Love this bread and the delicious filling. You could use different herbs to fill the loaf. It makes excellent toast the next day and the buttery herby flavor is simply delicious. I just love the magic of yeast and flour and this beautiful bread is just delicious!

This is how the dough looks as it’s assembled
Baked and ready to eat!

Yield :1 loaf

Ingredients:

for dough:

  • 2 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 and 1/3 cups bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 -2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

for filling:

  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft or melted
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup grated parmesan

for topping:

  • 1 tabllespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • flaky/coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions:

for dough:

Place the yeast and sugar in a 2 cup mixing cup and add about 1/4cup of warm water (about 110 degrees). Allow yeast to proof for about 10 minutes. It will get bubbly and frothy. Whisk together 2 cups of flour, salt, garlic powder and parsley. Meanwhile gently heat milk to melt butter. It should be about 110 degrees as well. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, whisk in egg and yeast mixture. Beat on low for several minutes adding additional 1/3 cup of flour a little at a time. If dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. The dough will be quite soft and will not hold its shape very easily. Shape into a ball. Place the dough in a greased bowl (I use a little butter to grease) and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a slightly warm part of your kitchen to rise until doubled in size; this should take about an hour to an hour and a half. As the dough rises, prepare the filling in the next step and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

for filling and bread assembly:

While the dough rises grease a 8 x 5 inch loaf pan with non stick cooking spray. Combine all ingredients for filling. Punch down the dough to release the air. Place it on a lightly floured work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces and roll into a ball slightly larger than a golf ball. Using lightly floured hands, flatten each into a circle that doesn’t have to be perfectly round. Spread about a few teaspoons of filling mixture in the middle of the circle each. Fold the disks in half and line the prepared baking pan, round side up, tucking each folded circle against the last (see photo above). Cover again with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rise once again in a slightly warm environment until puffy, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. The top should be golden brown. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. If desired, use a pastry brush and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.