Caramelised leek and walnut bread

Doug Sherring

I started making this stuffed bread a few years ago, and regularly change what goes inside. It’s an easy dough to start with if you’re not a bread maker and you might surprise yourself with the results. Makes one loaf.

Dough

2 cups	Plain flour
1 tsp	Sea salt
1 tsp	Dried instant yeast
1 cup	Water, lukewarm
2 Tbsp	Oil

Caramelised leeks

2 Tbsp	Butter
1 Tbsp	Olive oil
2	Leeks, use up to 3, trimmed, sliced and washed (Main)
½ cup	Water
1 pinch	Flaky sea salt
1 Tbsp	Brown sugar

To assemble

½ cup	Grated cheese
100 g	Feta, crumbled
1 handful	Cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
½ cup	Walnuts, roughly chopped
1 serving	Olive oil, for brushing
1 handful	Fresh thyme

Directions

To make the dough

1. Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the water and oil.
2. Mix to form a soft dough, adding a little more water if required. Place on a floured bench and knead lightly for 2 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and leave until it roughly doubles in size. This can take up to an hour.

To make the caramelised leeks

1. In a medium frying pan, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the washed leeks, and cook for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the salt and a little water and reduce to a low heat. Cook for a further 10 minutes until soft.
2. Sprinkle over the sugar, add a little more water and increase the heat to high. Cook for 5 minutes until the leeks are golden and caramelised. Set aside until ready to assemble the bread.

To assemble

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Remove dough from the bowl, and knead gently on a lightly floured surface for about two minutes.
2. Roll dough into a big square on a flat baking tray, lined with baking paper. Spread the caramelised leeks over the square of dough. Sprinkle over the grated cheese, chopped cherry tomatoes, feta, and walnuts.
3. Carefully fold the dough into three, taking each side in towards the middle, one over the other. Seal the edge by pinching lightly with your fingers. Brush the top with olive oil, and sprinkle with the fresh thyme and sea salt.
4. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes, until golden.