Stuffed Breads

I tend to use a basic French bread dough most of the time, but inspired by a sandwich available at Outback, I have started using focaccia dough instead. Either way, the directions wind up being the same.

If you have a bread machine, use the recommended recipe for French or Focaccia dough. Otherwise, here’s one for French and here’s one for focaccia. You can add spices up to 1-2 tbsp to these recipes. For hand made dough, add them after roughly half of the flour has been added to the dough.

When the recipe calls for you to shape the dough before its final rise, you are going to shape it and stuff it. At this point in time, set your oven to warm:

Divide the dough in half.

Roll each piece of the dough onto a generously floured surface until it’s roughly a half inch thick and likely 8-10” by 15-18”.

This sheet can hold up to 4 cups of ingredients with maybe room for another cup of cheese if you are adding some. Spread the filling along the middle of the long side leaving an inch and a half on either end free.

Using slightly salted water, moisten the edge of one side of the loaf. Wrap the ends upward and apply water to the edges now exposed. Wrap the side without the water up first and pat each end. Wrap the moistened side over the top of the other and press the dough together.

Sprinkle corn meal onto the baking sheet to coat the area under the loaf. Flip the loaf fold side down onto the sheet. With a sharp knife make three to four diagonal slices (maybe 3-4 inches) in the top of the loaf so steam can vent AKA cut until you can see filling. They will widen with rising and baking, so there’s no need to separate the edges.

Turn off the oven. Repeat the process for the second stuffed loaf.

Place the loaves in the oven to rise for ~20 minutes.

Remove the dough and preheat the oven to 400. Gently brush the exposed surface of the loaves with slightly salted water (a pinch in a quarter of a cup).

When the oven has come up temperature, bake for ~20 minutes. The bread should have a nice golden crust. If the stuffing contains veggies with a high water content it can take an extra few minutes.

These loaves can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. To reheat, place in the oven on 350 for 10 minutes or so.


My favorite combo’s - each is enough to fill a single loaf:


Beef and Provolone Stuffed Rosemary Garlic Focaccia – AKA fancy spiced French dip:

For dough – add 1 tbsp rosemary leaves and 2 cloves of minced/crushed garlic in the focaccia recipe.

1 lb cheap steak (I buy whatever cut is on sale – I wouldn’t use chuck, though)
1/2 lb provolone cheese (or 8-10 slices)
1/2 tsp of ground rosemary
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1/4 tsp of oregano
(salt is optional, but there’s plenty in the cheese)
Optional: 1 cup combined of sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced peppers, or onion, but some diners are purists...

Prepare the meat ahead of time so it has time to cool. It can be cooking while the dough is being started. Mix the seasonings and use a dry rub on the steak. Tenderize with a fork or spiked cooking mallet. Broil as appropriate for medium. (Usually ~6 minutes a side.) Once cooled, slice the steak thinly.

When filling the bread, place half of the cheese, lay half of the slices of steak parallel to the length of bread. Repeat layers with the remainder of the filling.

When serving this one, I will prepare a pint of fat free beef broth with seasoning to use as au jus. I toss a tsp of rosemary, a tsp of thyme, and a couple of grinds of black pepper into a bit of cheese cloth. Add the spice packet to the broth and heat until just boiling (or 3 minutes in the microwave).


Broccoli and Cheddar

I don’t usually spice the bread for this combination, but it does taste good in dough with 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning. It should work in the focaccia, but I’ve never tried it.

~4 cups of coarsely chopped broccoli, par cooked if using fresh – everything should be under 3/4 of an inch
8 oz of shredded or sliced cheddar

When filling the bread, all of the cheese can be placed first because when flipped it will melt down through the broccoli. This loaf may look lumpy at first, but it will even out on the rise.


Pepperoni and Mozzarella

This also needs no seasoning, but goes well with 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning in the dough. I’m not sure if I would do this one in focaccia, just because of the grease factor. The French bread, containing no fat, absorbs the juices better.

The amount of pepperoni layered is up to the baker’s discretion. I have made it using pepperoni sticks sliced in four the long way and it was WAY too much meat. 1 and a half pillow packs is usually enough for my taste.
8 oz of shredded mozzarella or some Pizza blend or Italian blend
Optional: 1 cup combined of peppers, mushrooms or onions – or whatever other filling makes you happy...

When filling the dough, layer 1/2 of the cheese. If adding other fillings, place them all next. After that, I usually spread a layer of the pepperoni with the slices half overlapping. Spread the rest of the cheese and add another layer of the pepperoni. If this isn’t enough meat, you can stack two layers of the pepperoni where I have one. I don’t use more than two the cheese layers though because the filling will fall apart when you slice it, otherwise.