Buffalo Mozzarella and Ham Swirl Bread

This buffalo mozzarella and ham bread recipe is adapted from Paul Hollywood’s book ‘bread‘. Which if you are at the beginning stages of your bread journey would be a useful guide. And, it is also a good read with delicious recipes for the seasoned baker. I liked this bread for many reasons which I will share below, however, the most important would have to be that it is not difficult to make.

This is not a sponsored post, all mentions are included for the purpose of transparency. All opinions are unbiased

Other Reasons to Love This Buffalo Mozzarella and Ham Swirl Bread?

Other than the fact that it is deliiiiciousssss!

Picnic or Packed lunch anyone? I make this the night before and carry it to work for lunch. You do not need to heat it up which is highly convenient. Oh, and if heading out to the beach, make sure to pack this too!

Child-friendly: Take a break from peanut butter and jam, boring ham and cheese sandwiches, or whatever other classic sandwiches we all love, and instead make this for the whole family to carry for lunch. It’s mess-free so yeiii to no tomato sauce-stained school clothes and work shirts.

Freestyle: I like recipes that I can tweak here and there. It can get frustrating when you come across a recipe you really want to make only to find that you don’t have all the ingredients on hand. A little more on that is below.

Shelflife: The bread will last at least 2 days, and if you have a grill that’s even better. Just slice and sandwich it between the grill. However, as this has cheese I would recommend you store it in the fridge if it’s past the first day.

Buffalo mozzarella and ham swirl bread ingredients and alternatives

Cheese: I used buffalo mozzarella which is very milky. It’s also suitable because prosciutto crudo can be quite salty without much moisture. So I believe the buffalo mozzarella doesn’t just mellow it out but helps to keep the fillings a little moist. However, if you do not have buffalo mozzarella you can use simple fresh mozzarella. It is a little less milky but will do. I would not recommend using grated mozzarella.

I have also once substituted buffalo mozzarella for smoked mozzarella and paired it with prosciutto cotto instead of the prosciutto crudo. It was a little dry in my opinion, that said I would stick to buffalo mozzarella.

Ham: This recipe uses prosciutto crudo which is quite salty and dry compared to the prosciutto cotto. Should prosciutto crudo be a little hard to come by, you can use prosciutto cotto (I would suggest you use very thinly sliced ham). The end results should not be very different except perhaps the flavor intensity, which with prosciutto cotto is a little mellow.

Basil: Unfortunately there is just no substituting fresh plump basil leaves for the dried option. Use the sweet basil leaves

Reminders

Yeast activation: Milk should be warm and not hot, if using a thermometer, keep it under 105° and 115°F with 95°F being the ideal temperature. However, if you do not have one, test it by sticking your finger into the water and leaving it in for a few seconds. It should not cause you any discomfort. I also test it by keeping it at ‘milk bottle temperature’.

Windowpane test: By the end of the kneading process, the dough will still be a little sticky. To perform the windowpane test it would be easier if you lightly wet your fingertips first.

How to perform the windowpane test: Lightly wet your hands and pinch off some dough. And with your fingertips, aim to stretch it as far as you can, with the aim of creating what looks like a thin membrane. It should be so thin that if you hold it up toward the window you should see the light through. See the image below:

3 STEPS and TIPS for Preparing The Dough

Step 1: Prep. The bread should be moist and not overly soggy. If this is your first time making the bread, and you are worried about working with an overly wet dough and ingredients. I would suggest you thinly slice the mozzarella before preparing your dough. This gives it time to drain off the excess milk as you prepare the dough.

Have all your ingredients measured before you start anything. Why? Because it is very easy to forget to add an ingredient. It has happened too many times that I forget to add salt while rushing.

The butter should be at room temperature and not melted. The consistency should be firm, yet soft enough that you can press on it with your finger, and leave a dent with no effort.

Step 2: Knead. The kneading process is simple to follow along and very straightforward forward so don’t be intimidated. First, make sure the milk is not too hot as this will kill the yeast. Next, make sure the yeast is activated (turns frothy) then add it to the dough. However, add the salt to one side of the flour and the yeast into the well. Adding the yeast mixture directly over the salt is not advisable.

The first kneading step is just to incorporate the flour, salt, yeast, and eggs into each other. Followed with the butter, but add 1 tablespoon at a time and only add more once the previously added has blended into the dough. After 15-20 minutes of kneading, the dough should be smooth and pass the window test. It will be a little sticky so do not worry, you didn’t mess anything up 🙂

Step 3: layer and roll. This step can be intimidating if you have not done it before. The first recommendation is to roll the dough to the recipe specification measurements. The dough shouldn’t be rolled too thin as it will rip when the toppings are added and folded. The other tip is to make sure the mozzarella is thinly sliced, this just makes things a whole lot easier for you during the rolling.

The last step is to roll, the long side of the dough should be facing you. I find it easier to do this by rolling the dough toward me compared to away from me. Use a very sharp knife to cut through the length of the ‘dough roll’, (leaving at least 2 fingers width’ and slice all the way to the bottom. This ensures that when preparing to twist the two pieces, there are no toppings still stuck together. Gently pinch the dough if it seems that some toppings are falling out.

To twist each roll to the other, I hold the middle and near end of the roll that I will be bringing over the other and fold it across. Then take the other and with the same movement, fold it over the other roll. And lastly, just bring one end over the other into a circle. If there are some toppings sticking out that’s not a bad thing as the dough will rise and somewhat hold them in place. Just make sure they aren’t falling off the dough.

Preparing the Dough

Making this dough is much easier with a stand mixer because it is a very soft dough. It can be achieved without a stand mixer but would be a bit of a pain. However, I tend to make fun of challenging wet dough such as this.

If Making This by Hand I Would Suggest the Following Process:

Step 1. Mix the flour, salt, egg, and yeast mixture until just incorporated. Then cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes. This will make it a little easier to work with.

Step 2. Use room temperature butter and not overly soft butter. Using your hands will soften the butter even more. So use a firm rubber spatula to mix the butter with the dough. Add 1 tbsp of butter at a time until all the butter is added. During this process, do not add any flour. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

Step 3: This is when you now begin to stretch the dough. So hold down the bowl with one hand, and with the other, perform a motion as if you are pinching a huge chunk of the dough and smudging it against the walls of the bowl as you pull it up into a stretch. Then put it back into the bowl, and repeat for at least 5 minutes. Next, you should stretch and fold the dough into itself, still, while it is inside the bowl, do this for a further 5 minutes.

Step 4: The dough should have formed quite a bit of gluten and elasticity by now. So finally, tip it onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a further 5 minutes. By this point, your dough should be much smoother and more elastic than it was when you first began. Perform the windowpane test (remember to wet your hands) to ensure your dough is well-kneaded. Tip it into a lightly buttered bowl, cover it with cling film and leave to rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Step 5: After the dough has risen, scoop it out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Proceed to roll it into a rectangle of about 11 x 17 inches. Then lay the ham across the dough and top that with thinly sliced mozzarella and basil leaves. With your fingertips, gently roll the dough into itself toward you to form a log.

Step 6: Using a sharp knife, slice across the length of the dough leaving at least 2 fingers width uncut. Then begin to gently roll the dough into a rope. Pinch the dough if the filling seems to be falling out.

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Print Recipe

Buffalo mozzarella and ham swirl bread

(+10 rating, 2 votes)

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Bread – Undefined

By Angela – Serves: 5

Prep Time: 3 hours 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 25 minutes – Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes

Soft brioche-like swirl bread with buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto crudo, and fresh basil filling. Perfect for packed lunch or when you're headed out to the beach!

Ingredients

• 300g white bread flour
• 10g table salt
• 8g active dry yeast
• 110ml whole milk
• 2 medium eggs plus 1 more for glazing
• 145g softened unsalted butter
• 180g buffalo mozzarella
• 150g prosciutto crudo
• Basil leaves
• Parmesan/Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions

1

Heat up the milk, just until lukewarm then stir the yeast into it and leave to activate for 5 minutes.

2

Whisk the eggs

3

Add the flour to a stand mixer bowl and make a well. Sprinkle the salt to one side of the flour, and pour in the yeast mixture and the eggs to the well.

4

Begin to knead the dough on low speed until incorporated then increase to medium as you slowly add in knob after knob of butter. Only add more butter when the previously added has blended into the dough

5

Knead for 10 minutes then increase the speed kneading for a further 5 minutes

6

The dough should be shiny and smooth. Lightly wet your fingertips and perform a windowpane test (It may be a little sticky, do not worry), and if the dough passes the test, tip it into a lightly oiled bowl, covered with cling film to rise until doubled in size. If the dough does not pass the test, knead for a further 5 minutes at medium speed.

7

Gently scoop the dough using a dough scraper and lay it on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough and gently shape it into a rectangle measuring 11 x 17 inches.

8

Proceed to evenly layer the ham over the rolled out dough, top that with evenly spread basil leaves and thinly sliced buffalo mozzarella

9

Lightly flour your hands and roll the dough (long side) towards you, gently pressing on the roll keep the toppings in place. With the seam side down, cut through the length of the dough leaving about 2 fingers width uncut.

10

Begin to twist the pieces either by holding one and flipping it over the other. Or twisting each piece, with your hands moving in opposite directions

11

Bring the tails to meet forming a circle and gently move it onto the middle of a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Leave it to rise for another 1 hour or until doubled in size.

12

Preheat the oven to 200°C about 5-10 minutes before baking

13

Lightly glaze the bread with egg wash (1 small egg and 2 tablespoons of milk), grate some parmesan/Parmigiano over the top and bake the bread in the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes