Baking A Pepper Ring Using A Sourdough Starter

Today's bread is so filled with flavor that it is hard to summarize it in a few short sentences. We add three different peppers to the dough, and add beef stock as a liquid. Then pack it with green-peppers, onion and tomato to boot. This is indeed a must-have loaf!

Dissolve a cube of beef-stock in a cup (250 ml) boiled water. Allow it to cool to lukewarm.
Option 1: If using Active Dry Yeast, add a packet to the stock once the water has cooled and wait for it to froth up.

Add 4 cups (4 x 250 ml) brown bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon (2,5 ml) cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon (1,5 ml) freshly ground black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon (1,5 ml) white pepper in a large mixing bowl. Do not add any salt as the beef-stock will add enough salt to the dough. (I actually would recommend using Instant Dry Yeast along with the sourdough starter for this bread, although it is not absolutely necessary. The reason for this is to shorten the time the dough sits in the heat. It will give less opportunity for the veggies to go off, although that should not happen if they are properly tucked into the dough.)
Option 2: If using Instant Dry Yeast, add a packet to the dry ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients well before continuing.

Add the beef-stock solution and a cup (250 ml) of the sourdough starter to the dry ingredients.

Bring the dough together.

Knead the dough into a pliable ball for about 10 minutes.

We are going to add 1 onion, 1 tomato and 1/2 a green-pepper to the dough.

Finely chop the vegetables.

Roll the dough into a long roll that is about 50 cm long.

Flatten the roll with a cake roller so it is about 10 cm wide.

Sprinkle the chopped vegetables in the center of the dough.

Fold the sides up and pinch it closed with your fingers.

Prepare a pan with a non-stick coating and lightly sprinkle with flour.

Roll the dough up in the pan with the open side to the inside of the roll.

Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm dry place.

Once risen, bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about an hour.

The bread is done when you hear a hollow sound when knocking on it. Knock on the bottom of the bread as well to make sure it is baked through.

Turn out on a wire rack to cool.

To avoid a hard crust from forming, you can cover the hot loaf with a damp cloth. The steam will soften the crust without any adverse effects on the bread.

The bread can either be torn, or you can slice it to reveal the pretty layers inside. Work with a very sharp knife if you are going to slice it as the layers may separate otherwise.

This bread has so much flavour that it is hardly necessary to use butter and you can serve it as is. Of course, if you prefer it, you may use butter and even a little cheese to top it.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.

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