Planning Ahead

admin October 17, 2017 bread, cheese, sausage

I was asked the other day if I plan supper ahead of time, so that when I am out in the garden or in the woods or gone for classes or tours I have the meal already come time to settle down for the evening.

The answer was no. Usually not. I just don’t spend a lot of brainpower on this subject. That is the reason that there are many times, usually just before supper, that I am thawing a package of hamburger, or scrounging through the freezer for something to cobble together for a meal.

I made an exception for a planned meal the other day using the yeast roll recipe that I posted last week. From that basic dough, Aunty shared what she called Pepperoni Bread by using the dough rolled out into a rectangle shape. As in making cinnamon rolls (before cutting the individual treats), meat and cheese can be rolled into a long tube and baked. It is always a hit at our house.

I cheated when starting this recipe, not that this revelation will surprise any of you. Instead of mixing the ingredients by hand, I pulled out the trusty bread maker, plopped all the ingredients inside and set the selection for ‘dough’. This gave me one hour to get the filling ingredients figured out before inserting into the dough (I had not planned exactly what the filling would be at this point).

With the bread maker happily churning away in the corner of the kitchen, I grabbed a bucket and headed outside to consider what I was going to do next. First off, I headed into the woods and picked a few fresh Chanterelle mushrooms (this took almost 45 minutes). The garden looked pathetic with everything frozen except the root vegetables. Tomatoes were out of the question as was the spinach but a grabbed an onion. On the way back into the kitchen, I pulled out some elk sausage from the freezer.

Back in the kitchen I started preparing the innards and as soon as the timer went off I was able to bring the dough and filling together.

elk sausage — Elk sausage chopped up into cubes.

Dough rolled into rectangle. — Dough rolled into rectangle about 1/4 inch thick

Mustard squirted onto dough. — The secret ingredient, mustard

Mustard spread in a thin layer on dough. — Mustard spread in a thin layer

Layers of meat, onion, mushroomson dough. — Meat, onions and mushrooms layered on top

Cheese added to dough. — A good handful of shredded cheese added to the top

Filling rolled into dough and placed on baking pan. — Dough rolled with filling inside and set onto baking pan

Since I had a good amount of filling, the dough was a bit misshapen but that doesn’t deter from the finished product at all.

The loaf was covered with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge until dinner time (this resting time gives the dough time to ‘tenderize’ and can sit in the fridge until the next day if desired and if you are that organized).

The finished project of Pepperoni Bread. — Finished product

Pepperoni Bread is always a big hit. I had to squirrel away the last few slices so that there would be enough for lunch on the second day.

Putting in ingredients fresh from the garden, the woods and the freezer make this dinner hearty and welcoming for visitors.