Twist Bread with Tomato and Swiss

I picked up a can of stewed tomatoes for the Moroccan fish before deciding on a version that didn't use tomatoes.  It was free, so no harm in keeping it on the shelf a while.  There was Swiss leftover from the Reuben fries, and I still have too much whole wheat flour in the freezer.  So here's a recipe.

I was going back and forth about the shape of this bread.  Originally, I was leaning toward a focaccia.  When the menu plan for it fell on a Friday, I decided to try a babka-inspired twist even though it isn't a challah recipe.  That just meant the dough needed to be a little firmer than for a flatbread and the white flour portion is bread flour.

*1/2 C 100º milk
1 tsp honey
2 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp yeast
*1 C whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
about 1/2 C bread flour
*1/2 C canned tomatoes, drained and finely diced
*1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese
*1/4 tsp oregano
*1/4 tsp rosemary

1.  Stir honey, oil, and yeast into the warmed milk.  Allow to rest until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2.  In stand mixer with the paddle, stir milk mixture into rosemary, oregano, and 1/2 C of the wheat flour.  Beat on medium into a thick batter, about 4 minutes.  Add other 1/2 C of wheat flour and beat on medium again into a sticky dough, another 2-4 minutes.

3.  Dust work surface with a generous amount of bread flour.  Scrape dough onto board and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.  You may not need all of the bread flour, or you might need extra.  It depends on the day's humidity.  Shape into a ball.  Turn over in a lightly oiled bowl to coat all sides and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

4.  As the end of the first rise approaches, prep your fillings.  Drain the canned tomatoes and dice, unless you bought "petite diced".  You aren't going to need the whole can.  I used the rest on some pinto bowls.  Finely shred the cheese if you didn't buy it that way.

5.  Punch down dough and let rest 10 minutes.  On a floured surface, roll into a rectangle no more than 1/8" thick, and as wide as a loaf pan.  It's going to snap back a bit, so best to err on the side of too thin.  Evenly distribute fillings on the rectangle, leaving one of the shorter sides clean about one inch.

6.  Starting on the side opposite that clean end, roll up into a log, getting all the filling inside.  Pinch to seal.

7.  Grease a loaf pan and, if desired, sprinkle with cornmeal.  It isn't necessary, just a texture thing.  With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, carefully cut through the log to expose all the filling.

8.  Line up the twist halves filling-side up and cross them, always keeping the filling at the top.  You can see here for a video of a professional bakery doing it with babka dough.  This dough will be much softer than what they were working with, so don't be surprised when it's more fragile.  Pinch ends shut and arrange in loaf pan.  Let rise again 30 minutes.

9.  Preheat oven to 350º.  If desired, you can egg wash the loaf or brush it with milk or butter.  I went for the natural look.  Bake 30 minutes, or until it smells like pizza and the bread sounds hollow when thumped.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Makes one 4-serving loaf.  To fill loaf pan, double recipe.

Difficulty rating  :)