Chimichurri Braided Wreath Bread & Rolls
Author: 
Recipe type: Breads, Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American, South American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1 wreath bread and 12 rolls
 
A stunning braided wreath bread and fluffy bread rolls, all stuffed with a delicious chimichurri sauce.
You will need:
For the dough (makes 1 braided wreath bread and 12 bread rolls)
  • Water - 2 cups, very warm (around 110 deg.F)
  • Active dry yeast - 4 tsp
  • Sugar - 1 tsp
  • Flour - 5 cups, plus more for dusting (use all-purpose flour or a combination of APF and whole-wheat flour in any ratio)
  • Salt - 2 tsp
  • Olive oil - 2 tbsp
For the chimichurri sauce
  • Fresh flat leaf parsley – 1 cup
  • Fresh cilantro – ½ cup
  • Garlic – 2 large cloves
  • Dried oregano – ½ tsp
  • Ground cumin – ½ tsp
  • Red chili flakes – ¼ tsp (or more as per heat desired)
  • Vinegar – 1-2 tbsp (white, rice or red wine vinegar)
  • Olive oil – ¼ cup
  • Salt – ½ tsp or to taste
For the braided wreath bread
  • Dough - ½ the above quantity, well-risen
  • Chimichurri sauce - ½ cup
  • Parmesan cheese - 3 tbsp, grated
For the bread rolls
  • Dough - ½ the above quantity, well-risen
  • Chimichurri sauce - ½ cup
  • Parmesan cheese - 3 tbsp, grated
How to:
  1. Prepare dough: Take water in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in yeast and sugar. Keep undisturbed for 10 minutes to allow yeast to proof. Once the water is frothy and has a distinct yeasty smell, proceed with the rest of the steps. (See notes if this doesn't happen).
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and salt and mix together. Add olive oil and mix it with your fingers coarsely. Tip in the yeast solution and mix together to form a dough.
  3. Once the dough comes together, tip it out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and knead well for 5-8 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
  4. Divide dough into two equal parts. Place each part in a bowl, lightly smear oil over the dough, cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest until doubled in size, around an hour.
  5. Prepare Chimichurrri Sauce: While the dough is resting, prepare chimichurri sauce. Blend all the ingredients together till fairly smooth in a blender or food processor. Remove to a clean jar and set aside.
  6. Braided Wreath Bread: Pre-heat the oven to 400 deg.F.
  7. Use one portion of the dough for this recipe. Turn the risen dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper which is roughly 18"x12". Gently roll the dough out to cover the parchment, i.e, a rectangle of 18"x12".
  8. Spread ½ cup of sauce all over the rolled dough, keeping a 1" border on all four sides. Sprinkle 2 tbsp parmesan cheese on top.
  9. Roll the dough along the long side to form a log. Pinch the seam with your fingers to seal. Cut the dough in half down the length of the dough. Pinch the top ends together, and start braiding the two pieces, taking care to keep the cut sides facing upwards (this gives the finished product a cool braided effect). Form the braided dough into a circle and pinch the ends together to seal. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the wreath.
  10. Transfer the parchment paper holding the formed wreath to a large baking sheet. Rest for 30 minutes.
  11. Bake for 20-25 minutes or till crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool briefly on a wire rack. Serve bread warm. Store completely cooled leftovers in an airtight container.
  12. Stuffed Bread Rolls: Pre-heat the oven to 400 deg.F.
  13. Use one portion of the dough for this recipe. Turn the risen dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper which is roughly 18"x12". Gently roll the dough out to cover the parchment, i.e, a rectangle of 18"x12".
  14. Cut the dough into 12 pieces (roughly 2.5"x3", or simply score the rolled dough into four portions lengthwise and 3 portions along its width).
  15. Place each portion of dough into the cups of a 12-cup muffin or cupcake pan.
  16. Spoon ¾ tbsp chimichurri sauce into each portion. Top with a little parmesan cheese. Close the dough by folding and sealing the opposite ends together. It is perfectly alright to see a few gaps when dough is sealed. Rest for 30 minutes.
  17. Bake for 20-25 minutes or till crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool briefly on a wire rack. Serve bread rolls warm. Store completely cooled leftovers in an airtight container.
Notes:
1. The dough recipe given above yields 1 braided bread wreath (roughly 9" diameter) and 12 muffin-sized bread rolls. Halve the dough recipe to make only either one of these recipes.
2. Proofing the yeast is important to make fail-proof bread dough. Only proceed if the yeasty water is frothy and has a distinct yeasty smell. If this doesn't happen, either the water was too hot that it killed the yeast or the yeast has expired and you may need to start over with a fresh batch.
3. I actually liked the dough made with all-purpose and whole-wheat flours in a 1:1 ratio. If dough seems too sticky, sprinkle a little more flour and knead. You can make the dough in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment as well.
4. The prep time given here does not reflect dough resting times.
5. The same dough recipe and method can be used to make pesto bread.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2016/02/10/chimichurri-bread/