picture

Oooh - thank you for the links MisterTT!  I have actually been looking at sourdough starters this past week or so as I want to begin to expand and try some new things.  This is just the incentive I need.  Thanks for sharing.

dabrownman's picture

the real deal!  Focaccia and of course pizza with pepperoni sausage and Canadian bacon.   Meat and bread were made for each other......some caramelized onion and mushrooms......sun dried tomatoes I've done it .....

Happy bacon.....eeeerrrrr....baking!

SusanO's picture

I ended up adding a mixture of Italian sausage, caramelized onions, mushrooms and mozzarella to the dough.  Was a bit tough incorporating it all - ended up using all of the flour from the recipe (which never happens), but worked okay in the end.  The dough spread out a lot afterwards (perhaps I should have put it in a pan instead of on a baking sheet) - so it ended up on the flat side, similar to focaccia.  We ate half with dinner - thinking of using the other half as a snack with a marinara dipping sauce..mmmm.  

MonkeyDaddy's picture

There are TONS of excellent books and internet articles about growing your own homemade sourdough culture.  I've had luck with a lot of them.  But if you want to get your feet wet without a lot of muss or fuss, try the "New England Sourdough" starter they sell through the King Arthur catalog.  You can get it as sour or mild as you like based on how long you let it ferment (just like any culture), it has a good flavor, and it is a vigorous culture.  Plus the stuff has been almost indestructible for me.  I've neglected it in the back of the refrigerator for as high as 3 months and within 24 hours of warming it up and feeding it a couple times it's climbing out of the bowl.  I got one of the little crocks they sell for their sourdough along with the starter for a birthday gift about a decade ago, and I'm kind of fanatical about washing and drying it thoroughly every time I pull the starter out to refresh it.  So I've never had the pink fungal growth that some people mention.

clazar123's picture

One thought I have on meat in bread, whether it is kneaded in, on top or inside- Make sure it is refrigerated afterwards (or gobbled up immediately).(Unless it is preserved).

As to why it isn't usually kneaded thru, I think meat has to have a robust enough flavor to come through or it isn't worth the effort. Like bacon or sausage......and cheddar or sundried tomatoes....carmelized onions......(daydream) Yum! .............(More daydream)

Anyways, I'm not sure plain ground meat would do anything except add chewy bits and protein. So knead away with all the deliciousness but keep it refrigerated after.