This idea came to me after chatting with my old neighbour, who was telling me enthusiastically about the old days when they used to cook bread over a fire on a stick. He was so detailed and enthusiastic about it that I thought I’d give it a go myself.
I visited the woods to see if there were any mushrooms I could add to the recipe, but I ended up foraging for a stick to use in the recipe instead.
I decided to tweak the idea a little and add a filling. Why not? I thought the hole left by the stick would be perfect for filling, so I took the chance, and it worked!
I used button mushrooms and added three types of cheeses to take that lovely rustic, crusty bread to the next level. The combination of smoky bread, creamy mushroom and melted cheese turned out well and it was so delicious eaten warm.
Old English Bread on a Stick 🌿
Serves 4 · Makes 2 loaves (or 4 individual sizes)
Ingredients
Bread
500 g strong white bread flour
7 g instant dried yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
310 ml lukewarm water
2 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
Mushroom & cheese filling
250 g mushrooms, finely chopped
1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
100 g cream cheese
50 g mature Cheddar, grated
75 g low-moisture mozzarella, grated
1 tsp herbs (thyme, parsley or your choice)
Salt and black pepper
For cooking 2 clean, untreated hazel sticks, approximately 3 cm thick
A campfire producing hot glowing embers
Piping bag or clean food bag
Prepare the Hazel Sticks. 🌿
Use straight, sturdy hazel branches around 3 cm thick.
Only use clean, untreated hazel.
Make the Dough 🥣
Mix together the flour, yeast, baking powder and salt.
Gradually add 310 ml lukewarm water, mixing as you go.
Add the olive oil or melted butter.
Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
Let the Dough Rise ⏳
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it.
Leave somewhere warm for approximately 1 hour, or until roughly doubled in size.
Make the Mushroom Filling 🍄
Melt the butter in a pan.
Add the onion and cook until soft.
Add the finely chopped mushrooms and thyme.
Cook until almost all of the mushroom moisture has evaporated.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
Mix in cream cheese, mature Cheddar, mozzarella
Shape the Bread Around the Hazelnut 🥖🌿
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a rope approximately 2 cm thick.
Wrap the dough around the hazel stick in a spiral (don't make it too thick)
The coils should touch each other so that the filling won't escape through gaps.
Build your Fire 🔥
Wait until you have a good bed of glowing embers. The bread should be cooked over the embers rather than directly in the flames.
Cook Over the Embers 🔥
Hold the bread approximately 20 cm above the glowing embers.
Turn the stick every 20 seconds so it cooks evenly.
Cook for approximately 18 minutes.
The bread should gradually become golden brown and firm.
The inside must be completely cooked with no raw dough.
Remove the Stick 🌿
Take the bread away from the fire and let it rest for about a minute.
Gently twist the hazel stick while pulling it out.
You should now have a hollow bread tube.
Using a piping bag, fill the hole with the mushroom mixture
Get the Mozzarella Gooey 🧀🔥
Put the filled bread beside the hot embers for 2 minutes. This will warm the filling and melt the mozzarella and Cheddar.
Crusty outside with a bit of hazel smoke aroma, the inside is spongy and soft.
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The creamy mushroom sauce was really delicious and full of cheese flavour.
This was lovely eaten warm. Very comforting!
My share in #FungiFriday by @ewkaw.
Have a lovely day.
Mariah 💕
