Ham and Cheese Pull Apart Loaf

Cook Time 4 hours

Servings make 1 loaf

Ingredients

1 x 7g sachet of dry active yeast

1 tbsp caster sugar

180ml full cream milk, warmed

50g butter, room temperature

1 egg

300g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Italian herbs

½ tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp full cream milk, for brushing

For Filling

80g butter, softened

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp each of parsley, chives and rosemary, finely chopped

6-8 slices of ham, chopped

100g cheddar cheese and gruyère (or mozzarella) cheese, grated

Method

For the dough, place yeast, a sprinkle of flour and caster sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment. Pour warm milk on top and set aside for 5 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble.

Add in the 50g butter, egg, flour, salt, Italian herbs, paprika, garlic powder and on low speed, knead dough for 3 - 5 minutes until a soft dough comes together. If the dough is sticky, add 1 tbsp of flour extra, this may not be necessary.

In a warm place, put dough in a greased bowl and cover with a tea towel for 1 - 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Grease and line a 23 cm x 12 cm x 8 cm loaf tin with baking paper.

For the filling, mix all ingredients together.

Place dough onto a floured surface and divide into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

Flatten each ball to about 1 cm thick round (doesn’t need to be perfectly round) and spread 1/4 of the ham and cheese filling on top. Fold in the edges and roll filling to flatten again then roll into a circle. Repeat this step with remaining dough balls.

Place folded rounds side by side in the loaf tin, rounded tops facing up. Cover with a tea towel again and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size and puffed to touch.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Brush milk over the loaf and bake in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool in loaf tin, then remove and pull apart.