Best Mediterranean Stuffed Bread Recipes

BREAD STUFFED WITH MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES AND MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Cut the top of the bread to form a lid and remove. Scoop out the inside of the loaf, leaving 2-2.5 cm (approximately 1 inch) of bread around the edge.
• Mix together 2 tablespoons of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Rub the cut surfaces of the bread and the lid with garlic.
• Rinse the eggplant and zucchini, trim, cut into slices, sprinkle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook on the grill on each side for about 1 minute.
• Rinse the peppers, remove the seeds, quarter and grill with the skin side down, until the skin is black and blistered. Remove from the grill, cover with a damp kitchen towel, let cool, then remove the skin.
• Rinse the arugula and spinach, remove the stems and spin dry.
• Peel the onion and cut into thin rings.
• Spread the bottom half of the bread with pesto, then layer the vegetables and cheese in the bread bowl, seasoning with salt, pepper and the balsamic mixture occasionally.
• Replace the cover, press firmly and wrap the loaf in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight and weight with a board and heavy objects such as cans.
• Cut into pieces and serve cold.
• Tip: If you can not find Pugliese bread, any other large round loaf of bread will work well.

HOMEMADE PITA BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup lukewarm water and stir in yeast and sugar until dissolved. Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk together. Place the mixing bowl in a warm place, uncovered to form a lose sponge. Give it 15 minutes or so, the mixture should bubble.
• Now add salt, olive oil and almost all the remaining flour (keep about 1/2 cup of the flour for dusting later). Stir until mixture forms a shaggy mass (at this point, the dough has little to no gluten development and just looks like a sticky mess and you can easily pull bits off). Dust with a little flour, then knead the mixture inside the bowl for about a minute to incorporate any stray bits.
• Dust a clean working surface with just a little bit of flour. Knead lightly for a couple minutes or so until smooth. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead again for a couple more minutes. The dough should be a little bit moist, you can help it with a little dusting of flour, but be careful not to add too much flour.
• Clean the mixing bowl and coat it lightly with extra virgin olive oil and put the dough back in the bowl. Turn the dough a couple times in the bowl to coat with the olive oil. Cover the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap then lay a kitchen towel over. Put the bowl in a warm place. Leave it alone for 1 hour or until the dough rises to double its size.
• Deflate the dough and place it on a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 7 to 8 equal pieces and shape them into balls. Cover with a towel and leave them for 10 minutes or so to rest.
• Using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces into a circle that's 8-9 inches wide and about a quarter inch thick. It helps to lift and turn the dough frequently as you roll so that dough doesn't stick to your counter too much. (If dough starts to stick, sprinkle a tiny bit of flour). If the dough starts to spring back, set it aside to rest for a few minutes, then continue rolling. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. (Once you get going, you can be cooking one pita while rolling another, if you like). You have two options for baking the pita from here.
• Heat the oven to 475 degrees F and place a heavy-duty baking pan or large cast iron skillet on the middle rack to heat. Working in batches, place the rolled-out pitas directly on the hot baking baking sheet (I was only able to fit 2 at a time). Bake for 2 minutes on one side, and then, using a pair of tongs, carefully turn pita over to bake for 1 minute on the other side. The pita will puff nicely and should be ready. Remove from the oven and cover the baked pitas with a clean towel while you work on the rest of the pitas.
• To cook pita on stovetop: Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. (Test by adding a couple drops of water to the skillet, the skillet is ready when the beads of water sizzle immediately). Drizzle a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil and wipe off any excess. Working with one pita at a time, lay a rolled-out pita on the skillet and bake for 30 seconds, until bubbles start to form. Using a spatula, flip the pita over and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side, until large toasted spots appear on the underside. Flip again and cook another 1-2 minutes to toast the other side. The pita is ready when it puffs up forming a pocket (sometimes, with this method, the pita may not puff or may only form a small pocket. Try pressing the surface of the pita gently with a clean towel). Keep baked pita covered with a clean towel while you work on the rest.

ITALIAN STUFFED BREAD

Steps:

• Place dough in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Roll dough into a 17x20-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick on a large piece of parchment paper. Brush olive oil over dough; sprinkle basil and oregano on top. Layer mortadella, provolone cheese, capicola ham, Genoa salami, tomatoes, and mushrooms over dough.
• Roll dough lengthwise into a log. Brush the top with beaten egg; sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Transfer to a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

MEDITERRANEAN STUFFED BREAD

Steps:

• BREAD.
• In a large bowl, whisk warm water with honey.
• Sprinkle in yeast; let stand for 10 minutes or until frothy.
• With wooden spoon, stir in 2-1/4 cups of the flour, semolina, oil and salt until dough comes away from the bowl.
• Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes or until soft and slightly sticky, dusting with remaining flour as needed.
• Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease all over.
• Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• FILLING.
• In a small bowl, cover sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water.
• Let stand for 10 minutes or until softened then drain and chop to make about 3/4 cup.
• In a bowl, toss together sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, parsley, onions, garlic, oil, oregano, basil, salt & pepper.
• Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; roll out into 16x9 inch rectangle and spread with filling.
• Starting at long side, roll up into cylinder.
• Pinch along seam to smooth and seal.
• Flatten slightly & pinch ends to seal.
• Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.
• TOPPING.
• Sprinkle semolina on baking sheet; place loaf on top.
• Brush with oil; sprinkle with parsley and pat lightly into dough.
• Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Bake on lowest rack in 375 degree F oven for 35 minutes or until well-browned and loaf sounds hollow when tapped from bottom.
• Remove from pan and let cool slightly on rack.

NO KNEAD MEDITERRANEAN OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Prepare flavor ingredients...2.25 oz (1can) sliced black olives, fill same can with pimento stuffed green olives and cut in half, fill same can with pitted kalamata olives and cut in thirds, zest 1 lemon and set aside.
• 2. In a 3-4 qt glass mixing bowl add 3 cups bread flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp instant yeast, 1 tsp dried thyme 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and stir ingredients.
• 3. Add the flavor ingredients and the 12 oz of cool tap water. Stir just until the dough comes together and away from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place on your counter to proof for 8 to 24 hrs.
• 4. When you're ready to make the bread, flour your work surface and roll the dough out. Flour you hands and flatten the dough slightly, folding the dough on itself forming a ball. Divide the dough into two portions.
• 5. Then (one portion at a time) roll dough on work surface (dusting with flour as needed) form a long loaf and place on parchment paper. Cover each loaf with a lint free towel and let it proof for 1 to 2 hrs while the oven heats up.
• 6. Move oven rack to lower third of oven and place baking vessel in oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. When oven has come to temperature, remove baking vessel from oven, use the parchment paper to lift the dough up and place it in the baking vessel, score (optional) and bake for 25 minutes with the top on and 5 minutes with the top off.
• 7. 30 to 45 minutes later gently turn the loaf out on work surface and place on cooling rack. Repeat process for the second loaf.

MEDITERRANEAN BLACK OLIVE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, yeast, sugar, salt, black olives, olive oil, and water.
• Turn out dough onto a floured board. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside, and let rise about 45 minutes, until it doubles in size. Punch down. Knead well again, for about 5 to 10 minutes. Let rise for about 30 minutes, until it doubles in size.
• Round the dough on kneading board. Place upside down in a bowl lined with a lint-free, well floured towel. Let rise until double in size.
• While the bread is rising for the third time, put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Gently turn loaf out onto a sheet pan that has been lightly oiled and dusted with cornmeal.
• Bake loaf at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake for 30 more minutes, or until done.