BAKING BREAD WEEK 1: Savoury loaf filled with mildly spiced ground meat and Feta cheese - A bread which is a meal on its own!

My preference for savoury "things" as opposed to sweet ones must be rather known to many of you by now.... Another weakness of mine, not so well known perhaps, is the freshly baked homemade breads. And of course the savoury ones! Imagine my pleasure every time recipes like today's are discovered! Not only a savoury homemade bread but filled with some flavoursome filling at the same time! How deliciously exciting! A bread that can easily get packed to take with you at a picnic, to serve proudly at a children's party or to serve as a light meal with some salad. Things can get easier if you prepare the ground meat the day before or if there is any leftover meat sauce from a previous meal so to gain some time. Just keep in mind that if you use any leftovers the sauce needs to go in the bread well drained of its juices

Adapted from a recipe cooked by
Athinagoras Kostakos, a young talented Head Cook

"BHMAgourmet" magazine of "TO BHMA" newspaper

Ingredients (for 5-6 people)

For the bread:

40 gr. of fresh yeast (baker's yeast)

1 tbsp. of honey

600 ml of water

1 tbsp. of salt

1 Kg of all-purpose flour

For the filling:

500 gr. of ground meat (mixed beef & pork)

2-3 tbsp. of olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2-3 ripe tomatoes, grated

2-3 of whole cloves
1 clove of garlic, minced (optional)
1 tsp of ground allspice (optional)
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 glass of white dry wine (optional) 

1 cinnamon stick

salt
black pepper

200 gr. of hard Feta cheese, roughly crumbled

½ a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Method:
In a large bowl put all the bread ingredients together and knead with your hands for about 10 minutes until you have a homogeneous dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave the dough to rest while cooking the meat sauce.

Warm the oil in a wide pot on medium heat and sauté the ground meat, breaking it into bits with a spatula until it changes colour. Add the onion and the garlic (if used) and continue sautéing until softened.

Pour over with the wine (if used) and allow the alcohol to evaporate first before you add the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, add in the pot the tomatoes, the spices and the bay leaf (if used) and stir. Cover with the lid and simmer the meat until it is cooked through and all the juices are absorbed.
 

When ready, take the pot off the heat, discard the cinnamon stick, the bay leaf and the cloves and allow to cool down for a few minutes. Then add the Feta cheese, the parsley and season with pepper and a small pinch of salt (because of the cheese). Stir thoroughly and allow the mixture to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and lightly brush with some oil a long loaf tin.

Dust with some flour a clean surface, get the dough and using a rolling pin, roll it out into a large sheet of 1 cm thickness. Spread the filling equally on the dough surface and then fold into a roll. Transfer the loaf into the tin, cover with the kitchen towel and allow to rest for 40 minutes.

Put the tin in the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes until it gets a nice golden colour.

Remove from the oven and allow the bread to come to room temperature before you cut in slices and serve.