At its basest - this is just a loaf of bread stuffed with a very basic chili con carne.
Braided Chili Loaf
Ingredients
Bread:
7g active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
500g beef mince
1 medium onion, diced
1 can kidney beans
3/4 cup water
3tbsp chili seasoning
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
Add butter, sugar, salt, one of the eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour - combine until smooth.
Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic - about 6-8 minutes.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat it. Cover the bowl with a cloth and place in a warm area to rise until doubled. This will take approximately 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan - cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium/high heat until meat is no longer pink - drain.
Add the chili seasoning and stir continuously for one minute.
Stir in the beans and water and bring to a boil (If you have enough water to justify it. If my pan is really hot when I add the water, it basically de-glazes the spices off of the pan and turns into a thick sauce within seconds.). Simmer until thickened.
When the dough has risen - punch it down and knead it until elastic and smooth again - about 2 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 175C (350F)
Place your dough on top of a sheet of wax paper NOW. You'll notice that in my pictures I did not do this until the end and it was a pain in the ass. Don't make my mistake, people.
Using a rolling pin - roll the dough out until it is a rectangle roughly 16 inches x 10 inches.
You can see that mine is a bit on the long side - this is fine.
You want to leave about 2 inches on either side of your filling to make your strips. I can tend to underestimate this sort of thing badly - so I lightly scored the dough with a paring knife all the way around.
Place your filling in the centre of your dough. If you want to - you can sprinkle with cheese at this point. I chose to leave my loaf cheese-free but it will be gooey and delicious with cheese.
Start to cut diagonal slices in the dough on the sides - leaving a large wedge at each end.
On the other side - cut even slices - matching the first set.
To finish the cuts, change direction and mirror your slices.
Now to "braid" your loaf. First - fold over the ends of the dough.
Starting with one side, begin to fold over the strips. First one...
Then another...
Continue until you reach the middle. Lay one of the middle pieces over the other and then tuck under gently.
Now finish your "braiding". Mine is very messy. I could have done it prettier but I'm more about function - not about presentation. Xander and Simon couldn't care less how pretty their food is. They're just going to shove it into their faces no matter how fucked up it looks - as long as it TASTES delicious. *sigh* No class.
Transfer your loaf into a baking dish. I actually don't have a single cookie sheet - believe it or not - so I used a casserole dish. :P
Whooops - almost forgot my egg wash! Beat the second egg in a small bowl and brush it over your bread. I also sprinkled on some sesame seeds because I fucking love them. No other reason.
Bake at 175C (350F) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Remove to a wire rack and allow 10 minutes for cooling before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
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