Here's a great idea for picnics, parties, children's birthdays or just because - a bread that you don't have to slice! Due to its structure, you can easily pick off pieces in portions. The new trend comes from the USA and has quickly won our hearts. The secret of plucked bread lies in the way in which the raw dough is folded and then placed into the baking pan. The classic folded bread with individual slices stacked next to each other is perfect for beginners.
Once you have internalized the folding techniques, there are hardly any limits to your creativity when it comes to filling. Is your dream bread sweet with a caramelized cinnamon sugar crust? Or spicy and creamy withGarlic butter? A hearty filling with cheese and ham is also preferred. Add chopped dried tomatoes and feta to the bread for a delicious Greek touch. With mozzarella and pesto, however, you have combined many delicious Italian flavors in one bread.
Folded bread basic recipe
For the dough you will need:
230 milliliters of milk
60 Gramm Butter
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons dry yeast
480 to 510 grams of all-purpose flour
Optional:2 tbsp potato flour to keep the bread soft longer
This recipe makes a standard size loaf (baked in a 9" x 5" x 2.5" loaf pan).
First, warm the milk and pour it over the butter to melt it. Add the sugar and salt and let the mixture cool slightly. Then add the eggs, yeast, potato flour and all-purpose flour to the bowl. Mix everything well and knead the dough very briefly. Then cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. A good way to quickly check whether the dough is ready is to do a finger test. When you press a hole in the dough with your finger, which slowly fills up again, the dough is ready for baking. If the dough springs back immediately, let it rise for another half hour.
Possible problems with the dough:
–If the dough shrinks,This is a sign that the gluten is not activated and the dough simply needs to recover a little more. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp towel and check again in 20 minutes. The gluten should have developed to this point.
–Dough didn't rise.The most common reason why yeast dough becomes stiff and not fluffy is because too much flour is used. To ensure you use the correct amount, we recommend that you measure your flour using either a scale or carefully using a measuring cup.
Both the dough and the shaped loaves can rise particularly slowly in winter. Allow the dough to rise in the bowl until it is noticeably larger, although not necessarily twice as large. As soon as the dough has been filled into the baking tins, let the dough rise until it reaches three quarters of the height of the baking tin. This can take up to 2 hours if it is cold in the house.
How to fold?
Now you need to decide how you want to shape your dough. Thanks to the clear folds, the so-called “breaking points”, the bread can be easily portioned without cutlery. The size of the folds (as well as the texture of the bread) determines the ease with which each piece can be removed from the loaf. The shapes and folding techniques are as varied as the fillings themselves. Below we will show you three delicious recipes in which you can also try out different folding techniques.
The folded bread is preferably baked in a loaf pan. The dough is first rolled out thinly on a floured work surface and sprinkled with the desired filling. Using a dough wheel, cut the dough parallel into evenly wide strips.
Now there are two options:
- You can either carefully place the strips on top of each other and cut this long stack into equal-sized piles. The dough squares are then placed upright in the greased loaf pan.
- or fold the dough sheets in an accordion shape and place them next to each other in the loaf pan.
Bake in muffin tin with herb butter and garlic
If you don't have a loaf pan available or simply don't want to bake a whole loaf, this idea is a good idea: mini folded loavesfrom the muffin tin. By the way, these are also perfect for events with a larger number of guests such as barbecue parties. They are not only very tasty, but also particularly pretty thanks to their unusual shape.
Ingredients for the garlic butter:
50 grams butter, softened
7 cloves of garlic
1 handful of dill, finely chopped
1 handful of parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
Once your dough has risen and is ready for baking, you can then prepare a flavorful garlic filling.
To do this, finely chop the dill and parsley with a sharp knife. Then simply stir in the softened butter, salt and minced garlic. Set the garlic filling aside and start working the dough.
Place the dough on the floured work surface and cut it into small pieces. Use your hands to form circles. Brush each circle of dough with the herb butter. Then fold the circle in half and the semicircle again towards the middle. Take 3 of these packages and place them with the corners facing down in each cavity of the muffin tin.
Cover the rolls with a clean tea towel and let them rise for half an hour. Whisk an egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk and then brush the rolls with this mixture. Bake the rolls in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
Made from ready-made dough with dried tomatoes and mozzarella
If you don't want to make your own yeast dough, you can find ready-made dough in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. It works just as well. The folded bread can be baked in a round springform pan. Feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes can make a nice changea savory tastegive.
Ingredients:
1 package frozen bread dough, thawed according to instructions
2 tablespoons flour for rolling
4 large garlic cloves, minced
80 grams feta cheese, crumbled
80 grams sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
80 grams of mozzarella cheese, grated
1 handful of basil, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Tomato sauce, for serving, optional
A cast iron pan with a diameter of 28 cm is used here. Divide the thawed dough into 2 parts. Place the dough on a floured work surface and roll it to about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Use a circular cookie cutter or glass to cut out circles of dough.
Mix 2 minced garlic cloves, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella and basil in a medium bowl. Place 1-2 teaspoons of the mixture in the center of a dough circle. Fold the circle in half to create a semicircle with the filling in between, and then pinch the two ends of the semicircle together to create a teardrop shape. Repeat this step with all the rolls and distribute them into the cast iron pan. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
Cover the rolls and let them rise for 20 minutes, then brush with melted butter. Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes and sprinkle the remaining feta mixture on top. Bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. Place the remaining 2 cloves of garlic and melted butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds. Spread the mini folded bread with the garlic butter and serve warm with tomato sauce for dipping.
Mt apple and cinnamon in loaf form
The folded bread also tastes sweet: simply spread cinnamon and sugar on the dough instead of herb butter.
Ingredients for the sweet filling:
30 grams of brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 THE BUTTER
1 apple
caramel sauce and coarse salt
While the dough is rising, line a loaf pan with baking paper. Leave about 7cm of overhang on the long sides. Grease the baking paper with butter. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Core and cut the apple into 1/4-inch thin pieces.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll it out to about 1.5 cm thick. If the dough sticks, sprinkle the bottom with a little more flour. Use a round cookie cutter to cut circles out of the dough. Brush the dough circles with the melted butter and sprinkle the sugar mixture over them.
Fold the circles in half and place them upright in the prepared loaf pan. The open side faces upwards. Insert the apple slices between the layers of dough. Cover the loaf pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the folded bread for 20 to 24 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let the finished bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool for another 10 minutes. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle some coarse salt if desired.
You may also be able to prepare a vanilla glaze. To do this, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Pour the glaze over the warm bread.
