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| Ham & Gruyere Braid |
Serves 8 |
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| 350 g (12 oz) |
Hovis Strong White Bread Flour |
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1 x 2.5 ml spoon (½ tsp) |
salt |
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25 g (1 oz) |
butter or margarine |
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1 x 7 g sachet |
Hovis Fast Action Bread Yeast |
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225 ml |
warm milk |
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(8 fluid oz) |
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Filling: |
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100 g (4 oz) |
wafer thin smoked ham |
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2 x 15 ml |
fresh parsley, chopped |
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(2 tbsp) |
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100 g (4 oz) |
Gruyère or Red Leicester cheese, grated |
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freshly ground black pepper |
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To finish: |
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milk or egg to glaze |
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poppy seeds |
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| 1 |
Grease a baking tray and a large polythene bag with oil. |
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2 |
Mix together the Hovis flour and the salt. Rub in the fat, then stir in the Hovis yeast. Pour in the milk and mix to a dough. |
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3 |
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in an electric mixer with a dough hook. |
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4 |
Roll out to a 30 cm (12 inch) square. Place the ham evenly down the middle third of the dough, leaving 10 cm free at each end. Sprinkle over the parsley and cheese, season with black pepper. Make slanting cuts on the dough to within 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the filling. Fold these over the filling. Brush edges with glaze and fold strips alternately over filling. |
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5 |
Place on a baking tray, cover with oiled polythene bag. Leave in a warm place until almost doubled in size. Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC, 425ºF, Gas Mark 7. |
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6 |
Remove bag, glaze and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 190ºC, 375ºF, Gas Mark 5 for a further 25 minutes, covering with foil if over browning. |
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