Ham & Cheddar Loaf

I was looking online for something new to make the other day and came across this recipe. It reminded me so much of Hot Pockets that I just had to try it. I can't wait to try all the variations; although, I think next time I'll make individual sizes. Oh, the recipe says that it has six servings of one slice each; which I thought wasn't enough to feed my family of six for dinner (based on the picture of how big their slices were), so I made two loaves. Totally only needed one, so I froze the other for another day! I also needed to make bread, so I just used my favorite white bread recipe* in place of the frozen bread dough.

HAM & CHEDDAR LOAF

1 lb. frozen bread dough, thawed
1 pkg. (9 oz.) ham slices
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup Miracle Whip dressing
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oven to 350°. Flatten dough on lightly floured surface with hands. Roll into 12x8-inch rectangle with rolling pin. (If dough is difficult to roll, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out.) Top with ham to within ½ inch of edges. Mix cheddar cheese and dressing; spread over ham.

Moisten edges of dough with water. Starting at one of the long sides, fold one-third of dough over filling; repeat with other long side. Pinch seams together to seal. Place seam-side down, on lightly greased baking sheet. Cut three diagonal slits in top of dough with kitchen shears. Brush with egg; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. (I baked mine for 35 minutes and it was too brown … I think 30 minutes is sufficient.) Cool 10 minutes before slicing.

*Here’s my favorite white bread recipe (anyone have a whole wheat bread recipe they LOVE?)

This is my favorite because it always turns out perfectly. Seriously, it does. I found it on a recipe card of my mom’s when I was typing up all her recipes (I promise, Mom, you’ll get them back soon). There was written on the card: Works every time. I thought that was a ridiculously arrogant statement, and was determined to prove it wrong. And, I can’t. This is THE PERFECT white bread recipe. I have made it by hand and in a mixer, and both times it has turned out fabulously.

It only takes about an hour and half to make this bread; and there’s very little kneading involved. If you use a mixer, you don’t really need to knead at all; if you make it by hand, you’ll probably have to knead just enough flour into the dough to make it soft and supple instead of sticky (once the dough starts to clean the flour off the counter, stop kneading).

I also love that this recipe is so easy to scale up and down according to how many loaves you want. I don’t like homemade bread that is 4 or more days old, so I usually make only 2 to 3 loaves at a time. But, because of the recipe, I’m able to make even just one loaf if I want, and it’s not hard to figure out the measurements for the ingredients. Seriously, if you’ve never made bread before, but have always wanted to … this is the recipe to get you going. It’s that easy! There weren’t any directions on my mom’s recipe card, so I made up my own and they’ve worked for me so far.

In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients. Warm up your water in the microwave to the right temperature. (I usually test it with my pinky finger. If the water is close to burning my finger, then it’s just about right. Sometimes I check with a thermometer, just to be safe. But, if it feels super-duper hot, don’t pour it into your dry ingredients because you’ll kill the yeast. Also, if you've ever proofed your yeast before, you'll need the water to be hotter than the standard 105°-115° because the yeast is mixed in with the flour already.)

Add water and shortening. Stir together until you have a nice soft dough.

Place dough in a greased large bowl; turn to coat (or just turn, then flip the dough upside down). Cover, and place in a warm spot to rise. (I turn on my oven to 350° and set my bowl atop the range so the heat of the oven can keep my dough warm. This really helps out in winter.) Let rise until double, or about 30 minutes.

Divide your dough into desired number of loaves. Shape each loaf. I roll mine out into a rectangle just about the same width as my loaf pan. Then, I roll it away from me (starting at the short side) as I squeeze it together. Then, I pinch to seal the edges.

Place in lightly greased loaf pans. (You can let it rise again for 30 minutes, or just bake it. I usually just bake it.) Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.