Bread Roulade with Bacon-Onion Chutney

This tasty bread is the result of an inspiring post by Nancy from the lovely “Feasting with Friends” blog, combined with some leftover spelt and semolina pizza dough I had in my fridge (recipe for which was posted here a couple of months ago).

I loved the idea of Nancy’s bacon-onion chutney beer bread, but as I already had the ready dough, I’ve decided to make only the chutney and use it in a different way.  I made a few small changes, such as using dried thyme instead of fresh, which I didn’t have (I kept the fresh thyme in the recipe below, as no doubt it would be so much better with it) and also decided to add to the chutney some chopped sun dried tomatoes, as I love them and tend to make too much of them (as you can see HERE).

So, the result was a very tasty bread, with a wonderful crispy crust and a mouthwatering filling. As the dough recipe makes four portions, I was happy to discover it also works great as a loaf of bread with stuffing.
I will definitely make this bread again. Thank you Nancy, for a very tasty inspiration! 🙂

Bread Roulade with Bacon-Onion Chutney
Makes: The dough: 4 loaves or pizza; The chutney: enough for 1 loaf
Prep time: 20 minutes for the dough, 30 minutes for the chutney
Proofing time: 2-3 hours
Baking time: 35-40 minutes
Ingredients:
For Spelt and Semolina Dough:
For the starter:
1 cup flour
1 package (1/4 oz, 7 grams) dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 Tbs sugar
For the dough:
1 ½ cups warm water
2 cups flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup fine semolina
1 Tbs salt
¼ cup olive oil + 2 Tbs for the bowl and pan
For the Bacon-Onion Chutney (for 1 loaf)
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 large onion, roughly diced
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or dried)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup beer
1/3 cup roughly diced sun dried tomatoes

1. Mix the ingredients for the starter in a mixer bowl. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, until it foams.

2. Add the rest of the dough ingredients. Fit the dough hook and mix on low speed, scraping the sides occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Turn the speed to medium-high and knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and playable. The dough should be fairly sticky, so add flour only if you think it’s really necessary.

3. Oil a large bowl with olive oil and place the ball of dough in it. Turn it so it will be covered with oil all over. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for about an hour. (Inside the oven always works for me.)

4. Take out, punch the dough and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes. Cover again and place in a warm place for about 2 hours.

5. Punch the dough again and knead by hand for 1-2 minutes. Cut into 4 equal portions and let rest for at least 15 minutes before rolling.

6. At this point you can roll the dough and bake your bread or pizza, but if you have time, wrap each portion with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a day and up to 5 days. The dough will be easier to roll after refrigeration – just remember to bring it to room temperature before rolling.

7. Meanwhile, prepare “Feasting with Friends” chutney: heat a skillet over medium high heat and fry the bacon. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1 Tablespoon of the bacon grease and add the onion. Cook until transparent, and fold the bacon back in, reduce the heat to medium low and cook an additional 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme, cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, salt & pepper to taste and mustard seeds. Cook 3 more minutes, then add the beer and sun dried tomatoes. Cook for additional 5-10 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, set aside and let cool to room temperature.

8. Roll one portion of the dough on it, to a round, thin disc of about 11” (28cm). Spread the chutney all over and fold all sides towards the center. Roll to form a roulade. Oil a 12” (25cm) loaf pan and place the dough in it. Brush the top of the dough with more olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place for about an hour, until the dough doubles.

9. Preheat the oven to 380F (195C). Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the bread is golden and if you tap on it it sounds hollow. Let cool to room temperature on a rack, before slicing.