stuffing bread

Around ten years ago, over the holidays, I put aside my beloved bag of Pepperidge Farm stuffing and reached for my trusted copy of “The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion” to test my hand at their Stuffing Bread recipe. The result was sheer pleasure in both taste and texture. The coolest part about this bread is that you can either use it as stuffing for your holiday dinner OR slice it as you would sandwich bread and use it to make the most delicious leftover turkey sandwiches ever! Each holiday season, it’s now become our tasty tradition to make two loaves…one for stuffing and one for sandwiches.

Ingredients: 

3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup potato our OR 1/2 cup potato flakes

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup sunower seeds

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

2 teaspoons ground sage

1 1/4 cups water 

Combine all of the ingredients and mix and knead till cohesive and smooth. 

Allow the dough to rise in a covered bowl for 1 hour.

Shape the dough into a log, and place it in a lightly greased 8-1/2” x 4-1/2” loaf pan. 

Set the loaf aside to rise, covered, for about 45 minutes, or until it's crowned about 1” over the rim of the pan.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 35 minutes, or until it's golden brown. 

Remove it from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.

(Makes one loaf)

To make the stuffing: Cut the loaf it into small cubes and lightly toast it in the oven to allow it to dry completely. Once it is all dried, use it just like any regular kind of stuffing.