“Bake a Round” Bread
MAKES
One loaf
TAKES
Prep time: 1 hour 45 minutes (includes proofing)
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total: 2 hours 30 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
When a friend of mine spotted the Pyrex “Bake a Round” Bread pan in a Wisconsin antique store, I was deeply intrigued. This “As Seen on TV” pan was developed in the late 60’s and was sold into the 70’s and 80’s, and it attempted to solve two major problems for home bread bakers: shaping difficulties + getting a crisp outer crust. While I ultimately made a few tweaks to add flavor and boost the overall texture of this bread, it’s adapted from the “White Bread” printed inside the Pyrex Bake a Round Bread instruction manual. The result is a golden brown loaf with a thin, crisp and crackly crust. Inside, the loaf boasts a tight, soft, pale white crumb. It’s a perfect loaf for sandwiches, serving alongside anything saucy or brothy, or toasting into garlic bread or crostini.
INGREDIENTS
118 g / ½ cup milk
118 g / ½ cup water
45 g / 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing pan + loaf
25 g / 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 g / 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
360 g / 3 cups all purpose flour
21 g / 3 tablespoons dried milk powder
7 g / 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
sesame seeds, as needed for coating pan
My Favorite Italian Sub
Creamy Salad Slaw:
1/3 cup mayonnaise (I especially love Kewpie mayo here!)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon ground dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup drained sliced pepperoncini peppers
½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sandwich:
1 “Bake-a-Round” loaf, or similar long loaf
1/3 cup pickled pepper spread (such as Cento Cherry Pepper Hoagie Spread)
8 ounces sliced pepperoni
8 ounces sliced salami
8 ounces thinly sliced ham
4 ounces provolone cheese
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, coarsely crumbled into small pieces
1 small tomato, thinly sliced
1. Make the creamy salad slaw: in a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, and pepperoncini peppers until well combined. Add the lettuce and onion and toss until well coated. Add the parmesan cheese and toss until well coated, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cut the loaf of bread in half horizontally. Tear away some of the crumb in the top half of the loaf to hollow it out slightly.
3. Spread the pickled pepper spread across the base of the cut loaf. Stack the pepperoni, salami, ham, provolone, mozzarella, and tomato slices on top of the spread. Top the sandwich generously with the salad slaw, and then top with the hollowed top piece of bread. Press down slightly all the way across the loaf.
5. If desired, place skewers or toothpicks in the loaf to divide it into about 6 pieces, then use a sharp serrated knife to slice the sandwich between the placed markers. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.
METHOD
1. In a small pot, heat the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt until the butter is melted, and the sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove the mixture from the heat and cool to about 100°F / 38°C.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the flour, dry milk powder, and instant yeast to combine. Add the warm milk mixture and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together into a shaggy mass, 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl well.
3. Raise the mixer speed to medium, and mix until very smooth and elastic, 5-6 minutes more. Round the dough slightly, and transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 30-45 minutes.
4. Grease the inside of the glass cylinder with soft butter to within 1 inch / 2 ½ cm of the ends of the tube. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the base and partially up the sides of the tube. Place the cylinder back in the metal holder.
5. Punch the dough down to deflate it, and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Use your fingertips to press it into a 6 x 10 inch / 15 to 25 cm rectangle. Starting from one of the shorter ends, roll up the dough into a tight jelly roll/spiral loaf, pressing the dough gently to seal after each additional rotation of the dough. Then, seal the end seam very well - first, with your fingertips and then with the heel of your hand when you reach the other side.
6. Cut a piece of parchment about the length of the cylinder, and about 3 inch / 8 cm wide. Place the loaf onto the center of the paper. Slide the paper into the cylinder (with the non-sesame portion on the bottom, and the sesame seeds on the top) - and reach in from the other side to pull the dough into the center of the cylinder. Once it’s centered, tip the cylinder upside down, and peel the parchment off of the loaf and discard it.
7. Place the cylinder back into the metal holder, with the sesame seed side on the bottom. Reach into both ends of the cylinder with each of your hands, pressing the backs of your fingers into the dough, compressing it into the center - it should be 4-6 inch / 10-15 cm long. The dough should touch the top of the tube after you compress it.
8. Brush the ends of the loaf with melted butter. Cover the ends of the cylinder with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until it’s doubled in size (since it’s forced into a specific shape, it will visually double in length, and the majority of the loaf should touch the top of the tube), 45 - 90 minutes.
9. Towards the end of rise time, place the oven rack on the second to lowest shelf in the oven, and preheat it to 375°F / 190°C.
10. Remove the plastic wrap from the ends of the tube, and transfer to the oven. Bake until the crust is evenly golden brown, 45–50 minutes. Carefully tilt the pan to slide the loaf out of the tube (the manual says if it sticks at all, reach in with a long handled spatula to loosen one end - it should slide out fairly easily).
11. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool. The bread should have a hollow sound when tapped, and an internal temperature of at least 205°F / 96°C in the very center of the bread.
Bake This Recipe With Me:
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
