Chili Bread - Dinner In a Beautiful Package

Chili Bread is one of our favorite meals! It tastes great and looks fantastic too. The best part is - it's not at all difficult to make.



I'll include the recipe for my white bread dough, but if you're in a hurry, Rhoades or any other prepared bread dough will be a quick way to get this meal to the table. 

I got this recipe at a Bosch bread-making class. There are a lot of variations you could make for the filling. In fact, whatever sounds good as a filling (as long as it's cooked, and not too thin) should work. (The cream cheese seals the inside bottom of the braid so that it doesn't get soggy.) Some variations that I have thought of are:

Pizza: thin layer of cream cheese, pizza sauce, pepperoni, sauteed peppers and onions, cheese, pineapple, and olives.
Calzone: Sausage, ricotta cheese, spinach, shredded Parmesan cheese, and seasonings.
Broccoli/Cheese: thin layer of cream cheese, steamed & drained broccoli, and thick cheese sauce.
Spaghetti: thin layer of cream cheese, spaghetti with thick sauce, mozzarella cheese. Coat exterior of bread braid with egg white, parmesan cheese, dried parsley, and garlic powder.
Chili Bread is still my favorite, though!

Chili Bread

 Yield: 6-8 servings

           1          Recipe white or wheat bread dough (2 lb loaf)

           3-4  oz Cream Cheese, softened

           1  can  Chili with beans

           1  can  Diced green chilies

          ¾  c       Sour cream

                        Grated cheddar cheese (opt.)

          1   can Sliced olives

Prepare your own bread dough (see recipe below), or buy frozen bread dough and thaw it. Preheat oven to 350 F.

After the first rise, roll dough onto large greased cookie sheet (half-sheet cake pan). Roll it ¼-½" thick. 

Down the lengthwise center third of the dough, spread the cream cheese. Spread chili over the cream. Sprinkle the diced chilies over the chili beans. Spoon sour cream evenly on top. Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and olives.

Create the “braid” by folding up the short ends of the rectangle over the filling and cutting the long sides of the rectangle into 1½" strips. Fold the strips over the filling, alternating sides and pulling the dough to overlap in the middle, so that it looks braided. If desired, brush dough with egg wash (whisked egg with a little water).

Bake at 350 F. for 20-30 minutes (longer for wheat dough), until bread starts to brown and looks done. Serve in slices, with lettuce and tomatoes.

White Bread – Pillsbury

Yield: 1 Loaf

1⅛ c Milk (1 cup plus 2 TB)

2 TB Oil

3½ c Flour

2 TB Sugar

1½ ts Salt

1 TB Active dry yeast (1 pkg)

1 Egg

If you have a bread machine, just put all of the ingredients into the pan, liquid first. Then set on DOUGH setting until done. 

If not, heat milk and oil until very warm (120 to 130 F.). In large bowl, blend warm liquid, 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast and egg at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in remaining flour to form a soft dough. On well-floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (or 15 minutes in mixer.) Place dough in greased bowl; turn greased-side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until light and doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes.

If you are making Chili Bread, continue with directions above.

If you are making a regular loaf of bread, generously grease (not oil) a 9x5 or 8x4-inch loaf pan. Punch down dough; and shape into 1 loaf. Place in prepared pan. Cover; let rise in warm place until light, 30 to 45 minutes. Heat oven to 350 F. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove from pan; cool. If desired, brush warm loaf with melted margarine or butter. 

Bushman Bread - MY way!

Bushman Bread (or Outback Steakhouse bread, or Cheesecake Factory black bread) has about as many recipe variations available on the web as there are people who love to bake! Some use rye, molasses and coffee, some use wheat flour and vital wheat gluten, and some use a combination of wheat flour and bread flour. So, the breadbaker first has to decide which ingredients, or recipe, he'd like to use. 

I decided to try Chef Pablo's version (chefpablos.com) of Bushman Bread without rye and molasses. I also tweaked it just a little, and it turned out so good! It isn't as dark as the restaurant bread, but it is full-flavored, a little sweet, and very soft and light for a 50% wheat bread. It has a unique (and addictive) flavor, especially when you eat it warm, with lots of butter!

The only tricky part is the caramel coloring. It is made by caramelizing sugar, so it adds flavor as well as color. You can buy it in liquid form from Orson Gygi (a restaurant supply store in Salt Lake City), or in powdered form from King Arthur Flour (online), or you can take a little extra time to make your own - like I did. It's quite easy to make and stores well in a small jar in the cupboard. I'll add the recipe, below.

I've used a bread machine, on the DOUGH cycle, to knead and raise the bread dough, but you could instead knead it by hand or with a stand mixer (like Bosch or KitchenAid), then let it rise, covered, in a bowl placed in a warm location until the dough doubles - 20-60 minutes, depending on the temperature.

Bushman Bread - MY way!

1-1/4 C Warm water ("hot" from the tap)
2 TB Softened butter
1/2 C Honey
2 C Whole Wheat Flour (I like white winter wheat)
2 C Bread Flour (I used Gold Medal Better For Bread flour)
2 TB Sugar
2 TB Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp Salt
1 TB Caramel coloring liquid
3 TB Cornmeal, divided
2-1/4 tsp Yeast (I use Red Star active dry yeast)

Put all ingredients, (except cornmeal) into 2-lb-loaf bread machine pan in the order listed. Set to DOUGH cycle and watch it while it kneads. If it is too stiff, add a little more water (1 TB at a time). If it is too sticky, add a little flour (1/2 TB Wheat flour & 1/2 TB Bread flour at a time) until it looks/feels right. It should be tender and pliable, but should not be very sticky. Dough will knead and rise in the machine. When finished, remove dough from pan, knead slightly to remove any air bubbles. Form 2 oval loaves and place them on a baking sheet that has been greased and sprinkled with 2 TB cornmeal. Sprinkle remaining TB of cornmeal on the loaves. Cover loaves lightly with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 20-60 minutes. Bake in 350 F. degree oven 10-25 minutes, until crust sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on rack before slicing. Freezes well.

Pumpernickel Color

3 TB Sugar
1 TB Water
pinch Cream of Tartar
1/4 C Boiling water

In heavy saucepan over medium heat, dissolve sugar in 1 TB water. Increase heat to medium-high. Cover pan, and bring to boil for 2 minutes. Add Cream of Tartar and boil uncovered until sugar is almost black. Remove from heat. Sugar will continue to cook and darken. Allow to begin to cool. Using caution, add boiling water. Stir to dissolve, then cool to room temperature. Clean pan and utensils with hot water.